Upgrading.. GY HM700 or XDCAM PDW335?
 

Hi all,

When in doubt, turn to the DV info community... After 3 years with my HD111, I think it's time to start thinking about upgrading. I think the choice is between the HD700 and the PDW335 XDCAM.

I shoot news and docs. The JVC wins on ergonomics, build quality, etc. The SD cards slot straight into my Macbook Pro. The SXS option is fantastic. There are some really good lenses out there now. And it is about £3,000 cheaper than the XDCAM.

But... that low light thing on the JVC is killing me. And the lousy depth of field that is a consequence. Those 1/3rd inch chips are just a problem. If JVC would only put 1/2 inch CMOS chips in the 700, it would be an absolute no-brainer.

Anyone worked with both cameras? Anyone got any thoughts on the way forward? I'm not in a hurry, but I'm moving towards a decision in the next couple/few months.

All thoughts gratefully considered.

Best wishes to all

R

Also if you're not in a rush it might be worth waiting to see what Canon are about to deliver.
Steve

Would you realy say the JVC wins on ergonomics and build quality? I'd say just the opposite.
In terms of picture quality there perhaps wouldn't be too much in it.
Mainly comes down to whether you want a full size cam or a smallish one, and whether you want solid state or discs.
I used an F355 and PDW700 for a while and the disc situation was really nice. They are getting on a bit now though, and the world seems to be moving to solid state.
Also JVC does variable speeds if that's of use.
Steve

you should check out the
 

Panasonic HPX offerings for solid state stuff.

If you were going the GYHM700, you should also purchase something like the Convergent design Nanoflash using CF cards to record , you'd then have a light weight 4:2:2 recording solution with mulitple record rates to suite possible long form recording requirements. If you bought the HD251 instead, you could still have a tape master if things really went wrong, even though it would be 19.8mpbs.

I think as far as 1/3 camera's, the JVCs are a great camera. But if your going outlay the cash, you really need a jump in quality to justify your outlay. To me that means go larger chip to get more sensetivity and less noise, and something that has good workflow/user base. You don't want to buy a camera system that only a few NLE's support, and it's not the one you use, and your system can't handle it anyway etc etc.

Look at the purchase from a perspective of looking at the whole picture, I would love a PDW800, I have a HD251e. Can I afford the Sony, not at this moment, one day maybe, or something better. I guess the advantage if you go the Nano flash route now, it's something you keep and use no matter what camera you buy, as long as they HDSDI output.

Good luck with your hunting!

The chip set is really important, but so is the workflow. I've worked with the 700's in a FCP new evnironment and it couldn't be easier: shoot, transfer, import, edit. The SxS takes care of the PC side and the camera shoots multiple flavors of HD (720/1080). By the second disc you go through you'll be tired of the disc based system; despite the excellent camera and larger chips. In my opinion, if the PDW had a solid state media workflow then it would be a no brainer. But I would never go back to a tape/disc based system at this point. JVC did an excellent job with their FCP integration on the 700 and I think that the 700 is the overall better choice.

Also, they've cleaned up a lot of the low-light problems from the early models. It's still not as clean or bright as a sony, but it will pass for usable news footage now. I feel like the early models are unusable in low-light situations. My personal camera right now is the 100 and going from the 100 to the 700 is like night and day. Also, the viewfinder and lcd quality is much better.

Hi Robert,

I use an old Sony PDW 350 every day both in SD & HD with a cheap SD Fujinon lens and love using this camera over my Sony EX1.
The camera feels good on my shoulder and I love CCD's over CMOS chips.
The work flow is so easy. Four channels of audio is also a big bonus.

Cheers