Camera decision for sceneries at DVinfo.net

Patrick Benda · January 27th, 2007, 07:50 AM

Hello gents
I am hopping to pick someone brains on this one.
First I have read through all the threads and waited quite a bit to post my question without retracing any previous discussion.
I am a ship captain in the US Merchant Marine and spend an average of 6 to 8 months home in vacations, so plenty of time to spare. As a college student I did a lot of stills and at one time got a gig with a local paper, and succesfully took what I call the pretty pictures( the one they used on the sunday front page). Now forward to a few months ago, I am about to live on a trip to antartica and picked up a small HC3 for memories, the trip got delayed and I started to go out every day and filmed the video equivalent to my pretty pictures of my early days.
An idea sprung as I have a few connections with a few local TV stations. I could on my spare time peddle my shots as most of the stations will go HD soon and might be interested in shots a la Discovery channel Sunrise Earth.
Now I am sure I am not the only one to think of this idea and the decisive factor will be the quality of the images. So there is my question which camera do you think could be the best tool for my endeavour?
I like the HC3 for its pure portability and the right on the spot availability for a shot but easily can see its limitations(good though for the kids cute events), on the other end of the scope I see breathtaking footage on Discovery taken with with the f900(not in the running unless I want to sleep in the dog house) and some taken with the XDcam which could be in my budget, and cheaper than the Ferrari I threaten my wife with as my midlife crises toy.
A F330 seem to be a marvelous tool but quite a load to haul around the woods, but if it is the best for PQ let's be it, or is there something else I should consider which would give me the edge in picture quality, without the weight of the XDcam.
Sorry if my post is a bit on the long side but I wanted to make it as complete as I could and let you have as much infos necesssary to be able to guide me in a decision.
Thanks for any feedback you may have
Cheers
Patrick

Peter Rhalter · January 27th, 2007, 07:18 PM

Why don't you contact the media outlets you want to sell to and ask them what are interested in and what their requirements are? Better to know than to guess before you buy the equipment.

Best wishes,
Peter
_______________________
http://www.parkfilms.com

Dale Guthormsen · January 27th, 2007, 10:59 PM

Patrick,
Were I to go out and buy an hd video camera that was portable and higher end I would consider the Sony fx7 or the canon XH a1. Similar in size to the canon gl2 which is easily portable and takes great fotage.

Patrick Benda · January 28th, 2007, 08:56 AM

Thanks Gents
I do apologize as rereading my question the whole affair seems a bit complicated and vague, but the basic intent was there as I was trying to figure out from users if a choice like the A1, or the fx7 would provide amazing image quality, or one need to step up to larger units like the XDcams in order to achieve this result . I am aware of the stations requirements, and both units would satisfy them.
Thanks anyhow I will further research the A1/G1 setups.
Cheers
Patrick

January 27th, 2007, 07:50 AM	#1
Patrick Benda New Boot Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Myersville MD Posts: 14	Camera decision for sceneries Hello gents I am hopping to pick someone brains on this one. First I have read through all the threads and waited quite a bit to post my question without retracing any previous discussion. I am a ship captain in the US Merchant Marine and spend an average of 6 to 8 months home in vacations, so plenty of time to spare. As a college student I did a lot of stills and at one time got a gig with a local paper, and succesfully took what I call the pretty pictures( the one they used on the sunday front page). Now forward to a few months ago, I am about to live on a trip to antartica and picked up a small HC3 for memories, the trip got delayed and I started to go out every day and filmed the video equivalent to my pretty pictures of my early days. An idea sprung as I have a few connections with a few local TV stations. I could on my spare time peddle my shots as most of the stations will go HD soon and might be interested in shots a la Discovery channel Sunrise Earth. Now I am sure I am not the only one to think of this idea and the decisive factor will be the quality of the images. So there is my question which camera do you think could be the best tool for my endeavour? I like the HC3 for its pure portability and the right on the spot availability for a shot but easily can see its limitations(good though for the kids cute events), on the other end of the scope I see breathtaking footage on Discovery taken with with the f900(not in the running unless I want to sleep in the dog house) and some taken with the XDcam which could be in my budget, and cheaper than the Ferrari I threaten my wife with as my midlife crises toy. A F330 seem to be a marvelous tool but quite a load to haul around the woods, but if it is the best for PQ let's be it, or is there something else I should consider which would give me the edge in picture quality, without the weight of the XDcam. Sorry if my post is a bit on the long side but I wanted to make it as complete as I could and let you have as much infos necesssary to be able to guide me in a decision. Thanks for any feedback you may have Cheers Patrick

January 27th, 2007, 10:59 PM	#3
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Patrick, Were I to go out and buy an hd video camera that was portable and higher end I would consider the Sony fx7 or the canon XH a1. Similar in size to the canon gl2 which is easily portable and takes great fotage. __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

January 27th, 2007, 07:18 PM	#2
Peter Rhalter Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 192	Why don't you contact the media outlets you want to sell to and ask them what are interested in and what their requirements are? Better to know than to guess before you buy the equipment. Best wishes, Peter _______________________ http://www.parkfilms.com

January 28th, 2007, 08:56 AM	#4
Patrick Benda New Boot Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Myersville MD Posts: 14	Thanks Gents I do apologize as rereading my question the whole affair seems a bit complicated and vague, but the basic intent was there as I was trying to figure out from users if a choice like the A1, or the fx7 would provide amazing image quality, or one need to step up to larger units like the XDcams in order to achieve this result . I am aware of the stations requirements, and both units would satisfy them. Thanks anyhow I will further research the A1/G1 setups. Cheers Patrick