[ridiculous]

So I want to make a movie this summer and I want it to be HD. been looking at comcorders alot over the last couple of days but cant seem to pull the trigger on one.

Been looking at the Canon HF100,the HF 10 and the Samsung HMX20C. Any one have any shooting time with one of these cameras, especially with riding footage. Is the video a bit choppy when recording at max resolution? Looked at a couple of samples but I cant really tell the difference as they were all slow moving objects in excellent lighting conditions outdoors.

I really like the canon because its seems to have the better autofocus technology OIE vs EIS. and the external battery so I could buy as many as I need. However, the samsung seems to do just about everything else better. Records in .MP4 format, better touchscreen, better navigation, on the fly focus point adjustments, users claim its more ergonomic, and it has high speed video (300 fps). Which i think could lead to some really cool shots. But it has an internal battery and requires a docking station to offload footage. I dont really care about what kind of media its stored on its all super cheap now.

Which would you buy? Is there another contender i should look at?

 

[nelsonjm]

This caught my eye, but I'm sure it is not in the league as the others you mentioned quality wise:

http://www.aiptek.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ZHD11X&Category_Code=HDC&Store_Code=AS

220$, and image stabalization.. however I'm not sure if that works in all modes.... might just be for 720p?

It would be sweet to have an HD helmet cam. I wish GoPro made one.

One review of the camera:
http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=599934&forum_id=92

 

[jonKranked]

This caught my eye, but I'm sure it is not in the league as the others you mentioned quality wise:

http://www.aiptek.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ZHD11X&Category_Code=HDC&Store_Code=AS

220$, and image stabalization.. however I'm not sure if that works in all modes.... might just be for 720p?

It would be sweet to have an HD helmet cam. I wish GoPro made one.

One review of the camera:
http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=599934&forum_id=92

A buddy of mine has that one. It takes decent quality video, but not great quality. Especially action (riding) stuff. Even though it has the helmet cam input, its pretty choppy from the riding. I'll see if I can post up a video.

Personally, I think you'd be better off investing in a better quality non hd camera. At the price point you're looking for, other features of the camera are scaled back to accomodate for the cost of having hi def.

 

[ridiculous]

Possibly. I was thinking that the 30P would smooth out fast moving objects. Ive gotten addicted to this project so I may spend upwards of a grand on it now. With the newer cameras coming out this March/April I was hoping to catch a HF-11 or the like at the price break.

Just waiting for the market to come to me.

 

[jonKranked]

If you're looking for action, get something that can record at a really high frame rate. Also make sure that it works well in low lighting, because if you're going to be filming riding in the woods, it won't work out too well if it can't (unless you are going to be using lights).

 

[fortenndu]

I found a JVC GZ-HD7U on ebay for $550 last year. It retails for about $1,400 and some girl had bought it and then couldn't figure out how to use so she sold it. It still had all the plastic wrapping on it and was in perfect condition.

 

[jonKranked]

If you're looking at JVC stuff, trying shooting a PM to IH8Rice, I've heard he works for them, as like a fluffer or something.

 

[ridiculous]

Ha I might have to do that. Word on the street is they have a new camcorder coming out this summer that will surprise most. One of the features is a 600 fps for 10 sec high speed setting. $1000 price tag.

Sony works the best in low light , but saturates the colors and uses Sony proprietary sh*t. $$$$
Canon has the best auto-focus, best color IMO, no cool extras though. $$$
Havent played with a samsung or JVC yet.

 

[IH8Rice]

if youre looking for a cheap HD cam, you can find last year's JVC pretty cheap. the HD10, HD30 and HD40 are all good models, but our cameras of past havent been so great in low light situations. we also use a proprietary format too. it can be used with Macs and our stuff does come with its own easy to use software (although not the best)
I personally wouldnt buy a Samsung camera....Sony, Pana and JVC cams are all pretty nice.

If you are trying to use the cams while riding, stay away from HDD cams. most HDD cams have a g shock sensor on them and will switch off recording if they are shaken as to not damage the HDD platter. Most newer cams though do have the ability to record onto a flash drive if you want too. We make a new HD cam that is solely recorded on SD cars.
i could go on and on, but if you have a more particular questions, let me know


Steve Smith and Sam Hill on Vimeo
i shot this on one of my GZHD3 cams that records in 1440x1080i @ 26.6Mbps. Vimeo doesnt do it justice but the video quality is still great. most newer cams can record in 1920x1080i w/ either a variable or constant bit rate.

our newer Everio X model that you mentioned will arrive shortly.
here is the spec page on the cam
http://www.jvc.com/press/index.jsp?item=705&pageID=1

 

[ridiculous]

if youre looking for a cheap HD cam, you can find last year's JVC pretty cheap. the HD10, HD30 and HD40 are all good models, but our cameras of past havent been so great in low light situations. we also use a proprietary format too. it can be used with Macs and our stuff does come with its own easy to use software (although not the best)
I personally wouldnt buy a Samsung camera....Sony, Pana and JVC cams are all pretty nice.

If you are trying to use the cams while riding, stay away from HDD cams. most HDD cams have a g shock sensor on them and will switch off recording if they are shaken as to not damage the HDD platter. Most newer cams though do have the ability to record onto a flash drive if you want too. We make a new HD cam that is solely recorded on SD cars.
i could go on and on, but if you have a more particular questions, let me know


http://www.vimeo.com/1066325
i shot this on one of my GZHD3 cams that records in 1440x1080i @ 26.6Mbps. Vimeo doesnt do it justice but the video quality is still great. most newer cams can record in 1920x1080i w/ either a variable or constant bit rate.

our newer Everio X model that you mentioned will arrive shortly.
here is the spec page on the cam
http://www.jvc.com/press/index.jsp?item=705&pageID=1

nice! i find it funny that im actually IN that video that you posted on vimeo. Will give jvc another look now, im almost sold on the sony now.