Are these TRUE HD?
 

Are all these camaras listed in this section "TRUE" high defenition? Because I heard in a couple places that some camras like the canon line is not "TRUE" HD... Help...I want to switch to HD but am not sure what camaras I should be looking at...Any suggestions...Thanks

All of the cameras are indeed true HD. HD is a specification. Any camera capable of shoot at I think it is greater than 525 ? lines of resolution is HD. They may not be or look like Cinealta HD, but they are indeed HD.

Mike

Dont believe that crap. That is like saying DV isn't real SD because it is compressed or that a DVD isn't real SD video. HDV cameras are real HD. They sure as heck are not SD that is for sure. It may not be as rich and detailed as a $100,000.00 HD camera but then again neither was DV when compared to a $35,000.00 Digibeta camera even though both were SD.

The Canon XL-H1 has been used side by side with the $100,000.00 cameras with very very good results so you shouldn't be too worried about it.

This debate has been raging since HDV was introduced, largely because people with expensive HD cameras don't want to accept that a sub-$5K camera can produce useful high-definition video. Of course there's a difference between an inexpensive HDV camera and an expensive HD broadcast camera, but that doesn't mean one is "true" HD and one isn't. For some applications a certain level of camera and image quality may be required, and you should understand this when choosing an HD camera, but other than that "true" HD is a matter of interpretation.

While all of the above is of course true, but one mustn't forget Sony executive Phil Harrison, who got a little over-excited at the prospect of 1080p60 during Sony's Tokyo Game Show PlayStation 3 preview:

Quote: "The PlayStation 3 is the only format that can do full HD, true HD."

Ok ..so which camara would you guys suggest I should be looking at?

thanks

All of them. Go to the store and put them all in you hands and see what feels good to you. The four main manufacturers Sony, Pany, JVC and Canon all have great cameras. Establish your budget and determine your requirements then make a decision based on that.

Mike

What are you planning to do? If you're going to be doing broadcast TV work you might want to look at the Panasonic HVX200 or Sony XDCAM HD; if you're shooting weddings and such try any of the 3-chip HDV cameras. If you're planning to shoot a movie try the Silicon Imaging SI-1920 or get in line to buy "Red" when it ships.

Javier,

Just so we can make this post somewhat useful to all, what is your total budget? Camera, tripod & head, lights, stands, audio equipment, cases, computers and software------and all?

What can you spend?

Mike

Or the Canon XL-H1 and XH-G1 since they were designed for braodcast.

Well, actually what I am doing is upgrading. I currently have 2 GL2's which I wanted to replace with new HD camaras. I work with FCP and have a MAC computer. Which I will also be upgrading for more ram...So I really only have to spend money on the camaras and upgrading the apple. For the camras I basicly want to get a good product for good money (doesn't everyone.). But I like to spare no expense because I have noticed if I go cheap I pay in the long run..Now I can't spend no 10,000 dollars on one camara..I would be looking around spending around 2,000 maybe a bit more per camara...

If you're referring to the fact that the XL-H1 and XH-G1 have HD-SDI outputs for use in a broadcast studio setting that's true, but for field use most broadcast folks seem to prefer other recording formats besides HDV.

The best HD camera under $2000 is probably the Sony A1U, but for professional purposes you'd be better off spending a little more for the FX1 or FX7.

I have the Sony HVR-A1 and in good light it looks almost the same as the FX1 or Z1. The FX1 looks quite a bit better in low light, but you can work around that.

What about the canon XH A1?

And here's a real surprise. I bought my wife a Canon HV10. I have the JVC HD110. That little HDV camcorder spits out a great 1080i picture. It's 1920X1080 CMOS sensor is on par or better than with Sony HDV like the FX-1. Actually I like the Canon picture better than the Sony.

I was very surprised (although the reviews are relatively good) when I hooked it up to a HDTV and pushed play. Not any noise to speak of. And some manual control is available too.

Some of these sub $1500 camcorders are putting out pretty good HDV material.

I bought an HC1 to test the waters. I've used it on about four professional shoots now. I will continue to do so until I get something with better manual controls, (either a Canon A1 or the Sony V1U).

It's not a professional camcorder, but the image quality is worth it.

When viewed on my Sony Bravia LCD, the image quality is just as good or exceeds that of the Hi-Def channels I get with my cable service. In my experience it is HD.

Let me add to this, it's possible some of the training jobs I've done with this camera will still be viewed ten years from now, and I'm certain it will hold up to whatever monitor it is viewed from.

Laurence is so very right here, and I have shot several test images to demonstrate there is very little practical difference (except in low light) between the little A1 and the larger FX1/Z1. The only two things I don't like about the A1 is poor low-light performance and no true 24P. But given how small and light it is, it's a champ in it's class. No fair comparing it to more expensive cameras. That's another game all together.

I was recently helping out a friend who uses a SONY DSR-500 2/3" chip DVCAM camera who broke his leg and I spent some time to compare his camera with my sad little SONY HC1. I wanted to do this because most people have been comparing 1/3" DV to 1/3" HDV and I wanted to see what a very highend SD camera would do compared to HDV. Well I can say that even though the DSR-500 is clearly a much better camera in terms of optics and pretty much everything else, my little HC1 beat the crap out of it in terms of detail. Even when I scaled down to SD resolution the HC1 just blew away what the DSR-500 could do. My friend said the DSR-500 looked like it handled contrasts better but then again we were comparing a 1/3" single chip with very bad controls to a 2/3" 3 chip camera. A good HDV camera with great chips and great optics will easily blow away even the most high end SD cameras. I even think my HC1 beat the pants off of the high end SD camera and that is pretty much the bottom of the pile of HDV.

Yes my friend has better controls and for the most part will shoot better material due to the way the camera handles but if shot right the HC1 in the right environment will blow it away.

Just to note this test was done indoors and not in bright sunlight where HDV will always look good. I did this indoors because I figured the DSR-500 would have had the edge on an indoor shoot but it still fell way behind.