Camera with High Definition option.

Question

Forum,
I have read many posts about HD cameras.
It seems HD can be many things,I think?
My needs are quite simple.
Holiday video, yachting,animals and messing about.
I have 1200£ ,say 2000 $ to spend.
A camera that will fit in a small bag.
Not something that needs two men to carry.
From what I have read some HD codecs, is that the correct term?,require vast Gb.
I have 100GB on the iMac and 250 on a Lacie 800 drive.
I do not understand what the different hd options mean.
Thank you
Michael Craven

Answer 1

I have been using the HC7 for about 3 months.
Gorgeous image in Hi Def, major pain to convert to
standard DV for output. And major rendering time. To
convert "in camera" your converted image will not be
a full 3:4 aspect ratio unless it is squeezed, or
letterboxed. Also, from my first tests, I don't think
the converted image is as sharp as the native
standard def image. Although I've been capturing with
no problems for several weeks, all of a sudden my
computer and FCP cannot "see" the camera. Not for
output, not for capture (which is why I'm poking
around on this discussion board). When I first got
the camera it stuttered on playback. I was using the
low-end tapes that came with the camera. When I
switched to better quality tapes, no stuttering. I
will probably be shooting mainly DV quality until
things get easier to manage, as my main output is to
DVD. Even at standard def, it's still a gorgeous
image. With the larger CMOS chip, I think the
standard def is pretty comparable to a standard def 3
chip.
17" PowerBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.4.9)
Linda Sue
Thank you
Michael Craven