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I have been using both the Kron and the Solitaire for a number of years and am happy with both. I am now ready to go to high definition, but am at sea with all of the variations. I have heard from some that I should stay away from any camera using only the AVCHD format. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?

For HDV video go with the Z5 great in low light

For DSLR video(uff... better quality), go with Canon 60D

Ones you are in the DSLR, you will never go back to
HDV video, sorry yes, only for BACK UP!

Good luck

Canon and Nikon DSLRs are great cameras...for Stills and HD Video. The SONY Alpha55 however, dubbed as "Camera of the Year" by Popular Photography Magazine, join the big boys and impressively drop jaws when confronted by its amazing performance.

Check it out: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/revie ... view.shtml

I have one, and sure is an impressive little wonder for a price you could have spent hundreds more on the competition, and still leaves them inferior by feature comparison. The translucent mirror technology makes this camera claim the fastest auto-focus on earth, Stills (10fps) and HD Video (1080P).

Price: About $800.

What are your needs? Weddings? Home video? Outdoors? Lowlight?

Then.....what is you budget?

NOTE: GOOD NEWS: The new Gen 3 editing systems handle HDV very fast. Most HDV cameras are tape cameras, though there are flash drive units that will download HDV files from the camera.

BAD NEWS: After this year there will be NO HDV cameras. Tape will be gone forever, except for archiving. AVCHD and .MXF files (both work well in Bogart) will be the common CODEC.

SO.....let us know your budget range and needs so as to narrow down the current playing field of cameras.

DCordes wrote:I have been using both the Kron and the Solitaire for a number of years and am happy with both. I am now ready to go to high definition, but am at sea with all of the variations. I have heard from some that I should stay away from any camera using only the AVCHD format. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?

If you shoot mostly weddings and short corporate profiles then I agree with Franklin once you go DSLR its very difficult to go back to regular HD cameras. What I mean by this is two fold first the _creative_ aspect of being able to use DOF in so many ways that you just cant with a regular camera. I know I can back up 30 feet and get DOF with a regular cam but if your shooting in small spaces you wont be able to achieve this. Second the low light capabilities of DSLR's are incredible. This being said I am only very familiar with the Canon line of HDSLR & the best bang for your buck might just well be the T2i (combined with magic lantern). But the best overall picture and low light capabilities + a full frame sensor is the 5d MarkII NO CONTEST (1d MarkIV is better in low light but so much more expensive). The 5d is definitely my favourite camera that I've ever used so far.There are a couple of issues to work around but once you get the hang of it its nothing. If you need more info or have questions about HDSLR you can connect with me at video@renovp.com & I will be glad to help
Yes I also own a regular HD camera for plain jane stuff as well !

Good Luck

Syl

I appreciate all of the responses, although I must admit I have difficulty understanding much of the jargon and the acronyms. I should also add a little more information in response to some of the questions. I only do video work as a hobby although I have done a number of videos for charitable institutions and friends. I am looking for something around $1500 to $2500 that will work well with the S6000 (which I have yet to purchase). Unfortunately, I am advised that the S6000 does not have the ability to use CBPaint software. For that reason, I am thinking of keeping my Solitaire for animations and special effects. To do that I will need to send video to it via a fire wire. So I need a high def camera that has a fire wire port that can communicate both with the Solitaire and with the S6000. As you can probably tell from this, I am not a real high tech person although I do enjoy the creative work involved in making a video.

OK>>>>> Here we go:

You will need specific HDV cameras:

Top of the line-little over your budget: SONY Z-5

NEXT: Canon XHA1S....they are now discounted by Canon and a great camera albeit not as lowlight as the SONY model above or the SONY z-7.

Stay away from the FX-7.

NEXT: Canon HV-40. Should fit your budget and is an outstanding camera with superb quality. This is the camera I would purchase. I had the HV-30 and it was superior to my SONY HC-9-1000 camera. http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/ ... vixia_hv40

For further information you can contact me off-line @ Gocycle@optonline.net

I would skip the HV-40 and go directly to the upcoming Canon XA10. Around 2K.

"So I need a high def camera that has a fire wire port that can communicate both with the Solitaire................"

He can't. He needs firewire for the SOLITAIRE. He may be better off with a 3-Chip XHA1S......either a B-Stock, Used or New. Probably new around $2799. DEMO around $2600. HV-40's are getting harder to find, but that is his best bet right now. HDV is gone after this year.

The Canon XA10 is flash media which will work with only his S6000, unless he uses analog out, which is not HD. If he decides to go flash media, we did a review at Camcorder Info where I am a super (don't get the SUPER though) forum moderator, of the HF-G10-same camera, consumer version @ list $1499:


http://www.camcorderinfo.com/News/Canon ... corder.htm

ASHampton wrote:I would skip the HV-40 and go directly to the upcoming Canon XA10. Around 2K.

HOT DAMN!!! That's what I get for speed reading with bad vision!!! I know better than that......I have been selling Canon for several years now...............