What cam to buy?

[Niall Megahey]

I’m planning on buying another camera. I already have a Sony z1 and a canon hv30. My problem is weather to just buy an other Sony? Either a z1 or fx1 or to make the move forward and invest the money into a Canon 5d. I think moving forward with the times would make more sense. I think it would also be more challenging. Or should I play it safe?

[Jonathan Palfrey]

Depends what you need it for, if you want another camera for creative shots then a 5d or 7d would be best. If you need the camera for a second/third angle the a Z1 or z5 woiuld be better.

If I was you I would go for a VDSLR as this would add more to your product overall, thus better value for money. You already have a HV30 so you dont really need another angle or tape deck. I think the shallow depth of field of the VDSLR's would impress the clients alot more than having another angle.

I'm still relatively new in the wedding videography business and currently use a Z5 as main a camera and SR11 as second. Hopefully if all goes well I will purchase a 7D next year to help add more creative shots, and improve low light shots.

[Raymond Tsang]

Hi Niall - If you do get the 5Dmkii, do you still plan on shooting with the hv-30 and Z1? I've tried shooting a wedding with 3 different cameras once and the results were less than ideal and added too much unnecessary steps to my workflow. We eventually just got a few mkiis and kept the Canon XH-A1 around for backup and wideout stationary shots.

Things I love most about the mkii:
Small, compact size
Stellar colors straight out of camera
A ton of different lenses to choose from

[Dimitris Mantalias]

I'd suggest an EX1 if you can afford it. The output is excellent and it will surely be your primary camera after you try it once.

[Ethan Cooper]

what's your budget?

[Jonathan Palfrey]

I agree upgrading to an EX1 might be a good idea, only issue with that would be budget and another new workflow.

[Niall Megahey]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Raymond. I would be planning on still using the other cameras. I am happy with the quality im getting with the Z1 and the hv30 at the moment. What problems did you encounter with final output and workflow when introducing a mk2 into things?

Jonathan, I’m kind of going down the same road as your thinking. I really love the dop that you can achieve with the mk2. That’s what i really want but I just don’t know how easy it would blend it into the setup that im already using, I’m also concerned it would make the other cameras then look like crap. I think so :( I use the z1 90% of the wedding and the hv30 is only used with loads of light so the quality is good.

Dimitris & Ethan, I probably could afford either cam. But i think the ex1 is too big. I need a cam I can use on my Merlin. i don’t want to get to big and bulky.

[Dimitris Mantalias]

Originally Posted by Niall Megahey

Thanks for the comments guys.

What problems did you encounter with final output and workflow when introducing a mk2 into things?

Without having an MKII (yet), an important problem I think users may encounter, is the different framerate.

[Ken Diewert]

Originally Posted by Dimitris Mantalias

Without having an MKII (yet), an important problem I think users may encounter, is the different framerate.

Not sure which NLE Raymaond was using - but for most (all?) PC based NLE you use Cineform NeoScene or NeoHD to convert the .mov to .avi. This also converts your framerate to 29.97 from the 5d2. I've mixed an XLH1, HV30, and 5d2 without problems. In fact because of the drawbacks in recording quality audio (not so much recording, as much as monitoring), I think that (unless you're pretty darn good) the 5d2 is best used as a complimentary camera. Since using it I've found that my highlights style montages are almost entirely from the 5d2. Whereas the XLh1/Hv30 are better for covering the essentials of the ceremony and speeches.

My biggest rave about the 5d2 is superior low light performance - I mean it's not even close. With a f1.4 lens or even the f1.8 - you can nearly shoot in the dark. If you haven't seen it here's a little low light test (real world) between an HV30 and a 5d2 5Dmk2 vs HV30 low light test on Vimeo
Even without shallow dof and lens selection, this is a stellar cam. It also opens up the possibility of shooting killer stills.

This is mostly 5d2 but I had a helper on the HV30 and there is one h1 shot in there. It's a little rough and you can certainly tell the difference between the cams, the client either can't or isn't really concerned. Jennifer & Tim - Wedding Highlights on Vimeo This is the first time I've used someone else to help shoot. the last few I ran the 3 cams by myself and it was getting a little dicey.

[James Strange]

I use a Z5 as my main cam, FX7 as 2nd Cam and (up until last week) HC1 as 3rd cam

My HC1 seems to be dying on me (touch screen only working wehn flipped all the round, lots of drop outs, not accepting half the tapes i put in)

To Jonathan Palfrey

I was looking at the SR11 to replace my HC1 as I love tapeless but cant afford another large 3 chip cam.

Whats the workflow like for mixing footage from Z5 and SR11?

Do you have to convert the files from the SR11 so they;ll 'drop' into a timeline setup for Z5 files?

Can you manually controol the WB, exposure and focus on the SR11?

Sorry for the hi-jack.

James

[Dave Blackhurst]

James -
Might want to consider the successor to the SR11 - XR500V - WB is controllable, exposure control is limited, but manageable (nothing like the HC1 though), and focus is also accessable. SOny really limits the control on these little guys, but the XR has pretty solid artificial intelligence to get you good shots most of the time with limited intervention.

[James Strange]

yeah I just realised the sr range had been replaced with the xr range

I had a shot of the xr520 today, my main concern is how to you mix the footage shot on the xr520 with regular HDV1080i footage in CS3?

I'm between the xr520 and the canon 7d, both very dif cameras, but would fulfill my needs.

Main application for this new cam is mixing in with HDV footage.

Anyone comment on how to do this? With either the xr520 or the cannon 7d?

Cheers

James

[Steven Davis]

Originally Posted by Niall Megahey

I’m planning on buying another camera. I already have a Sony z1 and a canon hv30. My problem is weather to just buy an other Sony? Either a z1 or fx1 or to make the move forward and invest the money into a Canon 5d. I think moving forward with the times would make more sense. I think it would also be more challenging. Or should I play it safe?

I run a pair of Sony V1us with my Sony Z1, if I pay attention to my lighting during shoots, there's not much difference.

[Buba Kastorski]

Originally Posted by James Strange

I'm between the xr520 and the canon 7d, both very dif cameras, but would fulfill my needs.

no second thought, get 7D, you can't compare it to xr, footage is way better than EX series camcorders, if you OK with 12 min limit of 5/7D, don't even think, just get it, you'll be glad you did.

[Perrone Ford]

LOL!

Way better than EX1... mmmkay.

Let's examine the facts.

1. Resolution: EX by a mile
2. Jello: EX wins comfortably
3. Aliasing: EX wins easily
4. Moire pattern: EX wins again
5. Color: Both 4:2:0 Tie
6. Bypass internal codec: EX always hot, 5D only when not recording, 7D not sure. EX wins.
7. DOF: VDSLR by a mile
8. Continuous recording: EX can, VDSLR cannot. EX by a mile


Did I miss anything?

Yes, the VDSLR cams give beautiful shallow DOF. But right now, they are one trick ponies in that regard since they are missing so MANY elements. They will get better no question. And if you can control your lighting, movement, etc. like when shooting narrative film, you can get a TON out of them. But for event work, saying they are way better than an EX is misleading at best, and at worst, flat dishonest.