HD Camcoders » AVCHD

Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder with 10.6 MP Still and 12x Optical Zoom

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:17:18 +0000

SALE Price: $ 1,519.00

USERS REVIEWS:

Just this simple fact helps make it a need to buy!!! After utilizing it for this little time I have managed to perform about its a lot of controls and get precisely what I want from it, the response to minimal light is not the best but it’s good, you can constantly add a excellent light for tiny funds and resolve that problem, also the sound good quality is outstanding, I did not get the optional xlr adapter piece for it but I am making use of a 8mm wireless mic method that combined with this tiny fellow supply excellent outcomes!! In brief words: “the new Panasonic AG-HCM40 is not the very best digital camera funds can buy but ,to my opinion, it is the finest digital camera cash can buy for this value!!”. . - Price tag, there are other designs in the marketplace that could supply a comparable top quality or most likely a minor better but the price is at least k more, if you feel like I do “creativity is the principal ingredient for a excellent production”, spending the added money does not really make a big difference as extended as you are conscious of the camera’s capabilities and limitations, but there is often techniques to enhance efficiency in some conditions that could affect the right performance of your equipment. It was a long wait but ultimately got it final week and then took it for a trip right away, its overall performance it is outstanding, I got this camera for a Television display we are creating, immediately after seeing a couple of possibilities we determined to get this one particular simply because of numerous reasons: - Dimension, the digital camera is extremely compact, for a camera that provides broadcast top quality image the dimension is amazingly modest. - Construction, this camera has most of its physique made out with metal panels, that tends to make it extremely sound and also tends to make it trustworthy, also the set up of the buttons are simple to entry. - Tapeless technology, we bought one more AVCHD digital camera a minor less than a 12 months ago, we use it largely for action shots and underwater recording, the transition was effortless, the positive aspects and capturing time are lowered to minimal and the top quality is incredible, with this model we discovered that its high quality is even greater than older designs and editing is a great deal faster, also recording expense are reduce to almost nothing at all with new SDHC cards that can be utilised more than and over without having loosing quality.

PROS:ƒ) MPEG-four. Shoots quite very good quality in a tiny light weight package. D) No timecode jam sync between two cameras. Immediately after shooting a brief this weekend I think this is going to be a good two 12 months partnership. B) Two options for sound: Seperate sound (best) or get the panasonic/beachtek adapter for on digital camera. I really like the softkeys with all the exact same capabilities. Excellent sound is nonetheless 50% of the production. †) I’m cool with renting HMC150 and redrock/letus for greater end projects if required. It just adds a minor to the time in post for manually lining up shots and sound tracks. I like utilizing seperate sound on a tascam or fostex digital recorder with 4 seperate channels (mic one, mic 2, wild background). C) It’s not the identical glass lens set as 150/170 so you could need to have various equipment. But you should use some thing quicker than just class six SDHC media if you want to bump up the top quality a small, otherwise you might get some artifacts (image difficulties) with quickly movement and striped clothes. I just met this digital camera last week, tiny brother to the HMC150. Clappers do give a kinda nostalgic flair for the crew and spectators. Semper fidelis, David Cannon. I am an intermediate producer in education with tons of self examine and attended a handful of wonderful workshops. Following two many years of shooting 1920 HD on the minimal end I have to say this digital camera impressed me. Even has time-lapse capability which confident beats roto-ing in post for a time lapse impact. …) Commence editing your shots on Mac in only 2-3 minutes with no waiting for rendering. „) You can squeeze two HMC40s in the exact same dimension carryon pelican situation as the 150. ‡) Excellent looking shots with 4:2: sampling. CONS: A) Manual button lovers will want to discover the softkey menus. ˆ) We produce our own stuff, make a profit and consumers maintain coming back. Oh nicely, I’ve been residing without having timecode sync because I started out. The HMC40 brings several welcome upgrades to market place. Identical dilemma as any media recording slower than the camera. Upgrade cameras each couple of years while the resale worth is still a excellent program. It really is no problem to preserve utilizing a clapper board anyway. No transcoding required, no 0 P2 cards either. I hope this helps. No different than employing an iphone. Just enjoy it. This provides you loads of space to remix in post or substitute sounds. With a 95 retail cost tag I can eventually afford to very own two really great HD cameras. This digital camera is fine for creating DVD projects or streaming HD. This camera does have its personal timecoding (HH:MM:SS:FF). I wish you the finest

The additional issue right here is that the common public grew to become used to seeing these monstrosities at events, and broadcasts. The Quality is considerably far better. Second: Dimension and weight, Until extremely recently, a Pro Video Camera came in two sizes, significant and super big. I am a Realist when it comes to reviewing a item. The video top quality produced by this digital camera will please the most discriminating client. This is the incorrect method, we must stop breaking our backs with our equipment, and rather educate the public of the technological advances that have benefited this sector. It can be recorded on once more and again, without having reduction of good quality. If you are considering of getting this camera, Just get it. . Several Video Camera Pros even now search for these monstrosities simply to appease their consumers visual expectations. Recording on SDHC cards will be a liberating encounter for people who employed tape in the previous. It is not affected by altitude like difficult drive consumer models. . . This digital camera deserves “6 Stars” on picture high quality. Third: You have all this top quality becoming recorded on SDHC cards (my advise is Class 10 30mbs or greater). You can’t record more than scenes by accident. think later on!!!. 00. First: we ought to contemplate the things price, 95. In the “Expert Video Camera World”, That is tantamount to saying a steal!!! I will not go into attributes and functions, the description of this Camera is given in detail on the merchandise description portion of this page.

Canon VIXIA HG20 AVCHD 60 GB HDD Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:32:10 +0000

The Canon HG20 AVCHD Hard Disk Drive camcorder sets a new common for Large Definition, delivering optimum image quality, long shooting occasions along with the extraordinary ease and versatility when viewing video on television or a personal computer. Capture remarkable HD video with even better detail and color reproduction with its innovative 24Mbps capability, and the addition of a video-capable SDHC card slot plus the extended 60GB internal Tough Disk Drive permits you to now record up to 22 hrs of video onto the internal Challenging Disk Drive so there’s no require to fear about operating out of room. And, like all Canon VIXIA camcorders, the HG20 functions: a Canon HD video lens, Total HD CMOS Sensor, and Canon’s unique DIGIC DV II image processor. Produce t

24Mbps provides the highest bit rate in AVCHD for Substantial Definition video – enabling improved colour reproduction and tonality
Record up to 22 hrs of Substantial Definition video to a 60 GB Difficult Disk Drive
Includes a genuine Canon 12x Substantial Definition video lens
Comes with a 3.3 megapixel full HD CMOS sensor (1920 x 1080) and a DIGIC DV II image processor
Functions Canon’s SuperRange optical image stabilizer

Rating:

SALE Price: $ 949.00

USERS REVIEWS:

I got this camera nowadays, I desired to get HG10 as it is cheaper, but I went with this one as it has higher Hard Disk capacity with little price difference.
The 1st check video taken was indoors and with reduced light, I noticed lot of dots in the frame, however, following setting the AWB to indoor and exposure to reduced light, the video looked considerably greater, then I attempted the sport setting with 24p and the video was remarkable!! I hooked the camera to my 40″ HD LCD Television, and the colours and sharpness are breathtaking!!

1 tip is to use the P (Programmed AE) setting with diverse choices of White Balance, the LCD screen is clear adequate to make a quick choice on the fly to select the best choice, I utilised 3 diverse settings walking in day light, then on a shady location, then inside a shop.

One factor to note that the battery functions only two hrs, Canon gives far better battery with four hours duration priced all around $ one hundred.

You also require to study the pros and cons of the video codec, there are lot of data on the Canon HG10 critiques, and really useful. In common the larger the frame bit rate and resolution, the longer it will take to method and edit the video and considerably longer to burn it on DVD or BluRay.

I in fact found out that Google’s Picasa three application (free download) can open the videos recorded by the camera, this tool can export any clip (or portion of it) to wmv format, once the file is exported, you can use any video editor like Microsoft Film Maker to compress the file or change it to DivX format, and so on.

Bill

Wonderful camera. The most significant flaw is not the 60 gb drive which is larger than you will ever want, or the menu interface which is effortless, intuitive and user friendly, the greatest flaw is the lack of the view finder on this camera. Large deal you say, its got a present day screen instead of a view finder, but that modern display in actually bright sunlight kinda washes out (like all those screens do) and may possibly lead you to modify the settings or force you to trust your autoexposure when you are taking individuals priceless outside shots. The hg 21 has the eye piece viewfinder which is a trustworthy indicator of what you are shooting in individuals problems, but for the extra 300 USDs it’s difficult to justify. The AF is super in this camera, no distiguishable periods “out of focus” as you rapidly zoom in and out. Also the head set or yellow AV jack, is a ought to have. Ever record tons of footage and discover out the only factor you can hear is the wind buffetting your microphone? Record wearing standard ipod form headphones and you do not have to assessment the footage to find out if you have the shot. Don’t get a camcorder without having that or the mic input which this camera has. Terrific simultaneous video record and nevertheless photo to the typical complete dimension SD card, cool, performs fantastic. Requires class 4 SD card, the speedy type. I assume the HG21 with the 120 gb has tons of storage, but it’s overkill and requires longer to do a total challenging drive clean than the 60gb hg20, but each have a quick clean function for the difficult drive. Ultimately don’t expect a lot from the packaged computer software if you actually want to edit. Corel has pro x2 which operates excellent for avchd. Final factor is the battery. It charges when the camera is pugged in and it operates fantastic. I was made to think that this camera is useless without having an external charger and tons of extra batteries, which is not genuine, 95 min is very good. Or just keep plugged to the wall. As a guy who normally struggles with engineering, I hope all my “study” helps some a single else and as the owner of the hg20 this camera delivers and is simple for anybody to use.

John R. Macdonald “sayrequest”

The HG20 is excellent. Super Picture. Sound is ok. The HDD tends to make some noise. SW runs on older Computer with one GIG Ram and 2.5 GIG Pent. But its right at the edge. Could use a Video Light. Expense goes up and down on this model a great bit. Computer HDD room to edit and shop will want to be large. Mini HDMI cable is a must for HD sets. Did a check with A HD television, by recording the Tv. Its fascinating. Have not tired nevertheless with a IR light supply. When the Cam is off, the Lense protector shakes a tiny. Battery is min. Will get Large cap battery for trips. Lots of Warnings on Care for this unit. But at a great price tag, this unit have a lot of value. The HF10 and HF100 are great buys also. the HF11 is significantly much more. The HG21 is significantly more, but has some extra attributes of a view finder. Camrea Mode take Point and Shoot Photographs will. But you have to be even now. Lots of manual controls. The Menu system requires a little acquiring utilised if you are use to the old canon MiniDV. Needed to wait a small more, but the old canon ZR45MC is past six a long time. But it analog pass thru. I could use that or a Dazzle unit to place video for family and the web rather of trying to convert the MT2S files. With the video files as large as they are, acquiring a Laptop will not be great with the unit or any HD machine.

Once again wanted to wait, but old camera was seeking pale on HD Television.

Excellent Issues:
60BG harddrive, LP and SP still very good for video.
Optics are fantastic. 12X. Attachments.
Simple Button
Connections (HDMI, USB, Analog outputs), Mic in, Head Phones,
Lots of issues to add on with Canon (battery, Optics)
Card Slot alternative
Car Lense Cap.

Poor points,
Joy Stick control on view finder.
Heavier than Full Flash based mostly unit.
Some Rattles (Not in function mode, just in off mode with Lenses Protector.)
Not a lot Computer software or Hardware to edit with. (Vista Needs appear twice that of XP).

Things to contemplate:
Add Battery Pack (One particular big one, or 2 little ones).
Tripod
Optics (Filters, Broad Angle, Telephoto)
Video Light for lower light.
Quad Core, 6 MB Ram, 1 TB HDD personal computer for editing video.

Camcordermachine

Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:18:31 +0000

The cooler than cool AG-HMC150 drew massive crowds at the 2008 NAB Display. Why? Merely because it gives an unheard of Bang for the Buck, in a 1/3-inch 3-chip hand held tapeless HD camcorder, even though retaining the core versatility of the DVX100B. The HMC150 sports a 28mm lens appropriate out of the box and a new PH Record mode (21 Mbps) which offers increased resolution with a host of recording formats which includes 24p. Add to that, incredible reduced light efficiency, extended record and battery time and professional Audio capabilities at a price tag that will make it an instant hit with a wide assortment of AV Shooters, Indie creators and Event video experts.

Full assortment of HD formats: 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p (Native) 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p (Native)
Higher bit-rate recording than customer designs (21 Mbps PH Mode)
13X Wide angle 28 mm lens out of the box (35mm equiv.) 1/three-inch CCD Progressive Imagers
Waveform Monitor, Vectorscope plus two Concentrate displays for correct, rapid concentrate
three.five-inch LCD monitor displays thumbnails for speedy non-linear access to clips
Complete range of HD formats: 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p (Native) , 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p (Native)
13X Broad angle 28 mm lens out of the box (35mm equiv.) , one/3-inch CCD Progressive Imagers

Rating:

SALE Price: $ 2,859.95

USERS REVIEWS:

I received my 150 a small over a week ago. Bought it due to the fact I desired to move up to HD and get out of the tape business. It did not come with an SDHC card. Purchased an 8 GB to carry me over until finally my 16 GB cards arrive through Amazon. I am even now on the understanding curve on it. Specifically liked the large comfy color view eye piece. I was also amazed by the clarity of the video play back on my 48″ LCD display. Used the 3 cable output very first, that came with the camera( Video, Lt. Rt. Audio )

Extremely clear video, much clearer than my trusty old Canon GL-two It does not come with an HDMI cable. Bought a single locally and tried it. Plugged 1 finish into the HDMI out port on the camera and the other finish into the HDMI port of my Tv. I was blown away by how clear it was !! The video was clearer than some of the stations I view in HD.

On playback, you are provided a thumbnail of the 1st frame of every single scene you shot when you turned the camera on. On playback, you can skip around the scenes you want to view , or delete if needed. The concentrate help is another nice function. When you use it, it momentarily zooms in on the middle of your subsequent shot so that you can fine concentrate if necessary.

It has numerous other features that I have not attempted nevertheless. On editing, purchased the Pinnacle 12 Ultimate since it is set up to deal with the AVHCD format and a Pc with the AMD quad Phenom processor with three GB of RAM. Waiting for a a lot more strong graphics card to arrive prior to trying to edit in this new format. The battery that came with it is tiny. Would recommend buying the bigger battery as soon as you can to balance it out. Correct now, it feels a little out of balance simply because of the smaller battery. Also liked the strong magnesium physique. No plastic anyplace ! Overall, I am impressed with this camera.

Bob Mckelvy

Panasonic AG-HMC150

I shoot weddings and I have utilized The HMC150, the Canon AH1.

From the beginning allow me first tell you in which my opinion is coming from – cost tag: 00

1st off, neither of these cameras are brilliant in reduced light. They have one/3 imagers. I never care if they are made of gold and there are 10 of them.
one/3 imagers are too modest to collect sufficient light, even if you connected the Hubbell telescope to them.

To place this kind of tiny sensors in a 00 is poor, inexpensive engineering specifically when SLR have bigger sensors, shoot HD and do not cost this a lot.

Who are these camera angled at?

Videographers and indie filmmakers.

As a videographer what are you most concerned with – Reduced light.
Why? Since you can’t management lights at weddings at parties, and so on. So your camera has to be ready to take care of it.

As an Indie filmmaker what are you most concerned with – The capability to look like film. It does, with 24p and film gamma, it really is about all you require. But you are having to pay a premium. But for me, equally crucial to film appear as 24fps is lens choice. Right here you get none. Whilst 24fps is what is ingrained in the everyone’s consciousness as what film should search like, they also don’t realize that shallow depth of area and variety of lenses is also. With these camcorders you get no option, a 13x zoom with really wide depth of area at most each and every focal distance, since it’s a zoom and because the imagers are tiny.

Excellent news The AG-HMC150 can handle most lighting situations.
Negative news – AVCHD codec, is noisy in even bright sunlight afternoons. The image is made of blotch.

Measuring image integrity by zoom aspect – at 100% AVCHD compression is clearly visible. 200% the image is a swarming, infected mess.
Though the Panny can holdup in low light. I shot in a dark club and there was nonetheless some thing to see.
It has a very weird automobile iris mode, that brings in much more light, even when you do precise settings in manual.
Do not know if there is a magic switch, didn’t have it long enough to function every little thing out.

The Canon utilizes HDV and as a substitute of compression codec noise, you get digital noise unpleasant grain (not like film), and washed out video at one hundred%. At 200% it is like searching at a digital still from a ten year previous point and shoot. And trust me, when an image is washed out and grainy, there is extremely tiny you can do (Some gamma correction will bring the shadows back to existence, but that noise is there to keep. And the drop down to SD does not do it any favors.

Bottom line the Canon sucks in low light, specifically in anything other than automobile mode. I shot in a reduced light room and the image was garbage. Regardless of some settings tweaking, which leads me to Canon’s 2nd most significant problem and a dilemma with these camcorders in general.

The LCD and the Viewfinder are also little to see how your image is holding up. Almost everything looked wonderful on the Canon’s 2.seven LCD…and then when you get it back to edit. Noise city. So you can only use the LCD for just simple image checking.

The HMC150 has a 3.five LCD, but the brilliant engineers produced it a four:three ratio! You have black matting in the image! The camera can only shoot 16×9 and they place a 4×3 LCD on it…so in the finish you only get about 2.seven” of genuine estate and you see as considerably as on the Canon, unless you are in concentrate assist mode which zooms in and makes use of the entire LCD.

So you have to know your settings and be shutter/iris paranoid, hoping for the very best image. What you see is not what you get, you have to know what you want, like with film and set the camera accordingly, knowing which settings will get you want in the Finish, not what you are seeking at through the camera.

The HMC150 certainly advantages from the higher rez. The Canon is 1440×1080. You can see the distinction.

The Canon is more professionally developed. Both plastic, but the canon feels much more professional, and weirdly the HMC feels like a Tonka Toy, difficult textured plastic, but like a light and chunky toy. I can hear the optical stabilizer clunking about in it. The Canon aesthetically looks far more specialist.

Audio on the Canon is much better, it has significantly better limiter, I do not even believe the HMC’s is helpful, but if you plug one particular xlr mic into the Canon…the onboard becomes unusable. HMC lets you assign channels for the onboard. Negative news is the onboard mic on each sucks, the Canon sounds better due to the fact the HDV format has greater rez than the compressed AVCHD codec.

The HMC and it’s tapeless/AVCHD codec does not save a lot time, the transcoding takes virtually as lengthy if not longer than actual time (HDV tape) and sometimes there are errors, especially transferring from camera, the footage speeds up, the audio remains continual and you have shorter clips. Happened continually. My guess, USB and it is…

Read far more

Cornelius Fortinbras III “fabled”

A single thing you want to keep in thoughts is that editing AVCCam/AVCHD is a P.I.T.A. I am using CS4 on a 2.four quadcore with 8gig of RAM and Vista64 and it really is sluggish with frequent lockups. I am obtaining Cineform ProspectHD v4 when it comes out to compensate. Vegas 8.0c and Edius performs effectively I’m told, and FCP require to convert it to ProRes (or what ever it is called). I believe Avid needs to convert it to a native codec as well. Panasonic does provide a cost-free converter to DVCProHD on there website

[Update six/five/09... Premiere CS4 4.one update is out, and editing is considerably simpler. Also, Prospect v4 is out, and editing with the demo I've been attempting has been a joy]

That stated… the camera itself is awesome. Genuinely. I am coming from the DVX, and this is leaps and bounds above that (which is saying something). The images I am getting are lovely. I am organizing on going out now on my days off to shoot just for the entertaining of it.

I really can’t add anything at all that hasn’t been stated currently by other individuals. But if you’re searching at the HVX200a or HPX170 (they all share the very same chips, and the HMC shares the identical glass as the HPX), but do not want to deal with the fees of P2 or need to have all of the functions of the HPX or HVX, I would Highly advise buying this rather.

Just be prepared for some editing headaches at first (the issue with bleeding edge technology is at times you need to have to get stitches).

Michael Harvey

AVCHD 3CCD High-Definition DVD Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom and 3.0″ Wide LCD

admin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 06:34:05 +0000

SALE Price: $ 999.95

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Sony HDR-CX7EK (Pal) AVCHD 6.1MP High Definition Flash Memory Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

admin — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:34:16 +0000

3.2-megapixel. 10x optical/20x digital zoom. Switchable HD/SD format recording.
Carl Zeiss Vario- Sonnar T* lens. 2.7-inch widescreen Hybrid touch-panel LCD.
Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization system. Super NightShot infrared system.

The compact size of this camcorder combined with its miniscule recording media make the HDR-CX7 high definition Handycam(R) camcorder a joy to use. Ultra-lightweight and easy to carry, it features a professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens and Super SteadyShot(R) optical image stabilization for stunningly sharp high definition video. Its large, 2.7-inch wide Clear Photo LCD Plus display featuring touch panel SwivelScreen(TM) technology makes it simple to view what you’re recording at

SALE Price: $ 1,190.01

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Panasonic Pro AG-HSC1U AVCHD 3CCD Flash Memory Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom

admin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:35:21 +0000

Record HD video direct to SDHC cards; up to 1 hour on a 4 GB SDHC card
3CCD system delivers improved color, detail, and gradation
Leica Dicomar lens with 12x optical zoom; built-in O.I.S.
5.1-channel audio recording; Zoom mic function adjusts audio to match camcorder movement
Includes 40 GB portable hard disk drive and 4 GB SDHC memory card

The new HSC1U records beautiful, detailed high-definition video images and clear, high-quality sound that make for exceptional viewing on today’s most advanced home theater systems. The HSC1U records directly onto high-capacity SDHC memory cards. This tough, compact model debuts as the world’s smallest and lightest 3CCD high-definition video camcorder, and because there are no moving parts in the recording section, the HSC1U is also exceptionally resistant to impact. You can count on reliable,

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Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

My favorite camera yet – I love it!, November 11, 2007

Thomas Tomchak (Wheaton, IL USA) – See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: Panasonic Pro AG-HSC1U AVCHD 3CCD Flash Memory Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I’m an editor by trade, so for me the work flow and support for this format was very important. If you work with iMovie use of this footage is fast and seamless. And if you prefer Final Cut Pro (as I do) it works flawlessly with that as well now, providing you have the current FCP 6 (which is part of the Studio 2 release). So where some have complained about being able to edit with this format, I don’t see that as a problem anymore.

The included battery powered HD works great (it’s larger then it looks in the picture though). It’s a great way to download your footage while you shoot. It works well.

The image quality is amazing. Really amazing. My previous camera was a Sony DV Camera (just a consumer model) and it was great but this is so much better.

The camera is very easy to use and you get used to just having it with you. I take it to more locations then I normally would, which means I actually shoot more footage.

One thing to consider in the big picture is where you will store all of this footage. Because I already work with tapeless footage at my office I have the necessary hardware to not only edit with the footage, but also back it up for long term archival purposes. If you don’t have this, you will probably want to get the optional DVD burner that allows you to burn a card directly to a DVD. But even DVD is not a good long term solution. Personally I use LTO-3 tapes because they have a 30 year shelf life, but this is not something most consumers will have. Blue-ray is probably another good format to back up to. The point being, don’t just think about how easy it is to shoot, think about the whole process from editing to final long term storage of your footage. This way of working does require a little more work along the way to stay organized and to be able to find your footage.

I purchased this model over the 5 or 1 model (I can’t remember the rest of the letters but if you’ve been looking at this camera you probably know what i”m talking about) mainly because of two reasons. One is that it has a line in for a wireless mic, which was important to me even if I don’t use a wireless mic all the time. Also, the gamma of this camera is better matched to Panasonic P2 cameras, making it a slightly (and I do mean slightly) better choice if you need to match this footage to a more professional camera.

I hope this information has been helpful to you.

Update Saturday; January 26, 2008 – If you would like to see a sample video that was cut from the footage shot with this camera, use the link below. Keep in mind this is not the full quality, but you’ll see how sharp the picture actually is. It also shows how weak the camera is in low light situations.

[...]

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

PanasONIC AG-HSCIU AVCHD CAMCORDER, January 3, 2008

M. Daley “Baypharm” (USA) – See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic Pro AG-HSC1U AVCHD 3CCD Flash Memory Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

Having previous extensive experience with other panasonic professional camcorders, I knew this one would be no less than amazing. I rate it a full five stars. It has outstanding image quality, ease of editing with iMovie ’09 and FCP, small form factor, and it uses SDHC cards which are readily available. This camcorder does not disappoint. The outstanding image quality is nothing short of fantastic. There is fineness in detail. When shooting into bright light, it compensates very effectively so everything is naturally exposed. Using standard cinematography techniques, there is a film-like quality that looks fabulous. Hint: in bright sunlight always use ND and polarizer filters. This camera turns on instantly and is ready to shoot. It has a good selection of manual controls. Sadly, there is no manual focusing ring. I use a step up ring to use readily available 49mm and larger filters. Battery life is a little over an hour – but get another two or three- that goes without saying – better safe than sorry when you are in the wild. This camcorder is small, lightweight and easy to operate. I use it handheld with a flash bracket or bean bag. For the best image quality use a smooth fluid head on top of a heavy tripod. The built in OIS works great for handheld use. I like the variable speed zoom servo. I can get silky slow motion zooms and fast ones if needed. It is still photo capable and I have used it but it’s of lesser importance to me. It’s small enough to tape outside on a car, truck, motorcycle or ATV for getting great camera angles.

Perhaps the best part is that it records 1080i/60 directly onto SDHC cards. No tape mechanism to jam. Check footage in camera and delete instantly what you don’t like. Place the card in your laptop for fast and easy transfer. As previously mentioned iMovie ’08 and ’09, Final Cut Express 4, Final Cut Studio 3, Adobe Premiere CS3, and other software titles work flawlessly in handling the AVCHD footage. Editing is quick and easy. The package comes with a handy self-powered 40gb HD for transferring footage in the field from the SDHC card. Very thoughtful of Panasonic to include this. It means you only need one or two cards to shoot with. An 8gb card will hold 83 minutes of HD footage or a 16gb card will allow you to shoot for two hours and twenty minutes. And you can use 32gb SDHC cards as well for even longer shoots. Again, don’t forget spare batteries! The 3″ LCD viewfinder is large and bright. I have no trouble using it on the brightest of sunlit days. The 5.1 audio is a bonus and does an excellent job when shooting interviews and outdoor nature footage. Using this camcorder is a pleasure.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Comprehensive little pocket camcorder, April 27, 2008

Bo Lorentzen “Photographer” (Los Angeles) – See all my reviews

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This review is from: Panasonic Pro AG-HSC1U AVCHD 3CCD Flash Memory Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The AG-HSC1U is a VERY small camcorder, for my particular use the size and solid-state recording was a big part of the choice.

Once in use the camcorder impressed with beautiful pictures, however for interviews one need to mount a bracket to hold the microphone, I got one with 2 shoe mounts for a video light to pop the faces and also a microphone, it would be nice to have a headphone jack, but there is no such thing, instead there is a recording level indicator on the screen, I was a bit apprehensive about this starting out, but in practical everyday use this works well.

This camcorder is a “Pro” version of the older Panasonic SD1 camera, the colors have been tweaked to match the look of other professional cameras, this works well and I find the shots to play nicely with much more expensive panasonic pro cameras.

Unlike most serious camcorders this camera is mostly menu driven, there is no exposure-compensation. however there is a small joystick which makes it easy to adjust the lighting. the most common used adjustments are accessed by sliding the mode slider to Manual and then pressing the joystick once, this will let you toggle through the settings one at a time, you can select a option by moving the cursor sideways – once selected you can move sideways to increase or decrease a setting such as aperture, gain, or shutter speed, press downwards to exit a option. in practical use this works easy and are simple to figure out, I use the aperture all the time and it is the first option when I turn on manual because it was used last. The camera have zebra stripes so it is easy to judge exposure.

The camera could possible have a bit more dynamic range, but I have not found it being a problem, I typically shoot outdoors interviews with a graduated ND filter to control the sky and use a reflector to pop some light in the top of the face which also is in the ND filter, the result look great and do not look like something from a cheap camcorder.

The lens is longer than the other SD cameras with 12x zoom, which really is about as long as you can hold still any way, I use this camera mostly on monopod or handheld in the cockpit of airplanes. The lens is sharp and with no vignetting.

The AVCHD files edits well with Vegas Pro 8, I have not tried the economy compression and only use the best quality setting which looks beautiful on the screen. A added bonus is the 40gig portable harddrive which ships with this camera model, the drive is battery powered and I have successfully dumped 5 days worth of cards to the drive with no recharge required.

Generally the camera performs well and overall I am very pleased with this purchase, it plays well with other cameras and I am about to pick up a second for the company. In my personal opinion this camera is highly recommended as long as you realize that have have some limitations it will serve you well and deliver images you can use for production. Ultimately, only you can determine if this camera will “do the trick” for you, based on your needs and the performance vs price of the camera, you can find larger cameras with more features at the same price, but they are pretty darn hard to stuff in the pocket in the cockpit.

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Canon HR10 AVCHD 3.1MP High Definition DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

admin — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 04:35:15 +0000

Record HD-quality home movies direct to DVD
1/2.7-inch Full HD CMOS image sensor; 1920 x1080 resolution
10x HD Video lens; 200x digital zoom
2.7-inch multi-angle Vivid Widescreen LCD
HDMI terminal; miniSD slot for digital still photos

The Canon HR10 raises the bar for high-definition quality for consumers who demand the very best but are not willing to compromise ease of use. Capture amazing HD detail and color reproduction on a standard 3-inch DVD discs and view it on a HD Blu Ray DVD player. Complete your high-definition home theater experience by creating the look and feel of Hollywood movies with the 24P Cinema Mode and achieve critical focus with the Instant AF. The HR10 offers the unparalleled combination of Canon

List Price: $ 1,399.99

SALE Price: $ 648.88

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Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Great Camcorder, December 31, 2008

Erwin Pili (NY, USA) – See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon HR10 AVCHD 3.1MP High Definition DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

I’ve had this camera for a few months now and so far no problems. There have been many events captured in HD – recitals, ball games, birthdays, etc. I have been able to use cheap DVD’s (available here at Amazon). It records in HD. Recorded media (8cm. DVD-R’s) is encoded in AVCHD and can be played directly using a bluray player.

-ep

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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Nice product, April 24, 2008

M. Kurapati “Ram” (Fallschurch, VA United States) – See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon HR10 AVCHD 3.1MP High Definition DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

I got this at a cheaper price, but the quality is worth the price. It has features, that most other camcoders doesn’t have.

It uses a codec format, that stores HD media on non-HD media (like DVDs). Very Nice.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Surprisingly good but a bit outdated., November 2, 2009

Keith Dickens – See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: Canon HR10 AVCHD 3.1MP High Definition DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

Actually, it probably is outdated. The DVD format is not the most efficient way to go. But the quality of the shots I’ve gotten with this camera are awesome for the price I paid. I’m willing at this point to get the quality and do a little extra work in the post-production phase to convert the video.

It took a bit a bit to figure out the best way to get the video, in either SD or HD format off the disks and onto our editing machine. We used Any Video Converter (Free) to convert the files to a more editable format.

The quality of the camera when used with proper lighting is amazing for a single CMOS camera. It does have issues with poor lighting. It will become grainy, especially when working under red lights (like what we had in our haunted house).

The limited time that can be captured (especially under HD) per disk can be a problem if you just want to shoot all day long and not worry about changing disks. If you want to make webisodes/independent movies its not really that big of a problem if you manage disk space adequately and use DL disks.

There are also plenty of 37mm lenses that can screw onto the front of this thing but once it is attached BE CAREFUL. Its not a solid mounting system like you’d get with a prosumer/professional camera and I could image a good wack on the lens breaking the camera threads, lens and camera housing quite easily.

The two biggest things that I don’t like are the lack of any support on Canon’s website. I would have liked to have seen a firmware update available by now that would make increase the battery life, add additional presets, or improve focus detection. Not that any of those things are terrible now, but firmware updates can always make those things better.

The other problem that I have with the camera is that to capture pictures you’ll need to buy a miniSD card. Not SD, SDHC, or even microSD…but miniSD. A dead format for cards. So if you buy this camera don’t think that the plethora of SD cards you have laying around will cover you. You’ll need to buy a miniSD card or two from Amazon at the same time.

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JVC Everio GZ-HM400 High-Definition Full HD AVCHD Flash Memory Camcorder with 10MP Still

admin — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 02:34:59 +0000

32GB Internal Flash Memory
Memory Card Slot for SDHC/SD)
Full HD AVCHD 1920×1080/60i Recording

Full HD memory camera with high image quality, high operability and high-quality body, designed in pursuit of the essence of video camera for enthusiastic adults.Full HD 1920×1080 Video

GZ-HM400 incorporates a 10.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor to record 1920×1080 Full HD AVCHD format video. The camera records at a stunning 1080 TV lines of horizontal resolution – the theoretical maximum level of 1920×1080 Full HD.

Real 9 Megapixel Stills with No Interpolation
The 10.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor is also th

List Price: $ 999.95

SALE Price: $ 789.00

Rating:

Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent camcorder, January 9, 2010

D. Duvall “tech hound” (Columbia, MD United States) – See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: JVC Everio GZ-HM400 High-Definition Full HD AVCHD Flash Memory Camcorder with 10MP Still (Electronics)

Purchased this camcorder for 9 from Amazon just after Thanksgiving. Have used it in several scenarios:

1) Indoor low-light: As other reviews online have said there is some noise in the image in low lights levels. The manual controls can compensate some but this is the weak point of the camera. I will say it is still order of magnitude better than my old MiniDV camera.

2) Indoor well lit: I recorded an event at my church with adequate indoor lighting and the image quality was great! The Optical Image Stabilization feature worked amazingly to take a lot of my hand shake out of the image even at a long zoom.

3) Outdoor daylight: Image quality is like nothing I have ever seen in a home camcorder. Really amazing HD quality video – in full light situations I don’t think you’ll find a better consumer camcorder.

I use a Mac w/ iMovie ’09 for video editing and the Mac had no problems seeing the camcorder and transferring the video for editing. Because of that I can’t comment on the “one touch” features of the camera that work only with Windows.

Only complaint is the menu system (laser touch) – the touch strip is a little over-sensitive but with a little practice time I’m doing ok with it. The manual dial on the front of the camera body below the lens is much more accurate and is a great feature for adjusting focus and brightness, and the large zoom rocker is very well placed and easy to use.

Was also pleased that this camera came with a 2hr. battery instead of the typical 1 hour found in most other brands and models.

Overall very pleased with this camcorder.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Its a Camcorder, September 20, 2009

AZ MEL (Arizona United States) – See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: JVC Everio GZ-HM400 High-Definition Full HD AVCHD Flash Memory Camcorder with 10MP Still (Electronics)

Important: The mini-HDMI cable is not included. Add one to your order. For a $ many Camcorder to not include a HDMI cable is pretty lame.

This is my first HD Camcorder (CC), and first with Flash storage. So the convenience of no DV tape is great.

The usability is ok. The main user interface is around the display. The buttons along the bottom are a little small for me, and mis-hits happen and the touch sensitivity takes some getting used to. The other main input device is the touch sensitive slider along the left edge. This isn’t bad but over shooting the intended selection happens about 30% of the time.

My initial play back review was on a 720P TV using a HDMI cable. I shot all the video on the highest quality setting (the CC calls it Blue ray quality). Some of my initial video was taken in lower light conditions and the graininess of the video was very noticeable and rather disappointing. Video taking in direct sunlight was very good.

My next viewing test was on a 1080P projector (at 10′ screen size). The grainy playback on the 720P TV looked noticeably better on the 1080P display. Good enough to change my mind on returning the CC.

The still shot capability is quite handy, the switch for full res still mode is well placed, and taking stills during video recording is very easy. I haven’t taken much high speed video yet, but it looks like it will need a lot more light than normal recording to work well.

The unit is very small and light. The hand strap is too short, I had to go past the widen “safety” part of the strap, so there isn’t much velcro grabbing.

I’m still on the first battery charge, so no data on how long it will last.

Overall I like the features and using the CC. But if my DV Sony hadn’t broke, it wouldn’t have bought this. The picture isn’t that much better.

I’ve yet to use the included software. I’ll add feedback on that later.

If 3.5 stars where available, that’s the rating I’d give it. Assuming as I get familiar with setup options, it may get better.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Remarkable camcorder, November 1, 2009

Canon VIXIA HF11 AVCHD 32 GB Flash Memory Camcorder w/12x Optical Zoom

admin — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:37:38 +0000

24Mbps offers the highest bit rate in AVCHD for High Definition video – enabling improved color reproduction and tonality
Record Up to 12 hours 15 minutes of High Definition Video on an internal 32 GB Flash drive
Includes a genuine Canon 12x High Definition video lens
Comes with a 3.3 megapixel full HD CMOS sensor (1920 x 1080) and a DIGIC DV II image processor
Features Canon’s SuperRange pptical image stabilizer

Adding to the success of the VIXIA HF10 and HF100, Canon introduces the HF11 which captures stunning High Definition video with even greater detail and tonal reproduction, with its innovative 24Mbps capability, and a higher internal Flash drive capacity of 32GB plus an SDHC card slot that allows extended recording time. And, like all Canon VIXIA camcorders, the HF11 features: a Canon HD video lens, FULL HD CMOS Sensor, and Canon’s exclusive DIGIC DV II image processor. Create the look and feel o

List Price: $ 1,199.99

SALE Price: $ 759.99

Rating: (out of reviews)

Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder

admin — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:45:23 +0000

Full range of HD formats: 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p (Native); 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p (Native)
Higher bit-rate recording than consumer models (21 Mbps PH Mode)
13X Wide angle 28 mm lens out of the box (35mm equiv.); 1/3-inch CCD Progressive Imagers
Waveform Monitor, Vectorscope plus two Focus displays for accurate, quick focus
3.5-inch LCD monitor displays thumbnails for quick non-linear access to clips

AVCCAM – the Industry’s Next Generation Affordable HD… The AG-HMC150 handheld is Panasonic’s exciting new introduction to the AVCCAM series. Representing a major step forward in affordable HD video capture, the HMC150 utilizes highly efficient AVCHD recording, the industry’s new long GOP standard based on MPEG-4, to provide stunning image quality and longer record time. The new handheld incorporates three 1/3-inch progressive CCD imagers to produce stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution picture qua

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SALE Price: Too low to display

Rating: (out of reviews)