Any solid state high end HD cam on the horizon?
 

Hi:

Ok, tape may still be well and alive some time, but I think solid state will eventually replace tape. I have a Canon XH-A1 and am looking towards the future of this cam.

Problem is that the most recent iteration of the MacBook series has no firewire, so when I eventually will replace my laptop, then I've got to find some alternative, either an alternative method of transferring data from tape or an alternative camera with solid state storage.

Are there any compact flash based high end HD cams on the market? Or any rumors?

Thanks, Erik

What do you mean by "high end"? The Panasonic HPX3000 is pretty high end and uses P2, but it's £40,000. Or PDW700 at £20,000 uses XDCam HD disks.How "high end" are you looking at? Also Thomson Grass Valley Infinity uses CF cards and RevPro.
Steve

And there's always the RedOne...

Ok, not that high
 

OK, I've got a Canon XH-A1. About that range. Ideally a solution that would allow me to choose compressed (as HDV) or uncompressed HD. Since there is no longer the limitation of write speed imposed by tape this should be possible.

BR, Erik

Well, the Sony EX1 and EX3 write to solid state (proprietary SxS cards or SDHC). They can record 25 mbs 1440x1080 HDV or 35 mbs 1920x1080 interlaced or progressive , as well as 720p, all at various frame rates.

That the kind of thing you were thinking about?

In that price range your best bet is the Panasonic HMC150. it's an extremely capable cam. That's what I would get with your stated budget.

Next up from there in solid state is the Pana HPX170 at about $5,000. THen the Sony EX1 at just over $6,000.

JVC has new flash based cams out soon as well, but do not know their specifics or pricing.

Out of those I'd say the EX1 if you can afford it, the HMC150 if you can't. By the time you've bought memory for the 170 to give a sensible recording time, it'll be way more than the EX1, which can use cheap SDHC memory like the 150.

I'd say the 170 is similar quality to the 150 (but costs a lot more with memory) and is outperformed by the EX1, whilst costing more

JVC is releasing two next month. shoots 720p HDV-1 and XDCAM-EX 35mbs all formats in PC and quicktime wrappers to cheap SD cards.

HD Cameras

GY-HM700U

GY-HM100U