Need opinions on A1 Purchase
 

Hey guys this is my first time posting here but I have been reading the forums for more than a year now. I posted this also in the Sony forums. I'm looking for opinions on what camera to get and you all know between which ones :) either the Canon A1 or Sony V1U. I have been following both these cameras for the past couple of months and I still can't make up my mind. However I need to buy one of them this week or next week as I am about to go on a trip in May and do some shooting. I would like to know what you guys would recommend. As for the price difference, I'm not to worried about it because at B&H, it is only a $300 difference between them. But first I will let you know what I'm looking for in a camera and little background of myself.

First of all I've been filming for the past couple of years, the first camera I got was the DVX100 back in 2003. So I'm looking to upgrade now to HD and wanted to know which one of the two compares greatly to it: in terms of use, ergonomics, weight and performance. I mostly do weddings and event videography. But I also help as a volunteer for a youth group and I film their conferences (mostly held in a theater or hotel) every year. For that same youth group I do little video shorts for the talks (here is an example of the type of shoot I would do for them, it's youtube so not the best quality but you get the idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZuX857JS40). And in between the gigs I have, I like to just go out and make little movies.

So judging by my background and the type of shoots I do, what camera would you guys recommend? Here some questions I have:

1) As far as low light, I know the A1 is supposedly better than the V1U, but I wanted to know how bad is the V1U compared to it? When I was filming with my DVX100, I had the original one so I couldn't use Gain in progressive, so I'm used to having to light certain scenes. So is the V1U as low light tolerant as the DVX? Alot of the weddings have low light at the reception. But I also have a mini-frezz with a dimmer to help with lighting. Would the V1U be fine with that?

2) Which one is the sharpest between the two in progressive? I know this might be a hot debate, but in terms of picture quality, if both were shot outside in equal lighting, which one would a produce the better picture? Which one has the better progressive mode (I shoot alot in 24P)?

3) As for ergonomics, I'm used to recording hand held with the DVX and it's fine for me. However I'm looking to buying the Steadicam Merlin and would like to know which would be easier on the arms between the two. Which one would I be able to use hand held alot? How is the OIS between the 2?

4) I'm shooting a dance competition in May (here is the website so you can see the location: http://www.eastcoastdancecomp.com/) and would probably be using 60i for it, which between the two cameras would be perfect for the scene: in terms of lighting (the only light will come from stage lights) and in capturing the fluid dance movements.

5) Workflow: I use FCP at home and I wanted to know which one works the easiest with it? I was planning on buying a Firestore also so I can just record into quicktime and just import it (I was looking at Sony's HD unit but it only records to m2t and FCP seems to not support it right now, I could convert with MPEG Streamclip but that is more time taken). I understand that FCP doesn't support Sony's progressive yet.

So in conclusion guys (sorry long post). What would you guys recommend base on my background and the type of shoots I do? I'm looking for an all around camcorder that would fit my style and b easy to edit with in post. I would really appreciate all the info I can get, this community has been so helpful!