I am not looking for the cheap Sanyo or Toshiba Camileo devices that you can find on digitec but something more robust and serious. The new Canon Vixia HFs might fit the bill but they do not seem to be available in Switzerland. What do the video enthusiasts say?
I seek recommendations for a good HD camcorder that supports 1080p (progressive) recording and which can do well in poor lighting conditions.
Sony... Consistently good. The one below is an update to my current one. 10x optical zoom is a huge plus. So is the Titanium casing. It just feels great... I am impressed every time I use it.
Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE
what's your budget first and foremost
now you have to realize that the 1080p is actually 1080i there are few real 1080p cameras on the camera(pro cameras included) so these cameras have rolling shutter lovely jello image issues
these canon cams are great. sony has some good ones too.
also have to take into account what media you plan on using. hdv?
acvhd? memory cards(sony and their lovely proprietary memory sticks)
the low light performance isn't something you should count too much on as it will be grainy in most mid range models.
would a dslr be acceptable e.g. canon 60D or canon 5Dm2? i'm currently using a canon dslr on a film and like the look/performance but i'm dealing with a separate system for sound.
if you're making a film and have a separate guy doing sound, then it isn't a problem, but for 'run and gun' applications it a bit of a PITA.
You might want to take a look at the Panasonic GH2 if looking to go the camera route. Excellent video capabilities:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1009/10...nasonicgh2.asp
It has 1080/24p native support but also has different possibilities.
DPReview also recently had a comprehensive review of 1080p pocket camcorders:
these hdslr's are all great recommendations but they do have a price and the added inconvenience of being limited in recording times to 11 or so minutes for one and under 30 for the other(for not coming under the higher EU tax bracket for video cameras).
Something to take into account. Could be an issue for some.
http://www.contour.com/camera/contour_gps
Lightweight, helmet mountable HD with GPS.
Mr C (who's a DoP, btw) recommends a Sony XDCam EX3 (CHF 11'000), or the EX1R (CHF 9'000) plus accessories
Depends on your budget, I suppose.
Look at Schweizer AG ( www.schweizervideo.ch )
or Light & Byte ( www.lb-ag.ch )
I heard that DSLRs were as good in video-recording mode as camcorders shooting photos, i.e. it's an added feature but it doesn't match dedicated devices. But that new Lumix camera seems indeed promising. According to this site , it will be sold early November by John Lay Electronics AG based in Luzern.
Budget-wise, my mark is below 2000 CHF, that is, I am not aiming for the professional Sony EX cameras, nor am I looking for an ultra-compact handycam.
I went to Mediamarkt yesterday and the only 1080p camcorder they had was a Panasonic 3D, a feature that I don't need.
you heard wrong. the reason that many film-makers are moving to DSLRs is that the quality is so good that you would need to spend tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands on a camcorder to get the same video quality.
the disadvantages don't apply so much to film: e.g. having to have separate sound, takes limited to 12 minutes. but there are still some (moire, rolling shutter).
but dslrs are no good for events recording etc. due to the limited video length. so you really need to say what you will use the camera for to get a sensible recommendation.
if just for casual family stuff, i would recommend instead a flip digital.
Am satisfied with the performance of my Sony HD, the only sour point is that it has its own format (.mkv) which doesnt run on every program, and requires a high performance laptop to play, and converting to .avi or something else is cumbersome and also takes some quality away.
.mkv is a standard format
I've had my Canon Vixia HF-100 for approaching two years now and I love it. Its about the size of a coke can, but the low light performance and HD video quality is exceptionally good. The only minor downer is that the AVCHD files are a pain to work with, I actually bought a Quad core Pentium PC just to be able to view the videos in real time without having to convert into an intermediate format. Having said that the iMovie program on my Macbook handles the output very well, converting it into its own intermediate format which makes editing the movies a breeze. Somewhere along the line I'm probably losing some quality, but its not really that noticable.
Anyway, even though its 2 years old I don't aim to upgrade anytime soon.. its that good.
I think a Canon Vixia would be great. The problem is those models don't seem to be available in Switzerland (a search on toppreise yielded no result). How easy would it be to get one from overseas?
I think Vixia is only used in the US markets (where I bought mine) here in Europe they seem to be called Legria.
The Sony HDR-HC9 is a pretty handy device. I quite like it.
Bob
One of the great things about using a DSLR is that you can use a whole selection of lenses. Are there any prosumer camcorders that offer this? As far as I know, you have to get into Red One territory before this becomes available.
more consumer than prosumer, but:
So it seems. I saw a couple of Legria cams at Mediamarkt, but since none of them mentioned the existence of a progressive mode, I assumed they all did interlaced only.
Now I'm somewhat confused at the different models (HD S21, S20, S200, M32, M31, M36 etc.). I see some have more or less internal memory. For my purposes (filming from a fixed position in a relatively dark lab with projected material) I don't really need internal memory, SD cards will do. Even less useful is a viewfinder or the possibility to affix hundreds of different lenses. Video quality is the decisive factor.
I have a the Panasonic HDC-SD60 and its fantastic. Easy to use, great quality in sound and vision.