Using footage from PD-150 and VX2100
 

For my upcoming short I'm planning to shoot on a PD-150 with the VX2100 as a secondary camera. There is a possbility of scheduling conflict since I'm using cameras that belong to the university, and the Theatre department has priority over me for use of these cameras. In the case that the dept. needs to shoot something, I would have to shoot only on the VX2100, and not on the PD150. Would there be a noticeable difference in picture quality?

Basically, I want to know if this will result in post-production difficulties. I'm fairly skilled with the Adobe color correction tools, but I still like to keep it simple when I can.

The footage will be very similar given that you would set the cameras the same. The big difference will be that you have to handle sound differently since the 2100 doesn't have XLR inputs nor split volume on the two input channels. You probably already know that the 2100 is more difficult to set and operate manually.

Except for production tolerances (which are minute these days) the two cameras will give exactly the same quality pictures, assuming that they have the same custom presets, the same UV filters and work under the same conditions.

The VX2100 is listed by Sony as being a 1 lux camera - the PD150 as a 2 lux, so there might be a very slight difference in very low light. Both cameras insert half-stop visible bumps into the picture if the 'exposure' wheel is turned while filming in the manual mode, whereas the PD170 has improved this situation.

As Mike says, the 2100's audio side is a much stunted version of the 150's, so go for the 150 if at all possible.

tom.

Use the VX2100 for tele and the PD150 for wide. The extra lux of the VX2100 will be attenuated by zooming in and the PD150 will be brightest by zooming out.

Also run a line out from the PD150 to the line in on the VX2100 and share the PD150s audio. Then run an extra mic into the second XLR on the PD150 and get it closer to the talent so you don't record too much room noise.

In the test results I've seen, the 2100 is no more sensitive than the 150. They use the same optical block. The difference is the 2100 and the 170 have quieter amplifiers and better DSPs.

Then I guess the VX2100 can be set for whichever shot requires the most detail. :)

I have a VX-2000, VX-2100, and a PD-170. I often film school events using all three cameras. If you white balance the cameras using the same light, then the colors come out identically. My three cameras, however, aren't set up identically with respect to the luminance setting. My VX-2000 is slightly brighter and a little more saturated than the other two cameras. I sometimes dial back the luminance and color custom presets on my VX-2000, but one stop overshoots the difference with the other cams. In any event, the differences between the cameras are small enough that it is easy in post to match them perfectly. This was not the case when I tried to match my VX-2000 to a Canon camera in the early days before I had the 3 Sony's. You could not make the video from those two cameras match across all the colors. I guess it is important to have cameras with the same sensors and video amplifiers if you want a perfect match. Luckily that is the case with the VX/PD family.