Can HDV cameras shoot SD?
 

I know it might sound like a newbie question... but I don't have an HDV camera to play around with. I was thinking about getting either the Sony HC3 or the Canon HV10. I was wondering if both of these cameras can shoot in SD. I'm asking because I'd like to get one as a back up to help shoot my own wedding (along side my GL2) but I would also like to use HD for other things as well =) So any info on recommendations and what not would be helpful.
Thanks!

I'm not 100% positive about the Sony HC3, but I believe that all the Sony HDV cams allow you to downconvert from HDV to DV when transferring footage to your computer.

There's two ways of looking at this:

"I want a camera that shoots HD, but can also shoot SD"

"I want a camera that shoots HD, but can also convert the HD I've shot to SD for me to edit now, whilst keeping HD rushes I can pull in again later so I can make my work HD"

Pretty much all HDV camcorders (and the HVX200) will do the first option.

Not all do the second, which, in my humble opinion, is a killer feature. I know the Sonys do it. I know the JVC HD100 doesn't do it. Please do check that the Canon does it.

On the other hand, HD (ipso facto HDV) is widescreen 16:9 format. Your SD, being US based, will want to be (I'm guessing here) 4:3 squarish standard format. Therefore the convertion down from HD to SD will also need to crop the left and right portions of the image. Now this is a pretty powerful feature and the High End Sonys (Z1, A1) do this, but the consumer versions (FX1, HC1) don't - if I remember correctly, which I probably don't, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Hv 10
 

Yes the HV10 will down convert HD to SD on Capture, as well as shoot SD 16x9, or SD 4x3.

*e

May I ask specifically if it will downconvert HD (16:9) to SD and crop the edges to 4:3?

But you can't edit in SD and then, by some process, recapture as HD and drop in timeline, right?

And what do you think the best way to edit? Native, non-native, etc?

I hear the codecs make it easier to edit (but huge storage necessary), but I've been reading many posts and some say simple cuts etc are easy in native and there's way less storage. But does one have to render with every cut?

thanks,
elmer

the HV10 has a specific shooting mode for 4:3 (as well as 16:9) SD. so you don't need to down-convert or render. just output straight from the camera. and no, upconverting to HD from SD isn't nearly as good as downconverting HD to SD. so you're better of shooting HDV and downrezzing to SD, rather than the other way other. in that case, you will have long-ish render times, depending on your computer's processing speed....