Posted by admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 04-10-2009
Tags: camcorder, camera, hardware, hd, panasonic, panasonic pv-gs500 3ccd video camera, video, video camera panasonic 3ccd, video camera panasonic 3ccd 102b, video camera panasonic 3ccd in india, video camera panasonic 3ccd price
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Should I upgrade from 3CCD to HD?
am an amateur filmmaker (hoping to be professional soon) who is in the market for a new camcorder. Currently I have a 3CCD handheld (panasonic gs-pv250) It has been very good to me but not it's time for something more professional. I love the Canon XL1s and have found it for a great price but it is not HD. Should I be worried about that? Would it be better to get a handheld HD camera or the aforementioned Canon? I plan to use the camera for documentaries to enter into film festival and hopefully more as well as music videos for local artists. I want my things to look as professional as possible. Thanks for the insight!
Your question does not make sense to me.
"CCD" is a Charged Coupled Device. An imaging chip. Some camcorders use CMOS chip(s). Some camcorders have a single CCD to process the light coming into the lens of the camcorder. The single CCD processes all three basic colors (Red Green, Blue). Some camcorders have a 3-chip array where each chip is dedicated to processing a single basic color.
Standard definition video is 480 horizontal lines. Less than this is less than standard definition. More than this is "high definition", generally 720 or 1080 horizontal lines. More than this is "ultra high definition" (see RED or Silicon Imaging cameras).
There are:
=> single imaging chip standard definition camcorders (i.e., Canon ZR960; FS200);
=> single imaging chip high definition camcorders (i.e., Sony HDR-HC9; Canon HV40);
=> three imaging chip standard definition camcorders (i.e., Panasonic PV-GS250; Canon XL1);
=> three imaging chip high definition camcorders (i.e., Canon XHA1; Sony HDR-FX1000)
I'm fairly certain that the video captured by a single imaging chip, high definition, camcorder like a Sony HDR-HC9 or Canon HV40 will appear a LOT crisper than a 3-chip cam like the GS250. And under good lighting conditions, the video captured by these HDV cams *can* appear sharper than the standard def video captured by an XL1... Though under low-light conditions, the XL1 will spank these two high definition cams because the XL1 has larger lenses and imaging chips.
So... you can "upgrade" from standard definition to high definition - but "upgrading" imaging chip set to HD is not exactly an "upgrade path"...
If your requirement is to have the widest possible lighting window or capture opportunity then the XL1 is probably the best bet. My concern with it is that while it is a "good deal", XL1s have not been made for a long time - and you may not know what this camcorder has been through or how much life it really has left.
On the other hand, the new high definition consumer camcorders don't perform as well as the XL1 under low lighting conditions...
Personally, I think something like the Sony HDR-FX7 is worth a look... 3 imaging chip array; better low light behavior than the consumer cams (but not as good as the XL1) and you can choose to record standard def DV, DV widescreen or HDV (1080i) format video...