Mixing HD Footage... Will I notice a huge difference?
 

The majority of my footage (East African Wildlife) will be shot with the XH-A1 but I want to do some spontaneous pieces to camera. Initially I thought I would use my old XM2 but quickly discarded that idea because I would be mixing HD & SD footage. So now I'm thinking of getting the HV10 for these small pieces to camera & hooking up a wireless mic to that. When I mix the footage in post will I notice a big unacceptable difference in quality from the wildlife footage shot with the XH-A1 & the pieces to camera shot with the HV10?

I have thought about the other person filming me with the XH-A1 but the majority of time I want to be seen actually using it when doing these pieces to camera.

Thanks

Gareth,

I don't have an HV-10, as I'm waiting for the HV-20 (late March/early April). I would suggest the same as the 20 has HDMI output, better low-light, can shoot in 24p and is cheaper. In addition, since either one can be used as a deck, you can save wear and tear on your A1 and free it up while editing.

Obviously, you don't have the amount of manual control, but from what I've read the footage looks fantastic. You might want to check out the HV-10/20 forum for more details.

Thanks Bill. Yes, I should have taken a look at the HV10 forum. Some interesting threads & I come to the conclusion that I'm not going to notice much difference if I mix some HV10 footage with XH-A1. However, I didn't realise the HV10 had no mic input. Doing pieces to camera using the HV10 onboard mic is a non-starter. I guess I could always keep the A1 running and wireless mic to that & match up the audio from the A1 to the video from the HV10 in post?

I would 100% prefer to wait for the HV20 but I'm off to Kenya first week in April so I need to get this second camera before then. No guarantees I'm going to get hold of a HV20 before first week in April. It's going to hurt buying a HV10 knowing that I probably sell it as soon as I come back & buy the HV20!

Yes, I probably would use either HV10/20 as a deck but I didn't think using the A1 as a deck would be much of a problem nowadays.

G

Gareth,

I'm in the same boat as I leave for Savannah in late March, but I'm going to have to do without the HV20 until I get back. You're right about the mic input- I forgot about that one.

Good luck with your shoot and stay away from the hippos!