HC1 - can I use PDX-10 accessories?

[John Miller]

Hello,

I sense the impending purchase of an HDV camcorder since my venerable PDX-10 is showing serious signs of age that will cost a small fortune to put right.

I am considering the HDR-HC1 - I've seen some sample clips and am very impressed. I'm reading the user manual right now(!)

One thing I would like to be able to do is to use my existing PDX-10 accessories. Does anyone know if any of them will fit/work with the HC1 (e.g., the XLR microphone module)?

Thanks,

John.

[Chris Hull]

Originally Posted by John Miller

Hello,

I sense the impending purchase of an HDV camcorder since my venerable PDX-10 is showing serious signs of age that will cost a small fortune to put right.

I am considering the HDR-HC1 - I've seen some sample clips and am very impressed. I'm reading the user manual right now(!)

One thing I would like to be able to do is to use my existing PDX-10 accessories. Does anyone know if any of them will fit/work with the HC1 (e.g., the XLR microphone module)?

Thanks,

John.

the pdx-10 was replaced by the hvr-a1 as far as i know,this cam is the pro version of the hc1[i still have a hc1]i dont know where you can purchase a new hc-1 now [but i see refurbished ones are being sold in us]but the a1 is still on the market.regarding accessories any lenses would not be up to hd,not sure if the xlr module can be fitted the hc1 has an active interface shoe for mikes lights etc.once you could get an adaptor to allow mikes like rode ones etc to be fitted.good luck

[Mark Nevnor]

My PDX10 has a hot pixel that would cost too much for me to repair so I'm looking at the HC5. Why are you looking at the HC1?

BTW, anyone want to purchase a PDX10 with one hot pixel? :D

[John Miller]

Originally Posted by Mark Nevnor

My PDX10 has a hot pixel that would cost too much for me to repair so I'm looking at the HC5. Why are you looking at the HC1?

BTW, anyone want to purchase a PDX10 with one hot pixel? :D

I'm looking at the HC1 mainly out of ignorance of HDV camcorders. Thanks to Chris (thank you!), I have started looking at the HVR-A1 instead (very similar). I have two main requirements:

1. Works with my large number of batteries + Sony charger (the expensive one)
2. Be able to get an affordable underwater housing for it. Thankfully, there are such things and they are from a manufacturer (Ikelite) from whom I already have two housings (I've accumulated too much stuff!) so I can use the existing underwater lighting system.

Together, these options will probably save me $500.

Re your hot pixel, I had the entire LCD unit fail. There was a short on one of the flexible PCBs that connect to the actual LCD. Just that part alone would have been $400 not including the $130/hr labor. So, for $35 I got a service manual and opened the camcorder (not for the faint-hearted) - an amazing sight to see how much stuff gets crammed in there.

When looking up the replacement part, I found it is exactly the same as used for the TRV50. I managed to get a TRV50 off eBay for $200 and salvaged its LCD panel. The rest of the TRV50 I have used for playback of existing tapes, including DVCAM amazingly enough.

[Mark Nevnor]

Originally Posted by John Miller

When looking up the replacement part, I found it is exactly the same as used for the TRV50. I managed to get a TRV50 off eBay for $200 and salvaged its LCD panel. The rest of the TRV50 I have used for playback of existing tapes, including DVCAM amazingly enough.

So you were able replace it with the TRV50 LCD Panel? Was this difficult? Sony now has a flat-rate of $550 for any repair on the PDX10. I said screw it & started opting for the lower line HDs which should suit my needs now.

[John Miller]

Originally Posted by Mark Nevnor

So you were able replace it with the TRV50 LCD Panel? Was this difficult? Sony now has a flat-rate of $550 for any repair on the PDX10. I said screw it & started opting for the lower line HDs which should suit my needs now.

$550 flat-rate - I thought I'd heard that but on their website (pro/broadcast) you had to send it in for an estimate. Perhaps I'll revisit the option.

Replacing the panel was straightforward as long as you are comfortable with such things. Two screws to separate the whole display unit from the hinge, four screws to take the panel out of the housing, two cable connectors, a couple more screws to lift the circuit board out and two ribbon connectors that send the signals to the LCD panel itself. It took me about 30 minutes to take the defunct one out and put the replacement in. Since my PDX10 has almost bitten the dust just recently, I have switched the panel back to the TRV50 so that I have a fully functioning unit until I decide what to do with the PDX10. You only need one tool - a cross-headed precision screwdriver.


EDIT - I just saw your post from October (while Googling!) - I think I may have misunderstood - is it a hot pixel in the CCD rather than the LCD display?

[Dave Blackhurst]

John -
I believe the FM series batteries and charger are compatible, and you should look at the HVR A1 for the XLR, as the A1 has a cold shoe, the HC1 just the iAS <sp?>, which you can get a cold shoe adapter for. 37mm thread size is the same IIRC, but as noted you'll probably want to upgrade to the HG lenses if you don't have them.

As far as the housing, I'd be surprised if it's compatible, but perhaps it can be adapted - the HC1/A1 is a longish beast, so check the length with battery.

HTH

[John Miller]

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

John -
I believe the FM series batteries and charger are compatible, and you should look at the HVR A1 for the XLR, as the A1 has a cold shoe, the HC1 just the iAS <sp?>, which you can get a cold shoe adapter for. 37mm thread size is the same IIRC, but as noted you'll probably want to upgrade to the HG lenses if you don't have them.

As far as the housing, I'd be surprised if it's compatible, but perhaps it can be adapted - the HC1/A1 is a longish beast, so check the length with battery.

HTH

Thanks, Dave.

The housing in mind is a new one for the HC1/A1 and is considerably cheaper than the fantastic Light and Motion one I have for my old SC100. I'd really like another Light and Motion housing but $6000 is rather too much especially when they have discontinued the HC1/A1 model.

[Mark Nevnor]

Originally Posted by John Miller

EDIT - I just saw your post from October (while Googling!) - I think I may have misunderstood - is it a hot pixel in the CCD rather than the LCD display?

Yes, Hot or Dead Pixel in the CCD unit. That or dust. Can dust be a culprit? Why I'm confused is that the pixel is white so how can you have a white hot pixel on a 3 CCD unit? Wouldn't it be the color of the CCD unit that had the problem?

[John Miller]

Originally Posted by Mark Nevnor

Yes, Hot or Dead Pixel in the CCD unit. That or dust. Can dust be a culprit? Why I'm confused is that the pixel is white so how can you have a white hot pixel on a 3 CCD unit? Wouldn't it be the color of the CCD unit that had the problem?

Maybe it has something to do with the color sampling. The CCDs detect R, G, and B but these have to be converted to YCrCb with 4:1:1 chroma sampling (for NTSC DV). I can imagine that if, say, there is a dead green pixel and it doesn't fall at one of the chroma pixels, then the luma might end up a high level of gray.

BTW, I looked at my service manual and you have to replace the CCD sensor module which is separate from the lens module. Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of replacing it - the new CCD module has to be aligned optically and the electronics adjusted to match the new CCD arrays unique responses. The latter point makes it unviable without the expensive test equipment etc.