Finally making the jump to HD

[Zucarita9000]

Ok, I'm ready to make the jump. Now that I have a shiny new MacBook Pro and finally can edit in HD, I'm looking for a new camcorder. I don't really know the differences between HDV and AVCHD, so I need some help. Here's what I want:

A small, compact, tape-less camcorder. Memory cards o HDD would be fine.
Hi-Def, but not necessarily full 1080p (don't really know if there are any).
Able to create individual clips whenever I press "Rec"
Easy to transfer to my computer. No "capturing". Instead, simple file downloads (like in a digital photo camera)
Compatible format with iMovieHD, iMovie '08 and Final Cut

Some models I've been eyeing are:

Panasonic HDC-SD1 and HDC-SD5
Canon HG10
Sony HDR-SR7

Currently, I have a Panasonic 3CCD Mini-DV camera. It's really nice, I really like the color reproduction and overall features. I don't have a brand preference though.

What would you recommend?

 

[tailschao]

As you already seem to know, the consumer-level HD camcorder market is limited to 2 formats; HDV and AVCHD.

HDV is an MPEG-2 based codec with a maximum Bitrate of 25Mbps. It is the most widely recognized and supported of the two, and produces the best image quality. It records to tape only.

AVCHD is a newer format that uses H.264 compression, so theoretically it is a better format than HDV. However, current AVCHD camcorders only record at a max of 15Mbps, this combined with whatever other reasons (Encoding inefficiencies maybe?) mean that current AVCHD cameras produce softer and blockier footage than HDV. It will undoubtedly improve, as the full potential bitrate (24Mbps) is used and the encoding chips in the cameras mature, but for now HDV provides the best image quality. AVCHD also has poor software support, and the complex compression algorithm(s) require High-End hardware to be used during post.

You say you want to record to HDD or Flash Memory, so you're limited to AVCHD. From a quick glance at Apple's Website, it seems that Final Cut cannot edit it, only iMovie '08 can. If you want to edit AVCHD in Final Cut, you'll have to re-encode to another format such as ProRes422, CineForm, or preferably uncompressed.

I'm assuming the MacBook specs in your sig are out of date, because i wouldn't edit AVCHD on a 13" screen with 1Gig of RAM and a single 120Gig Hard drive

The Best camera in your price range is the Canon HV20, but that's HDV. If I had to buy an AVCHD camera now, then i'd probably go for the Canon HG10. Just don't shoot in 24p with it.

 

[Zucarita9000]

Thanks for your help!
Actually, I'l be editing on a 2.2 MacBook Pro with 2 gigs of ram and an external fw hdd. I've been reading about AVCHD and, like you said, decided that it may not be the best time to go for it. Software support is still lacking, so I'll wait a few more months and see what happens. HDV looks nice, but I want to go tapeless.

 

[gsellis]

What tailschao said... IIRC, most of the AVCHD cameras are at 9MBps rates. I have not kept up, so I guess the 15MBps are newer ones.

I still recommend tape as you have to consider if you plan to archive your video with HDD. If you have 6 hours of video and no time to edit, what are going to do? Well, you will need to dump it to HDD on one of your machines. There goes 40GB. My tapes are more 'reliable' than my DASD, especially from 'clean ups' because I am out of space.

Yep, realtime capture is a pain. I suspect (as I have never used) that Final Cut has good logging options. I have done mark out, rewind, mark in, batch capture on tapes before. The only thing you have to worry about then is sufficient leader (I put 45sec of color bars on the beginning of a tape) and continuous shots (1 hour non-stop means you need to check the drop-frame box on the logging tool). I can cook dinner, do other chores, or go to Anandtech (multi-core means do other things) while logging

The HDR-HC5 and HV20 are in the same range with MiniDV tapes. I have a HC7 as it has mic in, headphone out, and OIS (the HV20 does too). The HV20 does 24p (but does not correctly do the pulldown - but there are 3rd party fixes) and has a better picture. The HC7 has better OIS (the Canon has a problem with element shake in extreme POV use) and is a bit tougher.