Gear Lust: Canon HV20

[octothorpe]

I am *sooo* looking forward to this. I've placed it in my Amazon Wish List

It's got a real 1080HD CMOS sensor, capable of 1080p @24fps (film), and HDMI out.

Not bad for $1000USD!

Comments

[drewan.livejournal.com]

Do you think this camera would be good for SD shooting? I'm searching for a low cost high squality camera for work.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

SD?!?! Why bother with SD?

You can always down-res in Post.

[drewan.livejournal.com]

True. Haven't worked with any HD content in FCP yet, so I'm not sure how easy it is to convert the content. I guess I'll find out.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Very easy... you can even do it with straight up Quicktime Pro Player. From what it seems, everyone is doing full-workflow HD (most are doing 1080p either 24 or 30), then down-resing for distribution (web, SD, DVD, etc)

The really cool thing about the camera is the ability to bypass the (relatively crappy) HDV compression (it's stored on the cassette) with the HDMI port, and record *directly* to a hard disk at the same time you're recording to cassette. With the HDMI option, all the uncompressed *RAW* data can be converted on-the-fly to something much less drastic (HDPro).

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

D'oh! that was supposed to be DVCPro, not HD pro. That'll teach me to post at stupid o'clock at night.

[inertiastar.livejournal.com]

Very simple... Same as HD with different settings... and long render time... but same stuff and soooo much better looking!

[inertiastar.livejournal.com]

(I mean same as SD!) Really is no difference for you as the editor... same use of firewire and digitize.... FCP makes it super simple.

[mondragon.livejournal.com]

I have trained myself not get get excited by video. I never ever take videos, even when I own a camera.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

I've never been to keen on video, but now "real" HD is available to the masses. This really changes everything.

[mondragon.livejournal.com]

I think that real HD has been available for a while with the price slowly dropping and other manufacturers have similar models that are only a couple of hundred more.

My feeling is that the affordable revolution was a couple of years ago but that what hasn't changed is how hard it is to make good film and even depressing, how impossiblie it is to get people to see it.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Actually, this is the first camera (sub $6k) that has a real 1080p sensor. All the others either did 720p, or they did 1080i (or 1080fs, slightly better than i, not nearly as good as p).

Telling a compelling story is always going to be the most difficult task, regardless of technology. However, I disagree with your assertion that it's impossible to get people to see your work. With the advent of iFilm, YouTube, etc., there has never been a *better* time for indie producers to get an audience.

[castrowoof.livejournal.com]

Ooooh sexy!

There are also coming out with the TX1 which I really want.

Do you have any idea if this camera will take decent stills?

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Well, considering it's a true 1080p image, and it uses Canon glass, which is pretty good, I'd say "yeah", although I've not yet tested it personally.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Just to be less vague, I was referring to the HV20. I don't know anything about the TX1, other than what I just looked up. It seems it's basically a still camera + some video. I am sure that takes an OK pic, but I wouldn't use it for video.

Could be fun

[rockey1.livejournal.com]

It is $1099.99 (smile)