Canon HV-30 vs Sony HDR-SR12....?

Question

I have done some research and am interested in these two camcorders. I don't understand quality differences - such as low light performance, and how the larger CMOS sensor in the Sony will help or hinder this. I don't understand "editing" time requirement differences. I don't understand if the various playmodes (24p, 30p, 60i) in the Canon vs Sony (60i) and whether or not it matters. I don't know if recording on MiniDV gives a substantially better quality picture than recording on a Hard-Drive or Flash Memory. Expert advise requested.

Answer 1

Comparing a miniDV tape camcorder that recorders to DV or HDV against a hard drive based camcorder that compresses into MPEG2 or AVCHD is not really a fair fight.

DV and HDV wins. Take the hint from the pros:

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBus...

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/contro...

http://www.panasonic.com/business/provid...

http://pro.jvc.com/prof/main.jsp

The video quality, ease of use, shelf life, working with editors and archival are why they use them.

Compression = lost data = reduced video quality

DV and HDV compress a lot less than the other storage methods which translates into DV and HDV providing best quality.

Answer 2

to simplify...

--low light performance - how good the image is when there isn't much light in the room.  

--larger cmos usually means better image quality

--i don't understand what you mean by editing time requirement differences.  footage from either camera will take the same amount of time to edit.  but capturing footage to the computer will be faster from a hard drive or flash memory than it would be from a tape.

--24p means 24 frames per second and it is progressive.  60i, 60 frames per second, interlaced.  24p footage looks more like film, 60i looks more like video.  if you want to shoot a short film, 24p looks better.  if you want to shoot a fast action sports game, then 60i is the better choice.

--recording to a hard drive won't affect your picture quality.

personally, i want the versatility to shoot in 24p, 30p, and 60i.  if it was me, i would save some money and get the canon hv20.  the footage is going to look as good as the hv30, as the internal specs are the same.  it just doesn't have 30p, like the new canon does.  you can buy the hv20 for anywhere between $650 - $750, depending if you catch a good sale.  then i would buy an external microphone and an extra battery for the camera.  

but if you don't need 24p, then the sony's 60i should look cleaner than the canon's 60i.  (i haven't seen any actual footage from the sony, i'm just basing it on specs.)  either way, both are great cameras.

Answer 3

go with sony. there camcorders never fail!

and have excellent features!!

one good way is find the same camera's on ebay, and ask them what some of the features are like. i find most people are more then helpful. (even though i tell them i just want the info and not going to buy, but it's worded a lot better then that. lol)