Need opinion for small tv studio in 3rd world
 

hello everyone

I need to discuss this with people other than salesmen, i no longer trust their deinterested opinions.

I'm currently working in a small studio (really small> 15 ft x 24 ft x 8 ft high)with 3 JVC KY17 cameras w/ CCU and focus/zoom controls ;a sony dfs-300 switcher and recording in betacam SP and DVcam decks.
The question is that i've been told to open a similar studio but we already have a switcher with included TBC (sony dfs-300) and the decks (betacam SP- dvcam)
I have been wearing my brain off thinking in the solution. So far this are the options i'm considering.

A - Used SD camera heads with more than 700 tv lines. no ccu. no studio viewfinder or zom/focus controls.
B - New HD camcorders (Sony FX-Z1 / JVC HD100 / panasonic 200 )
C - New SD camcorders (PD170 - XL2- AGDX100)

I could spend between 15 and 20 K u$s

Our clients are very small productions, most likely second class cable content. Their shows are sometimes even broadcasted on S-vhs or VHS. But we also have the possibity to work with bigger productions as long as they can accomodate to our small instalations.


A: looks like the most reasonable. but dont like the idea of buying equipment everybody else is throwing away at not exesively attractive prices. Say, 5000 u$s for a DSR-300 w/lens or ikegami HC 240 for $ 3500 ea.

B: The furure of HDTV in my country is rather blury. At the moment about 0.5% of the people have hd ready monitors and there is no cable signal broadcasting HD material.
I like the future proof aspect. I like that they are new equipment. HD could attract customers whether they use it or not. There's the possibility of working with independent moviemakers (the only kind in my country). I think JVC HD100 would cover the future proof aspect and do a decent job in SD too. I Also like the component out (jvc - sony) for connecting to the switcher

C: I should understand that our clients and their audience wont notice a big difference between any of the options. Also consider that they pay as little as u$s 50 the hour of recording in betacam sp (this includes 1 director, 2cameraman, 1 sonidist and videographer) and get three dv camcorders probably used ones (since i wouldnt be using their transport only capturing through them) for u$s 1000 ea.


Thank you very much in advance, I would appreciate any opinion

Marcelo Moiola
Buenos Aires
Argentina

Marcelo,
It seems that you have a limited budget and you didn't mention things like studio peds or tripods. I would recommend looking for some good quailty used equipment. I have 3 Sony D35WS cameras at 850 lines. They are native 16:9 and put out great video. Anything that you do SD can be upconverted to HD. Make your studio look professional and you'll get clients. Save a little money and maybe get 1 HD camera to experiment with. I even have 2 Panasonic DV200 cameras at 800 lines. I have the same Fuji lenses on all 5 cameras. I've been able to use all 5 cameras and do a really nice production. Good luck.

If I were you, if I could find three more KY-17's I'd go for them. Unfortunately, JVC no longer produces them.

As for the prosumer cameras, I don't think you will be happy with them. They just don't have the dynamic range and image quality you will want in the future, SD or HD. And they certainly don't have the fine control over the lens you really need. Not to mention their servo-operated lenses all operate quite a bit slower and with much less control than a manual lens.

Beyond that, they don't have a video return so the camera operator can see what is really happening downstream of the switcher. And they don't have the very nice 4 or 5 inch monochrome studio display with which you can focus very well and operate the camera heads-up. Oh, and none of the prosumer cameras allow remote operation of the aperature via the CCU.

Find something like the Sony DSR-390's with their CCU capability and be able to enjoy lower power lights and some great image processing. I cannot remember if the DSR-370 had the CCU capability but if so, they would be good candidates. Don't forget to obtain the CCU to Camera cables when you buy.

Thank you very much guys
I really appreciate your help

I think i'm going to go for 1/2 in. ccds used cameras like cheap sonys dcx 576 for u$s 3500 with lens and betacam combo (remember i'm in Argentina and we are PAL)

Anyway since i've been given some time to decide i'll wait for a trial on the jvc prohd 100.

Thanx again
Marcelo Moiola