I record high school basketball games in the bay area, and just got a PD-170 for my shots off a tripod in the stands, and it works great in almost all the situations its been in, but I want a second angle from the the floor, and I spent most my money on the 170, so I thought the sony HD-1000U would be a good for those floor shots. I understand it wont be as good in low light or in general compared to the 170, since its a single chip, but im wondering if it would be good enough to edit in with the 170 and look good, or sort of close to each other. The other problem i have is my friend who would shoot on the floor, only has his right arm because of cancer, but is actually good with the 170 hand held, so i was wondering if the 1000U would be easier, or more challenging to shoot with for him? If anyone has one and could give me some advice about if it would be good for my situation, I would really appreciate it. Thank You

If you shop around, you can get a used PD170 for around what you would pay for a new HD1000, or get a VX2100 for even less. For your friend, he might try a Tiffen Steady Stick.

A new HD1000U is about $1600 at B&H. A refurbed VX2100 is about $1750 at the Sony Online Outlet, so it's a pretty close decision. If you shoot 4:3 DV with the HD1000, it should match pretty closely. Don't even think about trying to shoot widescreen with the PD170 or VX2100.

Note that the HD1000 struggles mightily in low light, as you've surmised; it always want to add 18dB of gain, which looks pretty bad. There's no way to limit the gain unless you're willing to ride the exposure dial the whole time.

I find the shoulder mount form of the HD1000 is much easier to hold and balance than the smaller form, and is much more stable, but you do need the other hand to work the ring on the lens and help point.

I recently saw a good used pd170 sell here in the classifieds for $1250.

Is there anywhere you can find used 1000U's? I know its new, but if I could get a used one I think that might be best. I think it would be easier than a steady cam stick or other steady cam for my friend if I just let it go on full auto since it isnt too good for manual anyway, and he wouldnt need to use the ring. We messed around with an old shoulder mount VCR and he could operate it smoother than any of the steady cams we tried, because over time the steady cam was tiring.

The HD1000 is too new to save much on a used one (if you could even find one). The real deals nowadays on used cameras are the SD cameras. A lot of people are selling them to go to HD. Arguably, the best deals in used SD cameras are JVC GY-DV300Us. It's a little know camera, but is a real good performing 3-1/3" camera with all the pro features. They are selling for well under $1000 and would match up very nicely with your PD170 in any decent lighting situation (like those basketball games). Of course, the PD170 is the king of 3-1/3" chippers in really dim lighting.

I just found a JVC GY-DV5000U for 2500 on craigslist. I saw that it was 3 1/2 chips so would this be my best option since I want to stay in SD for now?

Those DV500U and DV5000U cameras are a step up in camera class. You can get some gorgeous images with them. It might be overkill for shooting high school basketball though. Those are two hand cameras also. No auto focus (no OIS either). Very manual cameras.

what does OIS mean?

Optical Image Stabilization.

Ok, so it would be hard for me on the floor to be smooth, and probably impossible for my friend to operate at all. So im almost leaning towards the 1000U again. Do you know how much it weighs, it doesn't say on B&H? And how does the HD to SD down converter work on it? Would i just use regular miniDV tapes and it would record really good SD on them?

Shoulder mount helps, but you do need to be steady, shooting handheld with a DV500U or DV5000U. A monopod might work well if you were the one shooting from the floor. It would probably be almost impossible to shoot well with one of those cameras using only one hand.

I don't have an HD1000. I seriously doubt I will ever get one. I would assume it can downconvert HDV to SD out the firewire, but you will wind up with 16:9 SD (I assume). Cropping that for 4:3 will yield a a 540x480 image to cut in with the footage from your PD170. You would get a better 4:3 image by cropping the HDV, then downsampling, in post, or you could just shoot 4:3 DV with the HD1000 in the first place.

HDV cameras use MiniDV tapes. The specs are the same, even if the tape is branded as an "HDV" tape. So long as there are no dropouts, the images are absolutely identical on any MiniDV tape. It's digital, not analog.

Personally, I wouldn't think an HD1000 is a very good choice, for your purposes. I think you would get much better results from another PD170, a VX2100 or a DV300U (the DV300U being the most cost effective, by far).

Ok, so it would be hard for me on the floor to be smooth, and probably impossible for my friend to operate at all. So im almost leaning towards the 1000U again. Do you know how much it weighs, it doesn't say on B&H? And how does the HD to SD down converter work on it? Would i just use regular miniDV tapes and it would record really good SD on them?
It weighs about 6 to 7 lbs, depending on the battery.

You can shoot in DV, either 4:3 or 16:9, or you can downconvert on capture in any of three formats: squeeze, letterbox, or edge crop.

As Robert said, regular MiniDV tapes are fine.

As much as I like mine -- and I like it a lot, for the right uses -- I'd agree with Robert and say pick up another 170 or 2100 to get a better match.

thanks, ill keep checking craigslist and see if one of those comes up for a good deal.

To Adam, since you have a HD1000u, do you think it can be operated smoothly with only your right arm?

Possibly, but I always have my left hand on the focusing ring.

But it certainly is steadier than any of the smaller cams with one hand.

When you say to control the gain and keep it below 18db, you have to use the ring, does that mean i could bring the gain down with the ring to something like 9db, then leave it alone and let my friend shoot without re-adjusting, or do you have to bring the gain down from 18db more than once over a long shoot.

I'll chime in here.

I am not entirely sure how a one-armed person would be able to get the HD1000 on their shoulder easily without assistance much less put it down. It's too big. I tried to set the camera up with only my right arm and failed. Admittedly I don't have any experience living with one arm, however living with only one functional ear I could tell you much about. The smaller "brick" style cameras are easy to roll on their sides and slip your hand into although I don't know how much you would want to do that to a camera unless it was in a soft bag or on a towel. That said, once the HD1000 is on the shoulder and full auto is acceptable in the shooting situation, the camera could work.

I suggest purchasing this camera only if you are looking ahead to HDV shooting for yourself, if DV is acceptable for the near future find a good used DV camera or just buy a small consumer HD-7 (or HD-9) and shoot in DV mode. Your cameraperson will have fewer problems with this tiny camera and the image is very good.

I've got an old DVC7 (shoulder mount) sitting around here somewhere. I think I might get it out and see if I could use it one handed. It's a pretty light weight camera. I'm almost thinking it might be more stable, one handed, than a smaller from factor camera. If it is more stable, you might try looking for a used DVC10 or DVC15 (basically the same form factor, weight and handling as a DVC7, but with three 1/4" chips, rather than just one chip in the DVC7). Those cameras do give you basic manual control of iris, shutter speed and gain.

...does that mean i could bring the gain down with the ring to something like 9db, then leave it alone and let my friend shoot without re-adjusting...
Yes, you can easily do this, either through the touchscreen or the ring.

But William brings up a very good point about how to get it up on the shoulder in the first place. Hadn't thought of that.

How much does an HD1000 weigh? It doesn't say on B&H's site.

6 Lbs with no batt, about 6 1/2 w/stock batt, about 7 with the 970 batt.

I think I could make i t work because the plan is for me to shoot in the stands, my friend with one arm to shoot video from the floor, and then another friend is going to take stills with a D40x. The person shooting stills has two arms, and theyd be down on the baseline too, so i thought they could help him out, bringing it up and down off his shoulder. The person shooting stills doesnt want to shoot the video, or else that would probably make it a lot easier. Does anyone know if their are rumors of something like the 1000U coming out within the next six or eight months. Like a shoulder mount less than the DSR-250, but better than the 1000U which a lot of people dont seem to be happy with the overall image quality of, in not ideal lighting. I guess i am wondering if sony would revise the 1000U soon?

I suppose it's possible, what with the HD1000 coming from the pro division and NAB in a couple of weeks. But somehow I don't think it's likely, with the HD1000 only out since October (I think).

Still, the HC7 wasn't out long before the HC9 came along, and they dropped the FX7 in less than a year, so I suppose anything's possible.

But even if something is announced at NAB, it'll probably take a few months to get it to market. So it all depends upon your schedule.

Does anyone know if their are rumors of something like the 1000U coming out within the next six or eight months. Like a shoulder mount less than the DSR-250, but better than the 1000U which a lot of people dont seem to be happy with the overall image quality of, in not ideal lighting. I guess i am wondering if sony would revise the 1000U soon?

The Panasonic AG-HMC70 (three 1/4" CCDs) is coming out in April. We'll have to see how good it is, after it ships. Sony hasn't announced another shoulder mount. If they announced one tomorrow, it wouldn't be available for purchase in six months.

Is anyone explain and to compare the Sony HVR1000 (HDV 1/2.9-inch ClearVid CMOS) with 3CCD Cam Like Canon XL2?

What the exact differences with HDV 1/3-inch, progressive 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor ?

I planned to get either one pro-cam for wedding & Doc. production, Any recommendations for Sony HVR1000u and Panasonic AG-HMC70?

I know this is an older post but... The day I got my HD1000U, I took it and my 3CCD DSR PD170 to a local lake and shot some test footage. This was early in my relationship with my HD1000 so i am sure I could do a little better nowadays but have been too busy to do any further comparison shots. I created a short clip in Vegas downconverted to SD and rendered to WMV so that one of my colleagues could weigh in on my purchase. So for the sake of argument, here is the link on my site where you can see the comparison clip.

http://www.thevideoprofessional.com/HDVtest/