Sony consumer HD Newbie questions

[Fred Phillips]

Many thanks to all who took the time to reply to my overly simplistic questions about a subject that is completely new to me. I hope in future that I can refer back to this forum for some answers to the myriad questions that will undoubtedly arise as I progress in my new video endeavours. It is comforting to note that a resource as this forum exists.

Fred Phillips

[Ron Evans]

IF your main purpose is family and holiday video then the AVCHD cameras like the SR11/12 are great. IF you want to do lots of fancy editing then HDV tape is likely easier at the moment. The big difference is that you will need to back up your AVCHD video somehow otherwise the only copy is in the camera. Using the Sony Bowser software it will log all your video and any stills you have in a nice calendar format on the PC and will either make a AVCHD disc to play on a Bluray player or convert to a normal SD DVD to play on any player. In both cases it will make simple menus too with chapters at every start and stop of the camcorder. IF all your doing is holiday video you likely will need no more than the supplied software with the Sony's. Your computer is plenty for this simple software but the faster the computer the faster all the rendering. The playback with direct selection of the clip is where the AVCHD cams have a big advantage over tape. With tape it is necessary to edit and make a DVD to watch with any form of selection. Shuttling tape to find a clip is not good for the tape and frustrating for everyone who is there waiting to see!!!! For the more professional the AVCHD cams have an advantage as a backup cam just left recording. No tape to change and with a big battery on my SR11 it would run for about 6 hours!!!!

Ron Evans

[Dave Blackhurst]

Originally Posted by Fred Phillips

Thanks for your comments. I am using a Fuji S2 Pro and have never ceased to be amazed by the skin tones produced by this, now a little long in the tooth, camera. New S5s are selling for just over $1000 now so I may jump. My still picture experience will probably make me restless about the results that are achievable in the video world, but what I have seen in SR 11 demos in camera shops has been quite impressive. Also the reviews I have read so far about the SR11-12 cameras make them sound like nothing short of the second coming. Would hv30 therefore be a step backward? You can see from my questions that I am really a neophyte when it comes to video matters.

I haven't tried an HV30, but the SR11 is a far better cam than the HV20 build wise, I think the image quality is also superior... manual control... well the HV wins there, as well as 24/30P frame rates - if you "need" those features, then it might be "better" for your use. I'd still choose the SR for most practical uses, and editing is no problem on Vegas Pro, I'm sure their basic consumer versions would do just fine, even for some "fancy editing".