Which HDV cam and some computer questions.

[dingdongbubble]

Alright so my dad calls me and tells me that we need to buy a new camcorder so go and research which one we should get. So I ask him what is the price range so he tells me in the local currency. Now translating it, it means $1000 max. We dont have taxes here so thats out of question but the prices are usually kept a bit high compared to the US I think.

Now I suggest HDV (Sony HC7) but that comes in the $1300-1400 range which is out of my range. You can call us family shooters, nothing pro.

First thing is I want MiniDV only. If I can get the Canon HV20 in my range then should I get it? Otherwise the Panasonic GS-500 is in my range easily.

I really really want to go for HDV because the future is HD and right now the cams bing out a LOT of quality. Another secret reason is my desktop which is a Pentium 4 2.8 which I dont think can handle HDV, but my dads lappy is a Core Duo which should be able to. So when my dad sees me using his lappy all the time, he will understand that my PC is obsolete and he should buy me a Mac.

Now question here is that should I get the HV20 if it is in my range? If it is not then should I get the GS500? Or should I wait a bit longer because some updates are coming up which will lower down prices into my range?

I want you ask you one last thing. Sometimes a company rolls out a product which works great and becomes very popular. But when they update it, it is normally a downgrade with very small features to show as upgrades. This is the case in todays P/S cams compared to early digicams. So are the GS500, HV20 and HC7 in that category where they are screaming products and their upgrade will likely be a downgrade?

 

[dingdongbubble]

I want to add two more little questions. For those of you from Honk Kong, how much do the three cameras I mentioned cost over there?

Secondly how will a Core Duo 2.0 Ghz compare with a current Mac Pro 2.0 Ghz Quad?

 

[zioxide]

Get the HV20, it's got 24p and better low light support iirc.

MP Quad Xeon will own a Core Duo, but theres no way you need it for home movie editing. A Core Duo will be fine.

 

[dingdongbubble]

Ok so a Core Duo should be enough for home video? ummmm It wont lag or anything right?

Lets say I am lucky and my dad gets us a MP, do you think it will give me very quick performance for simple home video editing for years (around 5?). What about burning to Blu Ray or HD DVD? Wont that take a lot of power?

 

[seany916]

HV20 is fine as long as the lighting is good. It'll be a good family camera. The best footage I've seen from a portable format camcorder.

Would recommend a spare battery though. The computer you have will be fine. Whatever computers that come out will be plenty fast enough.

I do a lot of simple editing on the fly (HDV) in FCP with a Core Duo 2.0 (1st gen MBP w/ Intel) and a little portable external drive. It works fine.

Do you really need a Mac Pro? The next gen low end Macbook Pro should more than meet your needs for almost anything. (okay, except maybe gaming)

get good quality miniDV tapes, stick to the same tape/brand, and don't record over them. label them & archive them for the future.

good luck!

 

[seany916]

burning to a HD format disc will be fine with whatever computer it comes with (very possibly what you have with an external burner)

wait a bit for the war to settle down and see which format wins

I like Blu-Ray, but HD-DVD seems to be surging and making a comeback from an early lead that it lost. HD-DVD might just win out because the format is less costly.

For simple, home video editing, if you're running HDV, your current setup will be fine for the next few years.

Many people recommend getting the absolute best to keep it the most "future-proof". If you don't need the extra horsepower, that cutting edge tech will do you very little good until way later.

Better to buy the "best value" now and upgrade to a newer computer sooner than getting the fastest, best and hoping it'll still be viable in 5 years.

My Dual 1.8 G5 is still up and kicking strong (except for the GPU, it's crap).

IMHO, the $1,200 or $1,800 iMacs are a really good deal. Now would be the time to get them. 2GB of RAM would be minimum though.

Mac Pro wouldn't be worth the money unless you're running professional applications.

If you want a notebook and can wait, the next bump for the MBP that includes an HD burner would be ideal. If you have a 23 or larger monitor, it works fine as a desktop that is portable. (with the option of being a notebook as needed)

and a helluva lot easier to take in for servicing if needed

 

[dingdongbubble]

If you compare the three cameras which produces the best SD video? And video quality apart, which has te bext feature set? Which has the best auto mode? What short comings does the GS500 have against the other two apart from being SD?

 

[mrgreen4242]

Just a thought, but if you look hard enough you can find some really good deals on the Canon HV10, which is HDV, shoots video comparable in quality to the HV20, but lacks some of the HV20's features (24p and min input most notably). But, for just casual family stuff it might be a great buy if you don't need those things.