I Want To Buy An Hd Professional Type Camcorder But Im Not Sure If I Should Get The Hvx200a, Or Another Camera?
my budget is around $3,500 for the camera but im not sure what to get it will mainly be website video, but i would prefer something i could use for dvd as well. I know the panasonic p2 technology is expensive and was wondering waht other camera around this type i could get that shoots HD? TY
In the same ballpark as the AG-HVX200 includes the Sony HVR-Z1U, HVR-Z5U and Canon XHA1.
Widen the field more and you get the Sony HDR-FX1000 on the prosumer end and the HVR-Z7U, Canon XLH series and JVC GY series on the pro end…
Please note the use of miniDV tape for DV/HDV video capture. There are a few AVCHD camcorders mis-represented in the Panasonic “pro” line. “Professional HD” - HDV, XDCAM/HDCA and DVCPRO HD formats. Your computer needs a firewire port to import this video.
Your comment, “prefer something i could use for dvd as well” does not make sense. Once the video is in the computer for editing, you can output/render video to any format your editor or DVD authoring tool allows… with whatever compression you want. This assumes you are using something more sophisticated than the bundled software in Windows computers. iMovie/iDVD in Macintosh computers provides all sorts of flexibility… though FinalCut and DVD Studio would be more worthy of any of these camcorders. For Windows, Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere generally float to the top.
Pro grade gear does not have the price elasticity of consumer grade gear. Reputable online dealers include bhphotovideo and adorama. There are a few others - but be very careful if a reseller’s price deviates too much from these.