Kaido's 2009 Camcorder Guide

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

How does the HF S100 compare to this the Panasonic HDC-TM300?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
How does the HF S100 compare to this the Panasonic HDC-TM300?

No idea - I'd say, start reading reviews on both, then watch a TON of footage on Vimeo & Youtube - that's why I chose the HV20 when I bought my camera. I had a Sony HC7 before, and even though it was full HD, I just wasn't getting the footage I wanted. The HV20's 24p mode is what sold me - I really, really liked how it looked. I think Canon makes the best "home cinema"-style camcorders!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Ok, cause I was reading an article here and the Canon sorta fell short behind the Panasonic in Low Level Light noise; needing 16lux compared to 9lux of the Panny which sorta stopped me in my tracks. I actually ordered the Canon HF S100 first. And after I read the evil article at camcorderinfo I bought the Panasonic HDC TM300 too...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Ok, cause I was reading an article here and the Canon sorta fell short behind the Panasonic in Low Level Light noise; needing 16lux compared to 9lux of the Panny which sorta stopped me in my tracks. I actually ordered the Canon HF S100 first. And after I read the evil article at camcorderinfo I bought the Panasonic HDC TM300 too...

LOL! Post a shootout!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I probably could, heh

 

[mitchelt]

Kaido,

Awesome post!

My Sony DCR-HC96 was stolen a few weeks ago and I now have to buy a new video camera to continue taping our little girl growing up.

I decided it would be silly to get the same Sony because it's an old model. I decided on the HV30 because I want to stay with Tape because of the ease of editing and the fact that I cannot currently afford to buy a monster PC to edit AVCHD video files.

Do you think this is a good move or should I get a Flash Card driven camcorder like HFS-100 and just save up for a new computer? If you think I should go the HFS-100 route which company do you think I should get the new PC at...I don't have the time to research and build one from scratch?

Also, it sure seems cheaper buying tapes and storing them than numerouse SD cards.

I just can't make up my mind.

Thanks!

Mitch

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'm selling my Tape MiniDV Canon Optrura Xi

Anyways, I could not stand doing the whole tape thing. Way too time consuming. I bought the Canon HF S100 for its overall performance and then I bought the Panasonic HDC TM300 because of its excellent low level light performance. I can stand the noise that comes through the audio when taping local punk metal and HC shows but I can't stand the noise that comes through the video on low light levels. Here is a good review at camcorderinfo comparing the Canon against some equal class HD flash cams. If you decide on a flash cam which I recommend, go for the class 6 SDHC flash cards. Those transfer at a faster rate. I bought 2 32g Transcend sticks here. I'd also recommend going to B&HPhotoVideo for some good prices. I bought my Canon for 899$ there.

Honestly I haven't done any video editing with AVCHD yet but I'll trade the time it takes to edit what I want over running a tape just to get the video I want into my pc in the first place. You can probably pick up a cheap Q6600 and a nice P35 or P45 board (i'd recommend the Gigabyte UD3R or P boards for overclocking + they are ~ 100$) and then you can get @ 4gb of ram for 40-50$ and you are just about tipping 350$ for a AVCHD editing machine

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

What do I need to play AVCHD files on my PC - using Vistal Ultimate.. I hear only 'windows 7' WMP will only play AVCHD files natively...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mitchelt
Kaido,

Awesome post!

My Sony DCR-HC96 was stolen a few weeks ago and I now have to buy a new video camera to continue taping our little girl growing up.

I decided it would be silly to get the same Sony because it's an old model. I decided on the HV30 because I want to stay with Tape because of the ease of editing and the fact that I cannot currently afford to buy a monster PC to edit AVCHD video files.

Do you think this is a good move or should I get a Flash Card driven camcorder like HFS-100 and just save up for a new computer? If you think I should go the HFS-100 route which company do you think I should get the new PC at...I don't have the time to research and build one from scratch?

Also, it sure seems cheaper buying tapes and storing them than numerouse SD cards.

I just can't make up my mind.

Thanks!

Mitch

Ah, bummer about the theft! But it's a good opportunity to get some new toys

Despite the cons of tape (tape motor noise, 1:1 time import + conversion), if you're doing a LOT of recording, tapes are fabulous for archiving. At like $6 a cassette, it's a cheap and reliable form of storage for recordings. Hard drives are great, but there's still a high intro price (1TB is still $70+), they can die over time, you can lose data without a RAID system and backup drives, and they start slowing down when they get past 50% full. So there's pros and cons to both systems.

The HV30 is absolutely fabulous. If you're going tape, there's nothing else I'd recommend for under a grand. The HFS-100 is also awesome. What it really boils down to is if you want to deal with tapes (simple storage) or memory cards (more convenient). The HV30 is supposed to be slightly better low-light capabilities than the flash-based cameras as well.

For the computer, depends - do you want a Mac or PC? The real question is, what software do you want to do your editing in? iBuyPower is a pretty decent place to go with for a custom build. Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
What do I need to play AVCHD files on my PC - using Vistal Ultimate.. I hear only 'windows 7' WMP will only play AVCHD files natively...

CCCP or K-Lite would probably work:

http://cccp-project.net/

http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Try out AVCHD editing in your software to see how it performs, but really you're going to want to use something like VoltaicHD to convert the footage. AVCHD is just a pain to edit haha.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
What do I need to play AVCHD files on my PC - using Vistal Ultimate.. I hear only 'windows 7' WMP will only play AVCHD files natively...

CCCP or K-Lite would probably work:

http://cccp-project.net/

http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Try out AVCHD editing in your software to see how it performs, but really you're going to want to use something like VoltaicHD to convert the footage. AVCHD is just a pain to edit haha.

When I edit my clips, I'll probably use Windows Movie Maker.
How many steps do I have to take to get the files able to be imported to WMM for use & editing?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
What do I need to play AVCHD files on my PC - using Vistal Ultimate.. I hear only 'windows 7' WMP will only play AVCHD files natively...

CCCP or K-Lite would probably work:

http://cccp-project.net/

http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Try out AVCHD editing in your software to see how it performs, but really you're going to want to use something like VoltaicHD to convert the footage. AVCHD is just a pain to edit haha.

When I edit my clips, I'll probably use Windows Movie Maker.
How many steps do I have to take to get the files able to be imported to WMM for use & editing?

1. Use VoltaicHD to transcode the AVCHD files on the SD card into whatever format WMM uses
2. Open transcoded files in WMM and edit to your liking (clips, transitions, music, titles, etc.)
3. Export to a format of your choice for playback (DVD, Youtube, etc.)

Just do some research on what WMM likes to use the best (probably WMV or AVI) and setup Voltaic to export to that format, then test it out and make sure the settings are good (run a clip through the whole process, especially exporting - transcoding can take a few tries to get dialed in).

 

[mitchelt]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: mitchelt
Kaido,

Awesome post!

My Sony DCR-HC96 was stolen a few weeks ago and I now have to buy a new video camera to continue taping our little girl growing up.

I decided it would be silly to get the same Sony because it's an old model. I decided on the HV30 because I want to stay with Tape because of the ease of editing and the fact that I cannot currently afford to buy a monster PC to edit AVCHD video files.

Do you think this is a good move or should I get a Flash Card driven camcorder like HFS-100 and just save up for a new computer? If you think I should go the HFS-100 route which company do you think I should get the new PC at...I don't have the time to research and build one from scratch?

Also, it sure seems cheaper buying tapes and storing them than numerouse SD cards.

I just can't make up my mind.

Thanks!

Mitch

Ah, bummer about the theft! But it's a good opportunity to get some new toys

Despite the cons of tape (tape motor noise, 1:1 time import + conversion), if you're doing a LOT of recording, tapes are fabulous for archiving. At like $6 a cassette, it's a cheap and reliable form of storage for recordings. Hard drives are great, but there's still a high intro price (1TB is still $70+), they can die over time, you can lose data without a RAID system and backup drives, and they start slowing down when they get past 50% full. So there's pros and cons to both systems.

The HV30 is absolutely fabulous. If you're going tape, there's nothing else I'd recommend for under a grand. The HFS-100 is also awesome. What it really boils down to is if you want to deal with tapes (simple storage) or memory cards (more convenient). The HV30 is supposed to be slightly better low-light capabilities than the flash-based cameras as well.

For the computer, depends - do you want a Mac or PC? The real question is, what software do you want to do your editing in? iBuyPower is a pretty decent place to go with for a custom build. Do you have a budget in mind?

Thanks for the comments!

I think it would be nice to stay around $1500 - $1800 for a new PC...no Mac's please. I'll check out iBuyPower and see what they have. I read a review on the Dell Studio XPS 435 and it got some very good comments.

Boy...I just don't know what to do with Tape vs. Memory Cards.

I'll do some more research and see what I can come up with, I'm sure I will be as confused with buying a PC also.

Mitch

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mitchelt
Thanks for the comments!

I think it would be nice to stay around $1500 - $1800 for a new PC...no Mac's please. I'll check out iBuyPower and see what they have. I read a review on the Dell Studio XPS 435 and it got some very good comments.

Boy...I just don't know what to do with Tape vs. Memory Cards.

I'll do some more research and see what I can come up with, I'm sure I will be as confused with buying a PC also.

Mitch

Yah, Dell is the other one I was going to suggest. If you're up for it, you can build a killer machine if you can handle a screwdriver

What NLE do you plan on using?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

15-1800 will get you a nice new i7

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
What do I need to play AVCHD files on my PC - using Vistal Ultimate.. I hear only 'windows 7' WMP will only play AVCHD files natively...

CCCP or K-Lite would probably work:

http://cccp-project.net/

http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Try out AVCHD editing in your software to see how it performs, but really you're going to want to use something like VoltaicHD to convert the footage. AVCHD is just a pain to edit haha.

When I edit my clips, I'll probably use Windows Movie Maker.
How many steps do I have to take to get the files able to be imported to WMM for use & editing?

1. Use VoltaicHD to transcode the AVCHD files on the SD card into whatever format WMM uses
2. Open transcoded files in WMM and edit to your liking (clips, transitions, music, titles, etc.)
3. Export to a format of your choice for playback (DVD, Youtube, etc.)

Just do some research on what WMM likes to use the best (probably WMV or AVI) and setup Voltaic to export to that format, then test it out and make sure the settings are good (run a clip through the whole process, especially exporting - transcoding can take a few tries to get dialed in).

Thanks!

Are there any that are free that are really good!?

 

[mitchelt]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: mitchelt
Thanks for the comments!

I think it would be nice to stay around $1500 - $1800 for a new PC...no Mac's please. I'll check out iBuyPower and see what they have. I read a review on the Dell Studio XPS 435 and it got some very good comments.

Boy...I just don't know what to do with Tape vs. Memory Cards.

I'll do some more research and see what I can come up with, I'm sure I will be as confused with buying a PC also.

Mitch

Yah, Dell is the other one I was going to suggest. If you're up for it, you can build a killer machine if you can handle a screwdriver

What NLE do you plan on using?

I've built a few PC's in the past and my neighbor is a PC guru...I just don't know if I will have the time to build one. Perhaps I may find the time and configure one on NewEgg and see what the price comes up to, if I can save some $$$ or get better for the $$$ I may do it.

NLE: Adobe Premiere and Pinnacle Studio

Mitch

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
What do I need to play AVCHD files on my PC - using Vistal Ultimate.. I hear only 'windows 7' WMP will only play AVCHD files natively...

CCCP or K-Lite would probably work:

http://cccp-project.net/

http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Try out AVCHD editing in your software to see how it performs, but really you're going to want to use something like VoltaicHD to convert the footage. AVCHD is just a pain to edit haha.

When I edit my clips, I'll probably use Windows Movie Maker.
How many steps do I have to take to get the files able to be imported to WMM for use & editing?

1. Use VoltaicHD to transcode the AVCHD files on the SD card into whatever format WMM uses
2. Open transcoded files in WMM and edit to your liking (clips, transitions, music, titles, etc.)
3. Export to a format of your choice for playback (DVD, Youtube, etc.)

Just do some research on what WMM likes to use the best (probably WMV or AVI) and setup Voltaic to export to that format, then test it out and make sure the settings are good (run a clip through the whole process, especially exporting - transcoding can take a few tries to get dialed in).

Thanks!

Are there any that are free that are really good!?

None that I'm aware of. VoltaicHD is only $35 though, I consider it an essential part of any flash-based HD camcorder that records to AVCHD.

 

[theblackbox]

well, it's no brevis but it's mine.

just got my jag35 in the mail.

i'm fabbing some rails and a follow focus, so i'll post some pictures once i am done. I'll also post some pics, been playing with my overpriced but really cool manfrotto 560B. got lots of work to do, but i will post my rails and follow focus in a few days, once i have the rig built. in the meantime, i figure i'd share these pics with you.

Front view

Top view



i'm fabbing some rails and a follow focus, so i'll post some pictures once i am done. I'll also post some pics, been playing with my overpriced but really cool manfrotto 560B. got lots of work to do, but i will post my rails and follow focus in a few days, once i have the rig built. in the meantime, i figure i'd share these pics with you.">Front view]http://www.moodydood.com/front.jpg[/L]

the lens is nothing special, just a canon 50mm f1.4, picked it up for 60 bucks at a local camera shop.

so far, i'm impressed with the build and design of the jag35. i got the jag35e even though the pro has 58mm threads, i didn't mind. i had an opteka achromat and a set of old macro lenses i was going to play with to see what kind of results i could turn out.

after thats all done, i'm going to look into building a bracket for an external lcd, i have a flip screen dvd player to use, so it should be fairly interesting. and i need to decide on a mattebox.

i use the canon dm-100 mic on the camera. it works for now.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

What usage is that Jag35 for?
I get my Canon HF S100 UPS today! :heart: Then my Panasonic HDC TM300 tomorrow :heart: :heart:

Nice BTW

 

[theblackbox]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
What usage is that Jag35 for?
I get my Canon HF S100 UPS today! :heart: Then my Panasonic HDC TM300 tomorrow :heart: :heart:

Nice BTW

basically, it allows you to shoot footage with a very shallow depth of field. it adds to the movie feeling, as it basically allows you to pull or throw focus easily, just like you see in movies.

it's a cheap way to do what expensive cameras do.

i thought about picking up a tm300, but in reality, the low light performance of the hf s series is good enough. i take what camcorderinfo says with a grain of salt, because their reviews sometimes go in weird ways that i could only think some form of sponsorship suggests. now, with the price of the hf s100 dropping like it is, i think i will pick one up for multi cam shots.

 

[theblackbox]

obligatory dead cat shot

Dead cat

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: theblackbox

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
What usage is that Jag35 for?
I get my Canon HF S100 UPS today! :heart: Then my Panasonic HDC TM300 tomorrow :heart: :heart:

Nice BTW

basically, it allows you to shoot footage with a very shallow depth of field. it adds to the movie feeling, as it basically allows you to pull or throw focus easily, just like you see in movies.

it's a cheap way to do what expensive cameras do.

:laugh: Dead Cat

I'm not sure what you mean by shallow depth... can you give an example in a popular movie... hmm, maybe i'll look it up too.

 

[theblackbox]

almost any movie where there is dialog between two people, if you notice the person talking may be in focus, while the other person and the background are out of focus, then when the other person speaks, focus goes to that person. or, as in photography, when you do a portrait and the person is in focus but the back ground is out of focus.

on video cameras, since they tend to keep everything in focus, you can get shallower depth of focus by shooting in aperture priority mode and setting it to f2.8 then zooming in on the subject to make the background blur, but it's hard to pull off well with a video camera. so the adapter allows you to use a 35mm camera lens and use the focus ring of the lens, instead of the video camera focus. it's a neat tool for using in video footage. a lot of people overuse them, but like any tool, it can add more of a movie like look, instead of the always in focus video look, and can make it a little softer, so it doesn't always appear so sharp. if you go out on vimeo you can see a lot of test footage done by people that shows the use of the adapter. jag35 is a guy that makes adapters that are fairly inexpensive, as they can go up to thousands of bucks.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: theblackbox
well, it's no brevis but it's mine.

just got my jag35 in the mail.

i'm fabbing some rails and a follow focus, so i'll post some pictures once i am done. I'll also post some pics, been playing with my overpriced but really cool manfrotto 560B. got lots of work to do, but i will post my rails and follow focus in a few days, once i have the rig built. in the meantime, i figure i'd share these pics with you.

Front view

Top view



i'm fabbing some rails and a follow focus, so i'll post some pictures once i am done. I'll also post some pics, been playing with my overpriced but really cool manfrotto 560B. got lots of work to do, but i will post my rails and follow focus in a few days, once i have the rig built. in the meantime, i figure i'd share these pics with you.">Front view]http://www.moodydood.com/front.jpg[/L]

the lens is nothing special, just a canon 50mm f1.4, picked it up for 60 bucks at a local camera shop.

so far, i'm impressed with the build and design of the jag35. i got the jag35e even though the pro has 58mm threads, i didn't mind. i had an opteka achromat and a set of old macro lenses i was going to play with to see what kind of results i could turn out.

after thats all done, i'm going to look into building a bracket for an external lcd, i have a flip screen dvd player to use, so it should be fairly interesting. and i need to decide on a mattebox.

i use the canon dm-100 mic on the camera. it works for now.

Holy crap :laugh: That's awesome! Post some footage ASAP!!