Inexpensive b-cam for HD110
 

I am not sure if I am posting this in the right area. I was going back and forth as if I should post this in the Pro HD section or the Canon section, so I apologize in advance if this is the wrong category.

I am wondering what thoughts people here have about using a Canon HV30 in either 24F mode or 30F mode as an inexpensive b-cam with the JVC HD-110. I suspect there will need to be some color correction needed to help match the pictures from both cameras, but I was wondering what other thoughts people here might have.

I would do 24f and not 30f unless you are strictly doing video broadcast.

you would also have to spend time converting your 1080i 24f HDV to 720p 24p HDV. It might not be bad if you have a more modern NLE that can handle both at the same time without having to render & rerender the footage every time you make a change earlier in your timeline. I have FCS 1, and it's not workable.

Best thing is to capture all of the other format of footage, and export it as a 720p 24p hdv format then edit both footage together. My B camera is a JVC HD10, and to make a good 24p conversion (with motion adaption on best) took about 10:1 time. Meaning 10 hours of render time to 1 hour of footage. Most of that was retiming the 30p to 24p without having the ugly normal stuttering conversion. Going 24f 1080i to 24p 720p would I imagine be less intensive and therefore quicker (regardless of the GOP and size change 24 to 24 should be a lot easier). I've thought about picking up a little cheap canon HV30 myself for the same reason. I have some footage I shot with a Canon A1 24f that maybe I'll test on render times and report back.

I've been pondering that question myself. I've got a JVC HD100U and am currently using a Canon XL2 as a b-cam. I definitely need an HD camera for that and have been considering an HV30.

I'd also like an HV30 for the fact I *never* shoot any home video! It's a hassle to get out the XL2 or HD100 just for a birthday party! Maybe if I have something small like an HV30 I might actually capture some of our life...

The canon site had some downloadable HD footage of the HV20 or HV30. Looked pretty good if you didn't look too close at it. 24f, but hey it's 1/48th for $500, can't complain too much. I just pulled out my old GYHD10 from 8 years ago to shoot some footage to impress a potential buyer. Funny, looked better than I remembered, or maybe it's just that it's small and I don't feel like it's a huge deal to break it out of the closet. The new HM100 would rock, but a $500 HV30 would be a neat experiment. Lots of footage and samples here on the canon forums. Again, wish it had a Lanc... oh well.

YOU HAVE A LIFE?!?! How do I get one?

Seriously though, I thought about holding onto my Sony PD150 to do just that, then I realized I was too much of a tech snob and once I went HD, I didn't/couldn't look back. I should point out however that I don't have kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews... just immediate family and friends. I can imagine holidays around your place are packed. That would make a difference.

PS. I did just shoot my buddy's 3 year old's birthday party with my 200. Didn't mind it OTHER than the fact I STILL need to capture everything and convert it to MPEG-2 to give them a DVD...

I'm experimenting in weening people off of DVD's and going with iTunes 720p 24fps footage.

But not everyone has their computer next to their HDTV... weirdos... no 5 HD monitors plus HDTV's and 4 tripods laying against the wall next to editing station/living room. They have pictures of family and vacation and artwork.. weirdos... oh well.

I managed to play with Panasonic HDC-SD100. Picture is quite good and has a lot of adjustments- manual I will add, which makes it for a good candidate imo. Canon HF100 produces nice picture, but lack in controls. I had really hard time using manual focus. New Panny (Panasonic HDC-HS300) is a step back imo, as they buried a lot of adjustments in the menu.

what cam if you only want to shoot SD? Example, some simple footage with a couple of musicians playing just to get a second shot to edit with. Don't want to spend a lot of time editing as it's for a non-profit but want to maintain 16:9 if possible. Maybe in the $500 - $1100 range?

In that price range, I'd still get a Canon HV30. If you really want an SD-only camera, you could pick up a used Canon GL2, Panasonic DVX-100A or Sony VX2000 for the upper end of your price range.

I have the hv30 (and I used to have the gl1). I bought it as a small cam to have for our newborn baby, but it also doubles as a second camera with my hd100. What I like is that it does 24p and 30p. This works well when editing and syncing audio. I just used both cameras in October for a live event and it worked out well.

Do you edit both in the same timeline or do you take your HV30 and export it with cinetools or other software and reimport it into you HDV 720p timeline? I'm thinking about a HV30 just because, though I really want a HM100. Only a $3,000 difference... but at least I wouldn't have to cross convert and have more do-das. The HV30 does look attractive for around $500.

I use Premiere CS3 and drop the 1080 HV30 footage into my 720pHDV timeline and render...(or not. sometimes I only render on export).