Thread: Filmmaking : Sony PD170 or Canon XH-A1 ?

No contest... XH-A1

Firstly SD is dead for anything like your projects, the quality of HDV is far better if you're going to transfer to film. Secondly the Canon will do 25p (for PAL don't do 24p) and the latest Canon is seven years on in technology terms.
Ignore those who think all compression is bad and therefore HDV can't be up to much. The millions which the manufacturers have spent developing (and updating) HDV has resulted in an ideal format for those who want to enter film festivals etc.

Originally Posted by The Guru

No contest... XH-A1

Firstly SD is dead for anything like your projects, the quality of HDV is far better if you're going to transfer to film. Secondly the Canon will do 25p (for PAL don't do 24p) and the latest Canon is seven years on in technology terms.
Ignore those who think all compression is bad and therefore HDV can't be up to much. The millions which the manufacturers have spent developing (and updating) HDV has resulted in an ideal format for those who want to enter film festivals etc.

Wow, thanks! Great answer.

So you think the XH-A1 is the ideal choice for me in that price range?

Cheers

Certainly.

Last year, after spending days researching which camcorder in the £3k range to buy, I got an XH-A1 and am more than impressed with it. The new model A1s is, supposedly, even better. Having worked with all the main players in the prosumer field I would honestly say that the "best" in my opinion was the Sony EX1/3 but it is out of my price bracket for my occasional intended use.

I've shot with the 170 and the Canon blows it out of the water in terms of picture quality.

I've also got a Sony BVW (3x 2/3 chip broadcast camera) BetaSp camera gathering dust in the cellar and the Canon is "better" than that! That is a subjective opinion of course but technology has raced on in the past few years and the current crop of HDV camcorders are simply sharper than a broadcast camcorder of a few years ago. The lenses are nowadays the weakest link and the modern Canon lenses are simply divine.

You can, of course add 35mm lens converters and such gismos if you want to go "film look".

The canon in a flash unless you are really broke and have to get the pd170 - should be well cheap used.

the canon clearly has the extra of shooting in hdv aswell.

Thanks again Guru & Mark!

What's the difference between the Canon XH-A1 and the Canon XH-A1s ?

Also, there is a way with the XH-A1 - to record video directly to a SD card (without a MiniDV cassette)?

Or is it only in use for Still shots? there are pro cameras which can be used for film without cassettes? (straight ti digital SD Card / other memory card)

The SD card on the A1 is just for stills. It can't be put into the loop to record video.

The A1s has a number of small niggles altered from the A1, such as sound levels, input/output accessibility etc sorted. You'll have to look in the website to see the full list I'm afraid.
There are pro camcorders which record to cards but, at the moment the EX range from Sony and the Panasonic P2 system are the only ones which I would recommend (They're also more expensive than the Canon).

Originally Posted by The Guru

at the moment the EX range from Sony and the Panasonic P2 system are the only ones which I would recommend (They're also more expensive than the Canon).

Or the RED Scarlet perhaps? If it actually exists, and you can buy one, the website says $3800 for a complete kit

It does seem to be something special at that price, although I haven't seen one, let alone used one.