Possibly, but I always have my left hand on the focusing ring.

But it certainly is steadier than any of the smaller cams with one hand.

When you say to control the gain and keep it below 18db, you have to use the ring, does that mean i could bring the gain down with the ring to something like 9db, then leave it alone and let my friend shoot without re-adjusting, or do you have to bring the gain down from 18db more than once over a long shoot.

I'll chime in here.

I am not entirely sure how a one-armed person would be able to get the HD1000 on their shoulder easily without assistance much less put it down. It's too big. I tried to set the camera up with only my right arm and failed. Admittedly I don't have any experience living with one arm, however living with only one functional ear I could tell you much about. The smaller "brick" style cameras are easy to roll on their sides and slip your hand into although I don't know how much you would want to do that to a camera unless it was in a soft bag or on a towel. That said, once the HD1000 is on the shoulder and full auto is acceptable in the shooting situation, the camera could work.

I suggest purchasing this camera only if you are looking ahead to HDV shooting for yourself, if DV is acceptable for the near future find a good used DV camera or just buy a small consumer HD-7 (or HD-9) and shoot in DV mode. Your cameraperson will have fewer problems with this tiny camera and the image is very good.

I've got an old DVC7 (shoulder mount) sitting around here somewhere. I think I might get it out and see if I could use it one handed. It's a pretty light weight camera. I'm almost thinking it might be more stable, one handed, than a smaller from factor camera. If it is more stable, you might try looking for a used DVC10 or DVC15 (basically the same form factor, weight and handling as a DVC7, but with three 1/4" chips, rather than just one chip in the DVC7). Those cameras do give you basic manual control of iris, shutter speed and gain.

Yes, you can easily do this, either through the touchscreen or the ring.

But William brings up a very good point about how to get it up on the shoulder in the first place. Hadn't thought of that.

How much does an HD1000 weigh? It doesn't say on B&H's site.

6 Lbs with no batt, about 6 1/2 w/stock batt, about 7 with the 970 batt.

I think I could make i t work because the plan is for me to shoot in the stands, my friend with one arm to shoot video from the floor, and then another friend is going to take stills with a D40x. The person shooting stills has two arms, and theyd be down on the baseline too, so i thought they could help him out, bringing it up and down off his shoulder. The person shooting stills doesnt want to shoot the video, or else that would probably make it a lot easier. Does anyone know if their are rumors of something like the 1000U coming out within the next six or eight months. Like a shoulder mount less than the DSR-250, but better than the 1000U which a lot of people dont seem to be happy with the overall image quality of, in not ideal lighting. I guess i am wondering if sony would revise the 1000U soon?

I suppose it's possible, what with the HD1000 coming from the pro division and NAB in a couple of weeks. But somehow I don't think it's likely, with the HD1000 only out since October (I think).

Still, the HC7 wasn't out long before the HC9 came along, and they dropped the FX7 in less than a year, so I suppose anything's possible.

But even if something is announced at NAB, it'll probably take a few months to get it to market. So it all depends upon your schedule.

The Panasonic AG-HMC70 (three 1/4" CCDs) is coming out in April. We'll have to see how good it is, after it ships. Sony hasn't announced another shoulder mount. If they announced one tomorrow, it wouldn't be available for purchase in six months.

Sony HVR1000u VS. Panasonic AG-HMC70?
 

Is anyone explain and to compare the Sony HVR1000 (HDV 1/2.9-inch ClearVid CMOS) with 3CCD Cam Like Canon XL2?

What the exact differences with HDV 1/3-inch, progressive 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor ?

I planned to get either one pro-cam for wedding & Doc. production, Any recommendations for Sony HVR1000u and Panasonic AG-HMC70?

I know this is an older post but... The day I got my HD1000U, I took it and my 3CCD DSR PD170 to a local lake and shot some test footage. This was early in my relationship with my HD1000 so i am sure I could do a little better nowadays but have been too busy to do any further comparison shots. I created a short clip in Vegas downconverted to SD and rendered to WMV so that one of my colleagues could weigh in on my purchase. So for the sake of argument, here is the link on my site where you can see the comparison clip.

http://www.thevideoprofessional.com/HDVtest/