Ok, camcorder choice question

I am looking at getting either the Panasonic pv gs320, or the Canon hv20. I would REALLY like to get the Canon, but I only have a firewire port for capturing video (plus I've never really edited using HD footage). Are there many differences in editing HD footage compared to standard definition? And would I be able to capture HD quality footage using firewire?

 

You can capture HD via Firewire with the HV20. So you are good to get the HV20.


HD editing is more resource intensive than SD editing is. But I do it on a $600 HP desktop that is little over a year old. Even if you couldn't do it on your computer, you are still far better off with the HV20 in SD than the GS320. The GS320 has neither an external mic input nor a headphone jack, both of which are on the HV20. Plus you will be far happier with the HV20's video quality.

 

Is it just me, or are the "Which camcorder should I buy?" threads becoming like the "I'm going to make the best fan film ever!" threads of old?

 

It's just you...

 

Not just you, and DaFireMedic is also present in them all


Back on topic though; HV20.

 

Just the HV20 ones.....

 

Lol, sorry I contributed to this problem. I was just wondering about these issues....and I just trust you people's opinions so much

*ahem* yeah, anyway....many thanx!!!!

 

which means them all

 

A testimony to the quality of the HV20, lol. Actually though, as DK Force85 said there have been many camcorder threads, including the recent "Canon XH-A1 vs Sony hdr-fx7" thread just a few days ago, most of which I follow as it is an area of interest to me. I agree that they are posted often, but I feel that it is understandable, being that the camcorder is the central piece of equipment to the filmmaker and for most of us, spending $500-$1000 is a big decision and you want to make the right one. Lets face it, the search engine on this forum does not work well at all, so it is often difficult to find answers to specific questions.

I think that these threads differ from the "I am making a new fanfilm" threads in that the vast majority of those threads were people posting prior to "counting the cost", in terms of money, time, effort, learning, maintaining motivation, outside assistance, and everything else that goes into making even a relatively short fan film, and as such these films were rarely seen through to completion. Its no wonder we all say "yeah, yeah, we've read this before". However, most of the Camcorder threads are people trying to count the cost, do the research, and decide what the best purchase would be. As Stickman said, people really do value the opinions of their fellow forum members, including yours (I know I do) and DK Force85'S.

Stickman: You did not contribute to any problem. You asked an honest question that is legit for this forum.

 

The HV20 has some rolling-shutter problems (so I've read) that you may want to take into account when you make your choice.

You can get the Sony HDR-HC3 for pretty cheap nowadays, and that's a darn nice camera for the money.

Anyways.

SB

 

Panavision and Arriflex cameras have that same "problem" too. Get an HV20. They rock. My little sister shot this video on my HV20.

 

Wow! I might have to get me one of these HV20's now.

 

Sweet footage. Care to share how you made the HV20 shoot @ 180fps?

 

Adobe After Effects CS3's Pixel Motion frame blending (which accounts for the weird artifacts when the poles go behind me).

 

cheater

 

What's the difference between this and say, a standard MiniDV? I mean, for a couple more hundred bucks, how can it be classified as High-Definition? Why call it HD, compared to like the camera that shot RvD2?

Thanks, I'm new at cameras, and am trying to figure out what the major differences are.

 

"High Definition" refers specifically to resolution. An SD camera will record video at 720x480, or 480i. The HD camera used on RVD2 recorded the video at 1280x720, or 720p. The HV20 records video at 1920x1080, or 1080p.

 

It's the resolution. HD is 1920x1080 (or 1280x720), while standard def is only 720x480. HD is much sharper.

 

Which really isn't noticable.
I've only really noticed it then shooting a ceiling fan @ 60fps and the shutter over 1/500th of a sec.
Even then I had to go frame by frame to notice it.
I don't know why, but everyone makes it out to sound like you get a completely worthless shot if you slightly move the camera.
This is deffinately not the case!
I've shot in a car going 55mph and the telephone poles on the side of the road are still completely straight.

You really have to TRY to mess up a shot because of the rolling shutter.

 

Ah, okay. So I guess the SD (that I'm using) the 480i stands for interlaced? And the 1080p/720p stands for progressive? Not to mention that's a little over double my 720x480 at the moment. Thing is, does the HV20 only record in 60fps? If so, isn't that alot of frames to go through for special FX?

 

60i is 60 "fields", and is actually roughly 30 frames per second in interlaced form. It also has a 24p mode. Once you remove the pulldown (easy to do, but thats another subject) it is a true 24 frames per second. The new HV30 has a 30 frames progressive mode.