OT: Wedding Upgrade

cervama wrote on 3/28/2007, 3:32 PM

It's been a while since I posted. Hello to All of you, I hope this year has been filled with challenges and benefits.

Three questions, I'm a wedding videographer and I want to get your expert opinion. Should I upgrade from a VX2100 to a PD 170? Are there any benefits? Your response is appreciated. Money is a factor to buying an HDV camera. Is Mini DV/DVcam on their way out soon, like in a year or two?

Thanks Marco.

Comments

DJPadre wrote on 3/28/2007, 3:40 PM

theyre virtualy identical save for the audio options and WA lens attachment of the 170

that and DVCam recording which isnt a "need" IMO not for weddings anyway...

if you want to upgrade, go grab a couple of Lav mics and a Beachtek adapter and save ur cash... SD still has life for wedding clients.. at least for another year..

Dach wrote on 3/28/2007, 6:25 PM

There is no reason to upgrade to the 170. SD will be around for event videography for a couple more years.

MiniDV will still be a very common medium, but a day will come when its all hard / flash drive based recording, IMO.

Chad

CClub wrote on 3/28/2007, 7:27 PM

Here's a link to a posting where I asked a similar question about SD and got some excellent feedback: Keep SD?

DavidMcKnight wrote on 3/28/2007, 10:18 PM

I agree with DJPadre and Dach, don't upgrade unless you go HDV.

If you upgrade now you might be able to charge a premium for it. If you wait a year or more, it could be expected of you. Here's a great article by Spot from Studio Monthly with some very valid insights.

http://www.studiodaily.com/studiomonthly/searchlist/7752.html

richard-courtney wrote on 3/29/2007, 6:56 AM

I agree go with HDV. I have PD170s a great camera and won't part with it until
it rusts into the ground.

The 170 is not true 16:9. I have waited and the prices have really dropped.
I am looking at a Sony F330 XDCAM (certainly out of my personal budget)
for work. I can't tell you that even converted to SD the quality is far more
different than night and day.

If you are doing well with your existing setup, wait even longer as the pickup
is going to get even better at low light just like the PD170 did. Low light....
common at weddings.

cervama wrote on 3/29/2007, 8:36 AM

Thanks everyone for the advice. Question I have Vegas 5 and I want to know if I get one of the Sony HDV camera's will I be able to shoot HD and edit on vegas 5? If I shoot HD will I be able to convert to SD on Vegas 5? If so, what are the steps?

Thanks again.

MH_Stevens wrote on 3/29/2007, 12:44 PM

ANY UPGRADE now must be to HDV.

vicmilt wrote on 3/30/2007, 2:19 PM

If you go with HDV, it will be VERY advisable to upgrade to Vegas 7, due to the speed of editing M2t footage directly.

A major time and viewing difference (plus v.7 has got a few GREAT goodie upgrades).

v

CVM wrote on 4/1/2007, 9:42 AM

What do you mean SD will 'still be around for another year' for wedding videographers? Let's not kid ourselves here... SD will be around for MANY years... as will mini DV. Yes, technology is changing and we should all keep our eyes open for the future, but (IMO) I would rather spend any extra $$$ on lenses, lights, audio, JumpBacks, etc. that accentuate my SD productions rather than buying a low-end HDV video camera (let's face it... anything under $5K is low end... keep in mind, HDV is NOT HD... it is incredibly compressed and of lesser quality than true HD).

Here's my reason for sticking with SD for the next three to five years... delivery. Unless you are delivering your wedding on HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, or HDV tape, what's the point of acquiring in HDV and downsampling? Very few people have, or will have, HD-DVD or Blu-ray in the next year (IMO). Sure, they will soon, but not en masse. And, a great 3-chip video camera delivers such stunning images, by the time you downsample your HDV footage, it looks the same.

Sure, by going with HDV now you may be 'future-proofing' your company, but HDV will be vastly better and cheaper in three to five years... that's when I'll buy.

Regarding the 16:9 format... most good SD cameras (e.g. GL-2, 100B, etc.) can shoot widescreen. Granted, it's not 'true' 16:9 but who cares? I can shoot a wedding in 16:9 30P mode on my GL-2, edit in Vegas as widescreen, as well as burn a DVD as widescreen. My clients with a widescreen TV love it because it fills the frame with natural, unstretched video. My clients with 4:3 TVs love it becuase it plays back in letterboxed mode automatically... just like the movies they rent from Blockbuster.

My experience dicates that I wow my clients with a great CU of the bride crying or the ring bearer kissing the bride in slo-mo... not with HDV. Sure, I may lose a client if they ask if I shoot in HD and I say no... but they really don't know what they're asking (unless they DO have a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD and are willing to pay $$$ for an HD production).

That's my rant for now. Thanks for putting up with me.

p@mast3rs wrote on 4/1/2007, 6:32 PM

"Sure, by going with HDV now you may be 'future-proofing' your company, but HDV will be vastly better and cheaper in three to five years... that's when I'll buy."

Then you can spend another year learning how to use and light for that new HDV cam. Why not break in now and learn how to shoot HDV because it is NOTHING like shooting for SD.

DGates wrote on 4/1/2007, 9:33 PM

Good ponits, Vegasbaby.

When I see BluRay/HDDVD becoming more prominent in the market, and clients asking about it, the I'll be ready to invest in HDV.