PD170 Out-Dated?
 

I'm close to buy a pd170, but I want to make sure that I'm not buying a camera that is going to be replaced soon. I know that Sony has come out with the HD cams, but I don't think that I need that right now, especially with no way to distribute. But I have heard that stores are trying to get rid of their vx2100s, does that mean that the pd170 is going to be replaced too? Technology is always getting better, but how soon do you think? Is it too late to buy one? Thanks!!!

~Matt~

Matt,

There is no way to answer your question with certainty. Clearly the smoke and mirrors are in the HDV camp right now. What Sony will do is anybody's guess.

My take on it is if you need the 170 low light capability, get it. If you don't, get one of the HDV units. WHy? The lifetime of one of these cameras is conservatively 8-10 years of reasonable use. So whatever you buy, you are either going to use it long-term, can pay the investment back within a short period of time or going to take a bath in terms of resale value.

Remember the HD DVD recorders/players are coming out in just a few months, Hollywood is talking about releasing their new HD DVDs with both SD and HD versions on the same disk.

I think I'm going to go with the PD170, I'm comfortable with it's layout, size/weight, and since this will really be my first experience with manual control I don't really feel like adding HD complications to the mix. Even if I use the camera for like 3 years, I will still have gotten good use out of it. I think that since I havn't heard anything about panny and canon putting out prosumer hdv, I will stick with SD untill HD becomes more of a standard and there are more cams to choose from that offer it.
I would still love to hear peoples opinion on how soon they think HD will become the norm!
Thanks again
~Matt~

I don't think you'll go wrong buying the PD170 at this stage in its life-span. Although the FX1 is damn near the same money, you still need a Beachtek XLR box and you're still working at two stops wider, so it's less good in the gloom.

But in the next 3 years 16:9 will be coming on strong - a lot stronger than HDV I suspect, and this could be a powerful reason for saying the 170 has had its day.

tom.

Tom

So you think here in PAL land that 16:9 is going to be more important than HDV? so would it be wise to cut your loses and trade your 4:3 cams and buy the FX1 or Z1 so we are ready for it when it comes

Right now Ian, 16:9 is far more important than HDV. Every TV larger than about 24" is 16:9 in the shops, and just a few of the bigger ones are starting to boast ''HD Ready''. But beware the latter and read the resolution spec before you splash out on one of those.

HDV is fine except for the fact that there's no carrier medium (BluRay DVD), few people can view it (projector, plasma, LCD or CRT) and precious few can edit it.

So the 4:3 image is as good as dead, but the SD 16:9 is alive and well. You can safely junk your 4:3 cam and get an FX1/Z1 and output, edit and distribute in SD.

tom.

Tom

I do weddings and promotion + wildlife films, I have both the 170 and the XL1s and I just feel that Iam always chasing the tail as far as video is concerned, both these cameras seem to be dying slowly and new kids seem to be ruling,

I need the option for changing Len's the XL1s gives me this for wildlife the jurys out on the benefits of the XL2 although 16:9 is true on this camera and its the same old story do you take the plunge or wait to see what canon come up with?

The 170 is good in low light and my opinion gives a lovely picture ( not seen Hi def yet) but the 16:9 aspect sucks, I just wonder how long it will be before Iam asked for 16:9 and Hi Def, are these cams redundant?