Advice: Canon Hv-30 or Sony Hdr-sr12??

[Deutscher]

Can anybody convince me either way?? I am not fussy about using tapes or HDD. I am intrigued by the 24p and 30p modes of the HV30...but I like the night vision and space (120 gb HDD) of the SR12...Can anybody please gve me some information that could sway me in either direction.

(I'm comfortable using imovie or final cut in case that's a factor as well)

Also, I'm on a macbook pro 2.1ghz intel core duo with 2gb of ram. Am I going to have any problems editing HD footage??

Thanks!

 

[oceanzen]

If the SOny records AVCHD then you will need to convert that footage to something else for use in Final Cut etc. The HDV of the HV30 can be edited natively.

There is a lot of love for the excellent HV20 / HV30 - I have the HV20 and am very happy with it - excellent picture quality. Not sure about the Sony maybe someone else has experience with that.

 

[Deutscher]

Well I ordered the hv30 today, I'm really excited!

 

[Cybix]

I'm in the same boat, I'm about to buy a new cam, but really don't know which one.

I'm not fussy on recording media (tape, card, hdd), but would like for it to work with iMovie at the least (and eventually FC)

I want to mainly shoot footage of my recently born daughter, but will probably also use the cam to shoot motorsport, and tinker with short films, etc.

HV30 sure looks the goods, despite the fact that tape really is on it's way out.... just waiting for it to arrive in Australia.

 

[Gunga Din]

I was having a tough time deciding as well, but I think i'm going with the HV30 and tape format. The media type is not a big deal to me, plus it works well with iMovie. Hoping to order this week.

 

[lfielder06]

I was going through this a little while ago. I chose the hv20 (the hv30 wasn't out yet). I absolutely love it. I enjoy the tapes because, like someone above stated, I have a new daughter and I also tinker and do some videos for my work. I can use different tapes and not get all confused as to where my footage is. I label one work one home and one play. I don't fill up a tape every time so it is useful for me. Tapes are also a great way to back up in addition to using hard drives with the converted footage.

 

[Gunga Din]

I was going through this a little while ago. I chose the hv20 (the hv30 wasn't out yet). I absolutely love it. I enjoy the tapes because, like someone above stated, I have a new daughter and I also tinker and do some videos for my work. I can use different tapes and not get all confused as to where my footage is. I label one work one home and one play. I don't fill up a tape every time so it is useful for me. Tapes are also a great way to back up in addition to using hard drives with the converted footage.

Excellent points. Hopefully i pull the trigger this week on the HV30.

 

[UndertheRadar]

I have an hv20 and love it. I bought it instead of the 30. The reason being the minor upgrades not being all that considerable and the fact that i bought an hv20 new from circuit city for 600 bucks.

 

[jason999]

Can anybody convince me either way?? I am not fussy about using tapes or HDD. I am intrigued by the 24p and 30p modes of the HV30...but I like the night vision and space (120 gb HDD) of the SR12...Can anybody please gve me some information that could sway me in either direction.

(I'm comfortable using imovie or final cut in case that's a factor as well)

Also, I'm on a macbook pro 2.1ghz intel core duo with 2gb of ram. Am I going to have any problems editing HD footage??

Thanks!

Do not get Canon. Reason the optical zoom on the Canons is only 10x or 15x which is quite pathetic.

Sony has new ones with 40x optical zoom. I ignore video or still cameras with massive high digital zooms. Optical zoom is the better way to go.

Sony new HD video ameras look cool with all the right stuff.
Panasonic has some nice new ones that tak ethe new SDHC memory cards that are currently up to 32Gb in size. These SDHC cards are only going to get bigger in size over time.

The downside with the panaosnics is low optical zoom and poor recharable battery packs. Thi sis where Sony has the edge with their lithium batteries that last much longer than the Panasonics.

Initially the Panasonic lithium battery lasts a few hours but over a year after a charge it lasts about 10 minutes. The Sony lithium battery is able to be recharged over and over without the need to buy new lithium batteries.

Here is the Aussie link to the Panasonic site.
http://panasonic.com.au/products/details.cfm?objectID=4128

Sony hd video camera.
http://www.sony.com.au/dis/catalog/...CFCSFEQK0IIUIIV0?id=HDRSR12&_requestid=133536

If the link is to long try this one and click on the camera on the sony page.
http://www.sony.com.au

Are you in oz or the US ?
How much are you willing to pay ?

 

[nutmac]

Can anybody convince me either way?? I am not fussy about using tapes or HDD. I am intrigued by the 24p and 30p modes of the HV30...but I like the night vision and space (120 gb HDD) of the SR12

I know you went with HV30, but if you are considering SR12, you should also consider Canon's AVCHD offerings, HF10 and HF100.

Do not get Canon. Reason the optical zoom on the Canons is only 10x or 15x which is quite pathetic.

Sony has new ones with 40x optical zoom. I ignore video or still cameras with massive high digital zooms. Optical zoom is the better way to go.

For many, 10x optical zoom is quite plenty.

If the SOny records AVCHD then you will need to convert that footage to something else for use in Final Cut etc. The HDV of the HV30 can be edited natively.

I thought HD HDV (not SD HDV) had to be converted to Apple Intermediate Codec, just like AVCHD.

 

[lfielder06]

HDV when captured in final cut is converted to HDV 1080i, at least if the footage is 1080i. This can be converted to apple's codec, which I have heard has better render times, but have yet to really experiment with.

I would also agree that 10x zoom is more than enough for most consumers. I don't think on my hv20 I have ever recorded using it zoomed in that far. You have to remember if you are handheld, being zoomed in that much the footage is going to be very shakey.

Deutscher-
Let us know how the hv30 goes. I love the black look of it.

 

[Toddgabweg]

I think I am going with the Canon HV30- Best Buy has it for $849.99 and Circuit City has it for $899.99 No payments No interest for one year... I am still shopping for the best deal- I want it before I leave for Disney (June 15th)-
I was close to jumping on the HV 20 for $659.96 from CC, but they are all sold out....

 

[Toddgabweg]

I just bought the Canon HV30 from Circuit City- I was able to get no payments/ no interest for 12 months plus I did a price match from Best Buy and got the camera for $849.99... I have 30 days to see if the price drops below this- I know have around 60 days to get use to the camera before my Disney trip...

 

[kamm]

Do not get Canon. Reason the optical zoom on the Canons is only 10x or 15x which is quite pathetic.

Sony has new ones with 40x optical zoom. I ignore video or still cameras with massive high digital zooms. Optical zoom is the better way to go.

Sony new HD video ameras look cool with all the right stuff.
Panasonic has some nice new ones that tak ethe new SDHC memory cards that are currently up to 32Gb in size. These SDHC cards are only going to get bigger in size over time.

The downside with the panaosnics is low optical zoom and poor recharable battery packs. Thi sis where Sony has the edge with their lithium batteries that last much longer than the Panasonics.

Initially the Panasonic lithium battery lasts a few hours but over a year after a charge it lasts about 10 minutes. The Sony lithium battery is able to be recharged over and over without the need to buy new lithium batteries.

Here is the Aussie link to the Panasonic site.
http://panasonic.com.au/products/details.cfm?objectID=4128

Sony hd video camera.
http://www.sony.com.au/dis/catalog/...CFCSFEQK0IIUIIV0?id=HDRSR12&_requestid=133536

If the link is to long try this one and click on the camera on the sony page.
http://www.sony.com.au

Are you in oz or the US ?
How much are you willing to pay ?

Where did you get all these ridiculous BS info?

Stop spreading fake stuff, please.

SR11/12 has 12x optical zoom vs Canon's 10x optical - and it's because Sony's wider by default though Canon still goes closer.
Even your own link confirms me: http://www.sony.com.au/dis/catalog/...CFCSFEQK0IIUIIV0?id=HDRSR12&_requestid=133536

Your battery claims are so dumb I won't even address it seriously so let me just tell you that HV30 offers a new, hours-long battery choice now.

I hate tape but HV20/HV30 is simply the top of the consumer cameras you can get today and even offer the closest you can get to film, the 24p and now (HV30) 30p progressive modes as well.
Face detection and 5.1ch etc is nice on the SOny but it's going to be another year when AVCHD reaches and surpasses HDV quality in every circumstances and terms (around ~20Mb/s).

OP: If you are more like a home video guy then get the Sony, in most cases it's morea than enough. If you more into filmmaking, more serious work etc then HV30 (or HV20 if you are budget-strapped and don't need 30p or the better LCD or the black casing. )

 

[Luis Ortega]

Does the HV30 have any manual exposure?

Can any HV 30 owners please comment on whether the camcorder has any decent manual exposure controls?
Thanks

 

[kamm]

Can any HV 30 owners please comment on whether the camcorder has any decent manual exposure controls?
Thanks

It does. It even has shutter control!
Well, sort of, via the PHOTO-hack: make sure you've a miniSD card in (smallest one is fine, size doesn't matter), set it to shutter priority aka 'Tv' mode and then set exposure manually - to check settings press the PHOTO button half way down.

 

[harcosparky]

Do not get Canon. Reason the optical zoom on the Canons is only 10x or 15x which is quite pathetic.

If you are shopping based on lens power and looked at the X-Factor, i.e. 10X - 20X - 40X, you could end up fooling yourself.

Why? Because that number is a multiplication factor based on two numbers... wide angle to full zoom.

A 10X lens could be as powerful as a 20X lens on the Zoom end, but not as wide on the wide angle end.

I once went shopping and found a camera with a 15X lens that was more powerful than a competitors 20X lens.

If a lens zooms from 10mm - 300mm it is a 30X lens.
If a lens zooms from 15mm - 300mm it is a 20X lens.
If a lens zooms from 30mm - 300mm it is a 10X lens.

My old Sony DCR-TRV17 is rated at 3.3-33 ( 10X )
My older Sony DCR-TRV820 3.7-92.5 ( 25X )

In this case, both being Sony and starting at nearly the same point 3.3/3.7, comparing the X Factor would be valid. I found a difference when comparing between different manufacturers.

If you look at the lens, around the glass you will see some numbers, they will indicate the range in which. I believe they indicate these two numbers ti be comparable to 35mm camera lenses.

 

[lillyche]

Hv30 & Fcp

I shot in 24p HD mode on my canon hv30, and can't figure out how to capture it in Final Cut. Can anyone give me a step by step?! Have searched the internet for hours and cant find anything... Thanks

 

[senseless]

Bigger Zoom

Agreed, 10X zoom is plenty. Zoom specs are like megapixels in that they are marketing gimmicks. Also, a 10X zoom will be better in low light than a 20X, because there's less glass for the light to go through.

 

[Cybix]

Well I got my Canon HV30, it's awesome. Such an amazing cam for the price. You can control shutter, aperture, exposure, etc. Takes a little fiddling to do certain things but it's all possible. Like locking down the gain by adjusting shutter and exposure whilst maintaining a certain aperture

I bought the HV30 a few weeks ago and have since bought a new manfrotto tripod, a Raynox .66x mm wide angle lens, Rode Videomic, Hoodman H-300 for the LCD, and a few other things like a video light. It's going very well!

lillyche: as for 24p in Final Cut.. unfortunately there is a process you need to go through to get nice 24p output.. try http://www.hv20.com for more info. Infact anyone with an HV20 or HV30 should certainly join the hv20.com forums. The information there is excellent.

The video that these cams can do is awesome.

Try http://www.vimeo.com and search for HV20 or HV30 for some footage.

James

 

[mus429]

Mus429

I bought the Sony and when it came to plug it in to the mac it was a hopeless situation, nothing worked natively it was a nightmare. Then within one day it wouldn't even open the camera operation, a software fault. Thankfully i took it back and exchanged it for the Canon HV 30 which worked perfectly no matter how I plugged it into my mac. Thank god the Sony didn't work and I was able to exchange it. Sony seem to think that they only want to sell to PC people and use their own software, a dumb mistake. The HV 30 is brilliant and as my previous video camera was a Canon and it worked perfectly for 5 years, I'll never stray again, especially not to Sony.