Needing help deciding upgrade
 

Hi everyone,

I have a couple of aging camcorders that I would like to upgrade and go tapeless. I also have an older imac I am editing with that I need to upgrade as well since even shooting HDV is a bit of challenge. The cameras i have are DSR-PD150, DSR-PD170 and HVR-Z1U. I have thought about upgrading all 3 or selling my standard def cameras and buying another Z1U.

Here are the cameras I have been looking at as replacements:

Canon Vixia XA10
JVC GY-HM100U
Panasonic AG-HMC80

I have to upgrade my computer as well so these are the ones in my price range. Looking for the best quality picture out of these three. I have seen good video out of all of them in online reviews, but I really don't know how they compare to each other, or how they compare to the Z1U. Do they offer better quality than the Z1, or should I keep my Z1 until I can afford a better camera. Are there any other camcorders in this price range that would be better? $0 - $2000.

Thanks
Mark

Re: Needing help deciding upgrade
 

I don't have first hand experience with any of them but from my research I think the Canon XA10 is the best $2000 on the market right now. I shot with two Sony V1U's presently.

Re: Needing help deciding upgrade
 

Mark,

I was looking at the same cameras you are considering and went with the Canon XA10. I was leaning toward getting a JVC GY-HM100 until I discovered that it's not a very good performer in low light conditions. I took the AG-HMC80 off my list of candidates as well because the lens isn't very wide - only 40mm, and I really didn't want to have to go and buy a wide-angle adapter just to get the wide-angle capability that should have been there from the beginning.

What ultimately pushed me into going with an XA10 was a recognition of three important things about the XA10:

- its wide-angle lens is as wide as the GY-HM100 and wider than the HMC80
- it comes with a handle that incorporates XLR mic inputs (on the HMC80, this is an optional item that
costs about $300.00)
-low-light performance is better than both the GY-HM100 and the HMC80.

Plus, I discovered that Henrys in Toronto (they have an online store, see henrys.ca) have the XA10 on sale - now $1799 versus the regular price of $2199, but the sale ends October 31. So needless to say, I ran down and got one before they ran out - supplies are limited, and no, I don't have any connection, financial or otherwise, with Henrys.

Re: Needing help deciding upgrade
 

Thanks for the comments so far.

I was originally thinking of the HMC80 because of the form factor and manual controls, but I know that it is a consumer or smaller camera in a bigger body and the 1/4" chips didn't impress me, although all reviews about it apart from the low light were great. I too have been looking at the XA10 very seriously, if not buying another Z1.

Thanks
Mark