Im buying an FX1 and here are my questions...

[Liam Carlin]

These are the questions that i have.

i work as a video artist which incorporates live video with premade clips deleviered in a beat sync way with DJ's Bands, etc

so i shoot a lot of DV at the moment i then bring it into after affects and tweak and make clips.

so would there be any point in shooting in HDV then downcoverting to SD? what will the pros and cons be? i think the pros will be a better SD picture and also having the HDV footage for the future.

Cons: more time working in post, price on tapes.

in your opinion is there any point in this? thanks for you time and i hope this made sense!

:-)

[John M. Graham]

Liam,

Shooting in HDV does produce a better SD image, especially a true widescreen image. A lot of SD cameras, including prosumer ones, do not capture a native 16:9 image. So there's your first pro.

You're also future-proofing because you can enjoy an HD image for years to come.

As far as cons are concerned, you pretty much just summed it up in your post: more post time, and possibly more expensive tapes.

I suggest upgrading to 2GB of RAM if you haven't already to speed-up the editing process. Also, you don't necessarily need to edit in HD if you don't need to for your current projects. You can down convert and edit in NTSC 480.

You don't need to purchase more expensive tapes either. I use Sony Premium tapes and they work great. I only use the more expensive HDV tapes when I'm shooting something where a do-over would be impossible, but 95% of the time I just use the standard MiniDV stock.

I can't think of any more cons. You'll enjoy the FX1. But, although it's still a great camera, have you considered some of the newer cams (XH-A1, FX7/V1U)?

[Vito DeFilippo]

John pretty much covered it, except that another con is not being able to capture without using your camera. If you shoot in DV, you could use a DV deck to avoid extra head wear on the camera when capturing. Unless you buy a HDV deck, of course!

[Liam Carlin]

Thanks for the replies guys. i like the fact that there are more pros tha cons. but i have some more questions.

what i have learned so far is that the FX1 is better inlow light the FX7. is this true? The reason i ask is that i also work in nightclubs and in certain clubs there are certain lighting arrangments. sometimes its bright enough and some times in pretty much pitch black!

also i should be upgrading to 2gb of ram in the next 3 weeks or so. im also excited about that.

had the v1u been released yet and is there a price on it? i cant seem to find one but there are many reviews.

also would the v1u be even better than the fx1 in low light? and it seems if the audio on v1u is also better than the fx1? is this correct?

and one last question. when downconverting (as i have never done this before) will it automatically do this when i am capturing to premiere or will i capture hd and then convert?

Thanks again your help has been greatly appreciated! thanks!

[Boyd Ostroff]

Hi Liam and welcome to DVinfo. Sorry I can't help with the computer questions because I'm on the Mac. However all of the Sony HDV cameras are capable of converting your HDV tape to regular DV on playback (using the i.LINK CONV menu option), so this allows you to shoot HDV and capture as regular DV if desired.

The V1U is the NTSC version which is sold in the US. Since you're in the UK I'd assume you would be looking at the V1E which is the PAL version. Unlike the Z1U which can shoot both NTSC and PAL, the V1 has separate versions for each system, like the FX1.

Visit our V1 forum to learn more about this camera: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=140 and also see the comparison chart which Douglas Spotted Eagle has provided comparing the V1 and FX7. Many of these differences are similar to the V1 vs FX1 also: http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/ar...comparison.htm

There has been a lot of discussion about the FX1/Z1 vs V1/FX7 in low light and it appears that the V1/FX7 are slightly slower. Browse through the forum mentioned above and you will find some discussion.

You don't mention what camera you currently use. I have VX-2000, PDX-10 and a Z1. I find the PDX-10 is about 2.5 f-stops slower than the VX-2000 and the Z1 is perhaps 1.5 f-stops slower than the VX-2000. However the gain boost is very clean on these newer cameras and that helps narrow the gap. You can shoot at +6dB, possibly even +9dB with little if any noticeable noise. For dark stage shows I often use +12dB and find it acceptable... even +15dB sometimes.

The V1 has been shipping for awhile now. Visit our sponsor's websites to get info on price and availability: http://www.dvinfo.net/sponsors/

[Liam Carlin]

Hi Boyd, thanks for the reply. im goingn to check out the premeire forum to see about the downconverting but ive read about the i-link and it will probs be the same. also im making the change to mac in the next year (thank god)

and thanks for pointing me in the direction of the v1e. no wonder i couldnt find any uk reatailers for the v1u. next time i'll use my common sense.

im also going to be reading the discussions on the FX1/Z1 vs V1/FX7 and tbh what i also like about the fx1 is the price. How many years will it take until it becomes outdated?

also the camera that i am currently using is a VX1000. its also rare that i use this camera as i dont own it. its a shame but with me buying my new camera i will be able to learn a lot more.

Thanks for you time :-)