What Should I Do? at DVinfo.net

Danny Fye · April 14th, 2009, 08:59 PM

I have 2 Sony HC-1 cameras, 2 Focus Enhancements Firestore FS-4 HD’s and 2 of those proat things that allow the cams to be higher on the tripod so that one can load/unload the tape and batteries. Similar to the large base ones at

DM-Accessories - PROAT - bottom loading adapter for professional tripods

What I need to know is, should I sell the whole thing and get me 2 new Sony HDR-XR520V’s or just keep what I have?

Thanks in Advance,

Danny Fye
VidMus Video - Music Productions

Graham Hickling · April 14th, 2009, 11:21 PM

Not a lot to go on there .... tell us what in particular is attracting you to the XR520Vs?

Danny Fye · April 15th, 2009, 05:56 AM

Going by the specs and reviews, the much better low light capabilities without a 'snow storm' is what I need.

I do a lot of Church and theater videos and while the theater can be anything from a to z in the amount of light, the church is usually low all of the time.

Recently a theater video had some scenes that were quite low and had a lot of blue in the lights which is extra bad for the HC-1 when it comes to noise and well, it took a lot of extra work flow and filtering to make a descent video from those scenes.

I figure that if I have better low light capabilities in the first place especially with the reduced noise that I can achieve my goals and not have to spend as much time working at it.

Also, since the hard drives are in the cameras I would have less equipment to carry and connect. No more concerns about the cable to recording unit.

I wish I could afford to buy and test the new cam but the money is simply not there and would not be unless I sell the old equipment first.

Danny Fye
VidMus Video - Music Productions

Dave Blackhurst · April 15th, 2009, 02:33 PM

Hi Danny -

Will you have a fast enough computer to deal with the AVCHD - that's one consideration. Of course you're probably putting a lot of time and horsepower into "cleaning" your footage already...

The improvement in low light should be very significant, I'll have a 500 in a few days to test vs. the SR11, but the SR11 already was a lot better and cleaner in low light than prior sensor versions. Each generation gets a bit better, and the "R" looks to be a winner in low light from every sample I've seen.

Here's the other consideration though, you're going to be giving up some of the manual controls - they went away as Sony has "consumerized" the later cameras... Probably be a good idea to download the manual for the XR and decide whether it's going to be enough control for you. I've decided it'll do, but will miss zebras and sure would like to see better overall control... Then again if the camera does as well in low light and with it's super OIS, I'll be very happy with it.

The pluses to the XR500 are bigger LCD screen, better image quality, better low light and OIS, and the "convenience" of tapeless...

The minuses are less manual control and that you need horsepower to edit AVCHD. Tapeless can swing both ways...

Danny Fye · April 15th, 2009, 03:55 PM

Thanks for the reply Dave.

Sometimes one has to ask in a forum and pray about things to figure it all out!

I did download the manual. There are a number of pluses and minuses but not enough to scare me away.

I do have enough horsepower to handle the AVCHD so I should be fine there. Still, I wish I could afford to buy one and test it and then not be stuck with it if things were wrong but in this case and after my research it looks like I will be fine.

If I really had my way I would get the HDR-FX1000. Now there is a cam with at least the specs that I would love to have!

Anyway, I have an ad setup on Ebay that starts at 9:00 PM central time for one of my cams and will soon (later this evening) be putting another ad up for one of my FS-4 HD's.

I decided to sell half of the equipment now and the other half later. This will work best for me. I prayed as to how to proceed and this is what I came up with.

The Ebay ad link is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=290310431942

At the time I am typing this, the auction hasn't started yet so it may not be possible to bid on it yet.

More complete information about my camera and all is on Ebay so I won't clutter this up with all of that.

Thanks again for the reply.

Danny Fye
VidMus Video - Music Productions

Dave Blackhurst · April 15th, 2009, 06:46 PM

Hi Danny -
That's probably a good approach - the XR500v's are still bringing a premium, I happened upon one from a seller I've dealt with before who gave me a good deal, and I'm selling an SR11 to pay for it... same sort of thing, tight budget, but think the upgrade is well worth it. Will do the second cam later, and hoping they will continue the CX12 with the new sensor too, as I like that format... although the XR is getting pretty close in size already!

The FX1000 looks sweet too, but I'm having a tough time justifying roughly 3X the budget when I know I shoot multicam... and from what I've seen the XR with the new "R" CMOS may even beat the FX1000 for low noise/low light... it's pretty clean. Just have to realize you've got limited control, but I've been shooting the small cams for a while, and there are ways to make them do what you want them to for the most part!

HC1's still bring good $$, so you'll have a good start towards the upgrade, and maybe the XR's will come down a bit - right now the dealers are keeping the prices high! I think there's limited availabilty at the moment...

April 14th, 2009, 08:59 PM	#1
Danny Fye Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Independence MO. Posts: 318	What Should I Do? I have 2 Sony HC-1 cameras, 2 Focus Enhancements Firestore FS-4 HD’s and 2 of those proat things that allow the cams to be higher on the tripod so that one can load/unload the tape and batteries. Similar to the large base ones at DM-Accessories - PROAT - bottom loading adapter for professional tripods What I need to know is, should I sell the whole thing and get me 2 new Sony HDR-XR520V’s or just keep what I have? Thanks in Advance, Danny Fye VidMus Video - Music Productions __________________ www.dannyfye.com

April 15th, 2009, 05:56 AM	#3
Danny Fye Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Independence MO. Posts: 318	Going by the specs and reviews, the much better low light capabilities without a 'snow storm' is what I need. I do a lot of Church and theater videos and while the theater can be anything from a to z in the amount of light, the church is usually low all of the time. Recently a theater video had some scenes that were quite low and had a lot of blue in the lights which is extra bad for the HC-1 when it comes to noise and well, it took a lot of extra work flow and filtering to make a descent video from those scenes. I figure that if I have better low light capabilities in the first place especially with the reduced noise that I can achieve my goals and not have to spend as much time working at it. Also, since the hard drives are in the cameras I would have less equipment to carry and connect. No more concerns about the cable to recording unit. I wish I could afford to buy and test the new cam but the money is simply not there and would not be unless I sell the old equipment first. Danny Fye VidMus Video - Music Productions __________________ www.dannyfye.com

April 15th, 2009, 03:55 PM	#5
Danny Fye Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Independence MO. Posts: 318	Thanks for the reply Dave. Sometimes one has to ask in a forum and pray about things to figure it all out! I did download the manual. There are a number of pluses and minuses but not enough to scare me away. I do have enough horsepower to handle the AVCHD so I should be fine there. Still, I wish I could afford to buy one and test it and then not be stuck with it if things were wrong but in this case and after my research it looks like I will be fine. If I really had my way I would get the HDR-FX1000. Now there is a cam with at least the specs that I would love to have! Anyway, I have an ad setup on Ebay that starts at 9:00 PM central time for one of my cams and will soon (later this evening) be putting another ad up for one of my FS-4 HD's. I decided to sell half of the equipment now and the other half later. This will work best for me. I prayed as to how to proceed and this is what I came up with. The Ebay ad link is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=290310431942 At the time I am typing this, the auction hasn't started yet so it may not be possible to bid on it yet. More complete information about my camera and all is on Ebay so I won't clutter this up with all of that. Thanks again for the reply. Danny Fye VidMus Video - Music Productions __________________ www.dannyfye.com

April 14th, 2009, 11:21 PM	#2
Graham Hickling Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 1,669	Not a lot to go on there .... tell us what in particular is attracting you to the XR520Vs?

April 15th, 2009, 02:33 PM	#4
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Hi Danny - Will you have a fast enough computer to deal with the AVCHD - that's one consideration. Of course you're probably putting a lot of time and horsepower into "cleaning" your footage already... The improvement in low light should be very significant, I'll have a 500 in a few days to test vs. the SR11, but the SR11 already was a lot better and cleaner in low light than prior sensor versions. Each generation gets a bit better, and the "R" looks to be a winner in low light from every sample I've seen. Here's the other consideration though, you're going to be giving up some of the manual controls - they went away as Sony has "consumerized" the later cameras... Probably be a good idea to download the manual for the XR and decide whether it's going to be enough control for you. I've decided it'll do, but will miss zebras and sure would like to see better overall control... Then again if the camera does as well in low light and with it's super OIS, I'll be very happy with it. The pluses to the XR500 are bigger LCD screen, better image quality, better low light and OIS, and the "convenience" of tapeless... The minuses are less manual control and that you need horsepower to edit AVCHD. Tapeless can swing both ways...

April 15th, 2009, 06:46 PM	#6
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Hi Danny - That's probably a good approach - the XR500v's are still bringing a premium, I happened upon one from a seller I've dealt with before who gave me a good deal, and I'm selling an SR11 to pay for it... same sort of thing, tight budget, but think the upgrade is well worth it. Will do the second cam later, and hoping they will continue the CX12 with the new sensor too, as I like that format... although the XR is getting pretty close in size already! The FX1000 looks sweet too, but I'm having a tough time justifying roughly 3X the budget when I know I shoot multicam... and from what I've seen the XR with the new "R" CMOS may even beat the FX1000 for low noise/low light... it's pretty clean. Just have to realize you've got limited control, but I've been shooting the small cams for a while, and there are ways to make them do what you want them to for the most part! HC1's still bring good $$, so you'll have a good start towards the upgrade, and maybe the XR's will come down a bit - right now the dealers are keeping the prices high! I think there's limited availabilty at the moment...