I need to buy a video camera to film training material, 90% of which will be delivered via the web, with some occasionally used in presentations. I had been thinking in terms of a Canon XM2 - I've around 1500-2000 to spend.

However I see that if I can up my budget a little I might be able to get an HD camera e.g. a Sony HVR-A1E or maybe even an FX1. My question is: would I just be wasting money buying an HD camera when the output is going on the web - would it look any better than footage from an XM2?

The type of footage would mainly be indoor office situations - simulated job interviews etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Is that US Dollars or UK Pounds?

Depends on how much bandwidth you will allocate to the video, but I would say HDV is the way to go

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Sorry, that's UK Pounds. I guess what I mean about HDV on the web is do viewers have to have a particularly flashy monitor to see any difference, like with TV sets. As for bandwidth I'll probably be compressing for 512k and 768k.

Thanks,
Ian

The XM2 has a wonderful lens and is good in lowlight but only shoots native 4:3. The Sony's allow you to shoot true 16:9 but they're not as good in lowlight. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other really. But I would take Marcs advice and go HDV

I would get the 'pro' version of the small hi def sony. You might well find you benefit from the extra functionality of the 'pro' version, xlr inputs, decent mike, lens hood, ect...

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The replies here have been helpful, but I must admit I'm still confused about HDV on computer monitors specifically - will it look like HDV or will it look the same as SDV? Do you have to have a very high-res computer monitor to experience the high definition. I'm sure it's a complete newbie question but I haven't been able find an answer...

Thanks again

First - dont forget a hdv cam is a perfectly good sd cam too, it can shoot both ways.

The res of a pc monitor is big enough to show hdv. sd is 720 by 576 and hdv is up to 1440 by 1080.

Also remember the maxim 'crap in crap out', the better your source material the better all further versions will be, even compressed versions.

Shoot and edit in hdv and at some future date you may be able to stream your vids in high def, about 3 mbit/s would do it I reckon. Hosting costs are falling fast and connections can only get faster.

__________________
Lowering the tone of video since 2004.

www.zaskarfilms.com You tube channel 'zaskarfilms'
JVC DV5001e (big cam), Sony PC6E (tiny cam), Vinten pro5, PAG light, SM58, Sony ECM50, Sony C-76, 0.5x convertors for sony, Rode video mic, Vegas 7.

Thanks Mark. I'm going to see if I can stretch to a Sony HVR-A1E, but with the added costs of tripods etc I may just end up with the Canon XM2, which sounds like a decent camera although not HDV.

Perhaps worthwhile looking at this one (XM1) a member here has for sale http://www.videoforums.co.uk/video-e...-xm1-sale.html

As it stands, the footage from an xm2 is perfectly good enough for web streamed content.

As it stands, that is.

Streaming HD content is not yet mainstream, but it is inevitable. Falling hardware prices, increasing bandwidth and lower hosting costs will ensure that content delivery will improve. A couple of years ago 512k streaming speeds were rare. Now they seem standard.

I think that if you need to buy a new camera, then you may regret not buying an HDV model. In 12-18 months time an SD model may be placing you at a disadvantage.