Not completely sure what your issue was, but there are a few things on the PD-150 which have been improved on the newer Sony cameras. The PD-150 in manual mode has an iris that moves in noticeable "bumps" as you turn the wheel. The PD-170 improved on this by doubling the number of discrete iris settings from 12 to 24 (iirc). The iris wheel on the HVR-Z1 is a huge improvement on this also, and it allows smooth adjustment of aperture as you shoot live and a much better tactile feel to the knob.

Another issue you might have run into if you were using the analog outputs on the PD-150 is that they don't add the correct amount of setup. The result is that everything looks too dark when connecting a monitor to the s-video port. This has been extensively discussed over the years.

I can't address your JVC questions, but I think it might be a little harsh to judge Sony by the 5 year technology you were using which wasn't intended for manual operation in a live analog environment. The PD-150 has certainly earned its place in broadcast ENG though and has gone where larger cameras wouldn't have been able to.

Thanks Carl. I cannot fathom having this problem when I buy a new camera. I definitely learned today "pro-sumer" is NOT in any way shape "professional". Today I learned the difference. 15 years doing this with Sony Betacams and NEVER a problem for live shots. NEVER. DARN (being polite) I was absolutely beside myself with this pd150. Do you have a link to the IDX promo? I'll search, but am feeling lazy at the moment. Sorry to rant people, but the stress level was 1000 today. I'm finally cooling off. NEVER again though. UGh.
MB

I apologize being so harsh on the Sony. I have tons of friends who use them and love them. Today I had one of my friends bring his pd150 in for my live shot. He's the expert on this camera. I am not. The "bumps" in Iris you speak of WAS the problem. There was NO in between. Not even close. It was somewhat obvious on our monitor, and DEFINTELY obvious with the engineer on the other end. Who's English was terrible by the way so that made things even worse. Complaints to hell and high water though. I simply gave him a BNC to RCA adapter for the output. What he did with the camera setup only he knows. But he's been using this camera forever, so I'm sure he knows what he was doing. Again I didn't mean to be harsh. It sounds like a PD-170 would have been just fine for our needs. We didn't have one available. Again the frustration today has been huge for me, and getting yelled at in a foreign language is tough. And live television. As is having an unhappy client. My bad for being so negative.
MB

Hi Mike,

See the bottom of this page for promos on both the GY-HD110U and the GY-HD200U: http://pro.jvc.com/prof/special_offers.jsp

Go for the GY-HD200U if you can swing the extra cost. It's well worth it. See this page for a comparison of the models: http://pro.jvc.com/pro/attributes/HD...amcorders.html

Regards,

Thanks Carl. Make no mistake, I'm not saying the the pd-150 is terrible. It's a great camera, as is the entire Sony lineup. The pd-150 just didn't suit my needs and I paid the price. Apparently a pd-170 would have been just fine. I don't mean to attack a certain camera or brand. Just a frustrating day. Thanks again.
MB