Which One is Better,HVRV1U 3CMOS 1080p OR PANASONIC AG-HXV200A?

Question

Im looking into buying a good camcorder and i want to invest about 4,000 to 6,500 and im not to sure which one will be the best for that price range, can anyone help me out on that area? you can go into SUPER DETAILS with me, the more info the BETTER!

Thank you

Franky

Answer 1

We have trained on the original AG-DVX100.  Later, we used original AG-HVX200 cameras in several field tests and productions.  Not long ago, we purchased a Sony HVR-V1U to replace the HVR-A1U we were using.  The HVR-V1U is currently our main camera.

We will cover as much as we can in limited space.  We will also address only what comes in the box with each camera, and if we do 'stray outside the box', we will do it for each camera on that particular topic.

First and foremost, both camcorders are very good cameras and easy to use.  If you know anything about operating a consumer level camcorder, you will know more than enough to get yourself started with both of these.  When you compare the two cameras, the similarity starts at the use of the common technology you find on every professional small format HD camcorder: miniDV, XLR audio, optical stabilization systems, and the common ports for audio/video inputs and outputs.  This is also where the similarities end.

Now, let's start where almost everyone wants to start: light gathering and image processing.  The Panasonic has their Leica lens with 10x zoom feeding a 3 CCD chip system; while the Sony has its Carl Zeiss lens with 20x zoom feeding a 3 CMOS chip system.

- We prefer the metal box around the Panasonic lens, but the Sony's plastic matte box is quickly, easily, and completely removable.  Both lenses and zooms work fine, but the Sony gets the best and the worst comments.

- Sony's 20x zoom is awesome; however, the focusing and zoom wheels are considered by many to be the worst.  You MUST stare at the display during any focusing because that is where all the focusing information resides.  Even if you already know the focus point you need to reach, you can't feel how much focus has changed by how much you turned the dial, and there are no markings on the dial to help.  Most experienced camcorder users 'feel' their focus or watch the dial ring, so this lack of consideration frustrates many new users of the HVR-V1U.   You get used to it but not completely.

- For a short while, the CCD based DVX100 made a lot of the reality shows, documentaries, and short films you have seen in the past few years, but the DVX100 only recorded SD.  Panasonic soon lost ground to Sony.  Panasonic stayed with their tried and true CCDs in their HVX200 for a high definition brother to the DVX100, and only a few of the DVX100 users who moved to HD late in the game converted to the HVX200 with little or no question - most were lost to Sony.

- More and more stories are being filmed by the HVX200 every day, but Sony still has the upper hand.  Sony has over 5 small format HD camera models out in the field (more than anyone), and Panasonic has only one.  Sony is now at the point it is introducing a new camcorder in this class every 1-2 years.

- Sony's CCD based High Definition HVR-Z1U made most of the reality shows, documentaries, and short films you see on TV today - opposite the Panasonic DVX100 which was only SD.  If you see a reality or documentary TV show today, it was most likely filmed on a HVR-Z1U (and many in production are still being recorded by the HVR-Z1U).  Sony had already been testing CMOS technology in their HDR-FX7 (the brother to the CCD based HDR-FX1) and in the HVR-A1U, so it was only a matter or time that Sony would create the HVR-V1U as a step brother to the ever popular and hugely successful HVR-Z1U.

- - CCD is very, very good for low light.  Every ghost hunting episode is filmed with CCD camcorders - as well as most hunting, safari, and survival shows.  Anytime you see an infrared recording, that is done with single chip CCD.  On the other hand, CCD has serious problems with vertical smear and some color matching issues.  On television, most viewers will never realize the color matching issues, so this is usually not a problem for most - it will depend on your client or particular requirements.  When any strong light source comes into frame on a CCD system, rays of light extend from the light source across the screen, covering part of the view, until the light source is out of frame.

- - CMOS is almost an exact opposite to CCD in some ways.  CMOS has always had EXCELLENT color matching and clarity for us.  Even if we white balance incorrectly, the CMOS system of the HVR-V1U will make a very god guess at adjustment.  Even if we know the color is off in the CMOS recording, ALL of our clients claim they can reach out and touch, use, and feel whatever is in the image.  Sony's CMOS has its issues in low light or black subjects.  With the HVR-A1U, we got it in daylight if enough of the subject and the background was darker than the shade of Obama's skin, and we could never solve it.  With the HVR-V1U, we can sometimes get noise for no apparent reason, but the solution is to raise light levels or open exposure slightly - sometimes a new white balance will solve it.  When converting from HD to SD the noise we left in any recordings is usually removed or unnoticed, but Sony did not truly solve this problem until the XMOR system was released after the HVR-V1U.  CMOS does not suffer from vertical smear, so you can always see the full framed image.

Now lets address the issues that seem small now, but add it in the long run: power, weight, optional storage, and included audio.  * weight will be included in each section.

- Power is simple.  If you can't 'plug in', then the CMOS system will last twice as long than CCD with the same amount of power.  What does this mean to you?   Well, with two '6 hour' batteries on CCD, you can probably last 12 hours on Saturday.  Use the same batteries on CMOS, and you can one battery to  shoot 12 hours on Saturday and the other battery for 12 hours on Sunday without a recharge.  You buy less batteries - which is less money to spend and less weight to carry.

- The CMOS system requires less electronic support systems because most of the image enhancement is done on the chip before being sent out.  The CMOS chips require half the power and are also smaller than the comparable CCD chips; therefore, they require a smaller prism and form factor to hold them and make them work - making the CMOS camera inherently lighter that its CCD counterpart. * The Panasonic also has an additional system for handling P2 cards - again, the CMOS HVR-V1U has less weight to carry.

- If you want to use P2 cards (one 16gb card is included with the HVX200), they are great for their designed purpose.  They allow you to get anything on the card move to the computer in a flash, but there is one little problem.   In order to do this, you must either have your computer connected to the camcorder, or you must make an additional purchase of the P2 card reader and physically remove the card while filming (without shaking the camera!!!) and run the card to the computer.  There are two card slots so you can rotate, but you don't have a long break in between changes.  This is fine it you are recording in short segments, but not fun if you are recording an event with long periods of recording ** more money spent for more weight to carry (and more work) - don't forget, the P2 cards are extremely expensive for very little storage.

- You can purchase the Sony HVR-HDR60 external hard drive which is specifically built the HVR-V1U and is compatible with the other Sony HD cameras we mentioned, or you can purchase Firestore FS series hard drive for either camcorder.  Both drives last normally for last 2-4 hours of recording, do the same thing, operate basically the same way, and are around the same price.  Sony's hard drive uses the same batteries as the HVR-V1U (so you can power the hard drive all day on those '6 our batteries'  *again saving money and weight).  Firestore's drive uses and internal which must be recharged after every 2 ours of recording.  You could purchase additional batteries for the FS, but they require removal of screws.  *more money and weight for short term gain*

- The Sony HVR-V1U comes with the same shotgun mic as on the HVR-A1U.  Panasonic does not provide a shotgun mic for free, but there were nice enough to attach a twin pair of consumer level mics.  You will probably need to purchase another mic for again *more money.

  *one note:  some people have reported that the audio drops out under a certain frequency in their HVR-V1U, but we have never experienced this problem in any professional camera

So there you have it.

- We come from the same Panasonic experience as some of our friends who love their HVX200, but you can probably see why we went with the HVR-V1U.  We primarily shoot during the day, and they do more night and low light shooting.  Our clients and our philosophy required more accurate representation of the subject, and our filming friends just need something that they can use to get the job done without worrying about accurate representation.

- You might get some people claiming that our HVR-V1U uses a different CMOS technology than everyone else which uses interpolation to create the signal that is recorded to media.  Well, guess what - they are right, and they are also somewhat ignorant.  EVERY current professional camcorder uses some type of interpolation of the signal before saving to media - even the HVX200.

- If you are wondering, interpolation is the insertion of extra 'fake' pixels in between the 'real' pixels the image chip can actually see or what is actually there.  This is the basis of miniDV (or in our case here, HDV) during playback - in which the 1440x1080 resolution of HDV appears as 1920x1080.  Almost every camcorder or recording format does this in some say, shape, or form.

- Panasonic's P2 system alleviates the need for interpolation, but they did not include all the parts in the box.  That is an additional cost which has proven to NOT be cost effective for us at this time.