Sony or Panasonic ?
 

I was about to pull the trigger for an Sony EX-3 with Nanoflash or KiPro mini,
( for croma key) then I saw some reviews for the Panasonic AG-HPX370 now
I don’t know. Yes I know the Panasonic has 1/3rd sensors but it looks like ,
from the reviews, that it equals the EX-3 in low light, noise and especially skew.
The Panasonic has 4:2:2 and AVC-Intra 100 so you eliminate the Nanoflash
or KiPro, also right now they have a $2000 rebate. I have always had Sony but am willing to change, I don’t have any experience with Panasonic equipment. I film weddings, sports and corporate work. Edit with FCP.
Any thoughts?
Thanks Scott

EX3, EX1r, HPX370, XF300?
 

Scott,
The consensus is that 4:2:2 encoding and high bit-rate results in better quality Chroma-Keying. And a shoulder-mount design like the HPX370 would probably work better for weddings. With the Panasonic, you won't need the awkwardness of attaching a recorder, external monitor, and maybe additional batteries. Another camcorder to consider would be the Canon XF300 (or XF305). It has 4:2:2 encoding, and records at 50 Mb/s. Not quite as high bandwidth as Panasonic's 100 Mb/s, but still darn good. Of course, it does not have interchangable lenses, but do you really need that?

Just my 2 cents,
Ken

Thanks Ken, I thought I had this all figured out, I have always bought Sony so I guess
I have some brand loyalty. I would like to stay with Sony but if I can find a system that
works as well and has less peripherals to deal with then it would be silly to stay with
something just because..... I guess I need to rethink, Canon, JVC, maybe wait until
NAB but then the rebates expire.Hmmm.... maybe they are trying to tell me something.

Light sensitivity
 

Something I forgot to mention.....
The Sony EX1R and EX3 have 1/2 inch sensors, which should allow slightly better low-light performance than the other models I mentioned, which have 1/3 inch sensors. I've never done weddings, but those who have tell me that wedding receptions often have very low light levels.
Ken

Ken, the only thing you can count one at weddings is low light. Most
people ( brides ) don’t mind a on camera light. The low light was one
of the main reasons for going with the EX3 but the tests I read said
the Panasonic had the same or very close low light capabilities as
the Sony with lower noise. Sound to good to be true. I need someone
with real world experience with both cameras, I know that’s a lot to ask
but if anyplace would have it it’s Dvinfo.