Looking to buy new camera---advice needed

[Vince Halushka]

What camera would you guys recommend and why?
Price range is $2-3000.
Shooting high speed sporting events.
I currently have and like my XL1S.

thanks

[John Bosco Jr.]

Originally Posted by Vince Halushka

What camera would you guys recommend and why?
Price range is $2-3000.
Shooting high speed sporting events.
I currently have and like my XL1S.

thanks

If you like your XL1S, then why change? First of all, you did not mentioned whether or not you want to shoot in standard or high definition. Next, for a budget of 2 to 3 grand nothing will be good for shooting high speed sporting events. If your budget was twice that, you can use HVX 200 or you might even try JVC's ProHD like the 110. Of course, the HVX you will have the added expense of P2 cards. With JVC you might get motion blurring artifacts from the HDV spec, which is based on Mpeg 2 long GOP. JVC does claim that its HDV is more efficient than others. The HVX 200 uses native progressive chips and a robust DVCprohd codec, which should be the best option at the lowest price. The HVX will run you $6K with one 8 gig P2 card while their promotion lasts; however, the 100mb/s DVCprohd codec will only give you 8 minutes of high definition, 16 minutes of DVCpro50 (digital betamax quality standard definition) or you can record regular DV to tape.

I don't know if something would be better coming out of NAB. The key is to look for a native progressive camera as interlace usually doesn't handle fast motion as well as progressive. That is why some networks are settling for 720p as their choice for high definition. It's because those particular networks will be doing a lot of sports. If you're wondering why there isn't the choice to broadcast 1080p, it's because most television systems, especially ours, don't have the bandwidth to support it.

Anyway, unless you have a much bigger budget, you're best sticking with the XL1S,

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Vince Halushka

What camera would you guys recommend and why?
Price range is $2-3000.
Shooting high speed sporting events.
I currently have and like my XL1S.

thanks

You have "THE" camera in your price range, just learn all you can about how to use it and have fun!

Mike

[Heath McKnight]

I agree; for pro features at that price, you won't find an equivilant camera. If you NEED HD, maybe a used FX1 with an XLR adaptor, but you won't be able to swap lenses. The XL H1 costs $9,000, way above your budget. It's a great camera, but so is the XL1s. I can't agree more with the fine gents' advice.

heath

[Vince Halushka]

I do like the XL1S.
I am looking to add another 2 cameras so we can cover more of the river.
I was going to spend 6k on 2 cams and 2-3 big batteries each
Might be convienant to have a coupe cameras the same.

[Heath McKnight]

Find some more XL1s cameras or a couple of GL2 cameras.

heath

ps-I moved this now to the XL1/s/2 page.

[Cory Sheldon]

With the rebate that is going on right now you can get an xh-a1 for about $3150, now that is some bang for your buck.

[Heath McKnight]

Very good point, but if anyone wants the removable lens, the XL1/s/2 and XL H1 are the way to go, as are the JVC HDV cameras and the XDCAM HD camers from Sony.

heath

[Daniel Patton]

We just listed a very good condition XL1s with a 20X lens here:

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=91484

[Nick Royer]

I would recommend that you upgrade to an XL2. You already know the controls of the XL1s, so the XL2 will be a big upgrade that will be easy to make. The XL2 also provides much better picture quality than the XL1s.