"Dave Haynie" <dhaynie@jersey.net> wrote in message news:404f8ee9.2024798847@news.jersey.net...

> On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 14:03:39 GMT, "David Ruether"

> <rpn1@no-junk.cornell.edu> wrote:

> >"George" <gpapaioa@ford.com> wrote in message

> >news:d49be77c.0403091812.5bccc230@posting.google.com...

[...]

> >> I need pro audio

> >> I need DVCAM

> >> I need 3CCD

> >> I need large LCD

> >> I need small size - to hell with shoulder busters!!!

> >> I think I want on-screen menu picks.

> >>

> >> Should I think about any other camera than the Sony PDX-10???

> >Almost any other one - I disliked the excessively contrasty

> >images from this camera,

[...]

> I don't know what samples you saw, but I've been researching this one,

> and based on the video I've seen, it's quite acceptable. In fact,

> almost retro -- the samples I saw were very representative of the

> actual scenes. Not the hyper-color you see popular in still-film

> today.

It was not a complaint about the color I had (acceptable), but

the contrast. It looked like the worst of the 1-CCD models,

where all the lighter tones went blank white, and darker tones,

even on a grey day, all went black. This is unacceptable in

a 3-CCD model, but may be acceptable in a 1-CCD model if

a high priority is placed on small size, and all else is acceptable

in that model...

> > and its low-light range is very limited.

> Low light is limited, but it depends on your basis for comparison. If

> you compare to the VX2000/VX2100, yeah. If you compare to many other

> single or 3-chippers, in this price range, it's just fine.

Compared with the small Panasonic 3-CCD models, yes, it is

"OK" - but these are inadequate for common shooting conditions.

It is hard to find a good current solution in this price AND size

area, unfortunately - the best may still be the discontinued Sony

TRV900 and Panasonic EZ30U...

> >Why DVCam?

> The only reason for DVcam is tape persistance -- they simply will last

> longer than minDV. But that's not a big deal; most people using the

> PDX-10 are going to run in minDV mode anyway. However, if you're

> working in a DVcam environment, it doesn't hurt. I don't need DVcam,

> but I don't see it as a problem. Realistically, it's nothing more or

> less than a higher spec miniDV with a larger chip in the cart.

Yes, my point, though not so well-stated...;-)

> >The image and sound (well, most everything,

> >actually) are identical for most purposes with Mini-DV,

> EVERYTHING with DVCAM is the same as DV. It's just faster. It's

> bascially just the mode above SP, rather than below (as in LP). The

> problem with miniDV tapes is that they drop out in a fairly short time

> frame. DVcam tapes are likely to last much longer. That's the only

> readon I know of to use DVcam, other than simply being compatible in a

> DVcam based shop.

There is a slight audio difference between DVCam and Mini-DV,

but its usefulness is limited, AFAIK, to analogue work with the

output...

> >XLR-to-mini-plug adapters work fine.

> Well, no, they don't. For one, you don't have phantom power, unless

> you're providing that adaptor with a separate power supply. That

> leaves off any good condenser mic from a cheap interface (though in

> all honesty, when I need good audio, I'm HD recording from my Tascam

> interface to my laptop at 48kHz/24-bit).

Yes. And there are many decent self-powered mics that can

easily be adapted (and, note the level of this camcorder, and the

[un]likelihood of $1000 mics being matched up with it). The

original request for XLRs was not "essential" to success in using

alternatives...

> >LCD screens are

> >for emergency use outdoors, or sometimes for convenience

> >inside, but a good eyepiece VF is superior.

> I think it's a matter of taste. I use both, for different reasons. I

> think the PDX-10 layout, external large LCD, internal sharp B&W, is

> perfect. That LCD is more than enough -- my current high-end

> single-chip Sony has a 4" screen. It's so big, I sometimes use it as a

> preview screen during editing.

Yes. But so many assume that you can see an LCD well enough

to see focus, framing, color/contrast issues, etc. with an LCD

panel in daylight. Uh-uh...! ;-) For indoor use, I often FireWire

attach a second camera to get a "portable" VF screen if the

main camera is on a tripod (and the second camera can serve

as a back-up deck, as well). For this and other interior work,

a good LCD panel is useful...

> >Touch-screen

> >menus are a royal pain to use outdoors, and awkward indoors.

> Again, personal preference. Every review I've read of the PDX-10 loves

> the touch-screen, and suggests other cameras would do well copying the

> interface. I haven't used one, other than demoing the PDX-10, in a

> camcorder. But I love the touchscreen in my Prius. I like it on my

> Palm. So maybe I'm just a touchscreen guy, but I find it dramatically

> more efficient then some kind of scroll-and-select mechanism. Sure, if

> you have the physical room to include a button/switch/lever/knob for

> every critical function, that also works. With proper ergonomics. I'd

> expect that on a big shoulder-mount camcorder (even a fake one like

> the cheap Panasonics). But in a compact camcorder, that's not going to

> play. I think the touchscreen is a very good solution. I'll hopefully

> still share that opinion after I buy my PDX10 and use it for a few

> months :-)

I hope so too - but most of its important functions are still

accessed the "old-fashioned way", fortunately. I detest the

multi-layer menu aspect of these touch-screen controls

(accompanied by the "musical tones" heard with each of the

many touches on the cameras used beside me [lovely, during

a concert or lecture...;-]), and find the menus hard to identify

in daylight on the washed-out LCD. Try one of Sony's 1-CCD

models where everything is controlled this way - you may go

nuts trying to shoot with one of these! ;^[). Fortunately, the

TRV950/PDX10 restricts the touch-screen to non-essential

controls, and ones that may make sense for touch-screen use...

> Dave Haynie | Chief Toady, Frog Pond Media Consulting

> dhaynie@jersey.net| Take Back Freedom! Bush no more in 2004!

> "Deathbed Vigil" now on DVD! See http://www.frogpondmedia.com

--

David Ruether

d_ruether@hotmail.com

http://www.David-Ruether-Photography.com