Ernie Zahn Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I'm going to be making a series of short web videos over the next few months as well as some short documentaries. I'm looking to see if there are any great HD cameras that shoot progressive and are fairly cheap. I'm ok with bad sound because I'll be using a Zoom H4n for external audio. I was looking at the Sony Cybershot. It sells for $250 at Best Buy. It's nice, I worked with it on a project once but it will would be nice to have a little more lens control but I guess that's where the extra $500+ comes in right? Can anyone recommend a line of HD cameras that are in the consumer price range like the Cybershot? Would Cybershot be your first choice? I'm okay with whatever storage media, HDV, SD, CF whatever. For these projects which are more practical, I'm okay with auto-focus, exposure etc. just as long as it handles those functions well. Suggestions? P.S. this will be a temp camera for me as I will prob get a 7D in 7 months or so. However, I need something for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted January 24, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted January 24, 2010 Lowest end camera I used recently at all was the Canon HV20, it's a bit more expensive than they cybershot, but wasn't all that bad to work with when I had to. Also there are those new "flip" cameras, but I haven't worked with them honestly, but might work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Burke Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I would recommend the canon vixia hfs100, or the latest version of it. shoots true 1920 x 1080. Image quality is quite good. The cine mode isn't so bad either. really good camera for no budget projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Zahn Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Lowest end camera I used recently at all was the Canon HV20, it's a bit more expensive than they cybershot, but wasn't all that bad to work with when I had to. Also there are those new "flip" cameras, but I haven't worked with them honestly, but might work for you. Thanks. Yes I've seen the flip. I haven't used it but seems a little too rudimentary. This is the Cybershot that I'm looking at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OI2LV8/ref=as...ASIN=B001OI2LV8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Hal Smith Posted January 24, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted January 24, 2010 BH has a sale on them, $799 until the end of January. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5974...h.html#features That's a competitive price with the low-end dealers who don't have the customer support reputation that BH has earned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas James Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 The best camera for the money is the Sanyo VPC-FH1 which features full high definition 1080p60 for $399. The Sanyo HD-2000 alsohas 1080p60 and it blows the Canon HV-40 out of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohamed Fawzy Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I would recommend the canon vixia hfs100, or the latest version of it. shoots true 1920 x 1080. Image quality is quite good. The cine mode isn't so bad either. really good camera for no budget projects. I second that, I have that camera and it's just amazing, you could check out videos shot on it on Vimeo, and I know some guy who used it to shoot along with a CineAlta and the footage wasn't half bad in comparison... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas James Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 The problem with the Canon Vixia is that the footage is limited to 30 frames per second. The Sanyo on the other hand goes up to 60 frames per second so the Sanyo will be excellent for slow motion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas James Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 According to the consumer camcorder reviews the Canon HFS 100 came in 6th place and scored 258 while the Sanyo HD2000 came in 7th place with a score of 257 which is almost a tie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohamed Fawzy Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I dunno about the Sanyo HD2000, but I looked into the Sanyo FH1 when I was shopping for a camcorder, and I didn't like the footage at all, it had lots of chromatic aberrations, the colors weren't accurate and the overall image looked kinda diffused... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas James Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 The Canon HFS100 scored 10.03 for color perfomance while the Sanyo HD2000 scored 10.08 which is almost a tie. Sanyo's weak point was its skin tone reproduction. Sanyo's chromatic abberations result because the color is recorded at 30 frames per second while the luma is recorded at 60 frames per second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted January 25, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted January 25, 2010 I'll second the Canon HV20, or whatever's replaced it in the ten minutes since I last looked at one. It isn't blazingly sharp, but it's quite decent for all that. Carefully shot, might look quite good. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Zahn Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Thanks for all of the recommendations. I'll have to take a look at some youtube samples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted January 25, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted January 25, 2010 Be much better to go to a proper camera shop and get your hands on a few of the cameras (BH is where I normally go, or Camulet. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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