Which HD cam is better?

Question

its between the Canon HV30 and the Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV HD Handycam®. I want somethin that records on minidv tapes. I want soemthin around 900 bucks. i dont care tooo much about crazy gizmos, just quality. if u guys kno any better cams around the same price, that would be awesome. so, which one is better?

Answer 1

These are the two main competitors at this price. The Canon does 24p which is more cinema-like; some editors have issues working in that format.

Both have mic-in jacks and full manual audio control capabilities. Both have manual zoom and focus capabilities.

The Sony has "SuperNightShot" - it has a built-in infrared emitter for zero-light monochromatic video capture and it had "smooth-slow record" where it can bursts 200 fps for a couple of seconds (not in hidef, though) so playback in real time is pretty slow.

So it depends what you plan to use the camcorder for... Making movies to look like movies? HV30. If not, then HC9.

The next set of cameras worth looking are around the $3,000 mark. Canon XHA1, Sony HDR-FX1, HDR-FX7, HVR-V1U, HVR-Z1U... There is nothing in-between.