[ALanJ]

Hi,

For those of you who fancy making your home movies in HD then I have just posted a report on the Sony HDR-HC1E
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds25723.html

The more I compare the HD images on my PC to the SD DV ones I have from myc urrent camcorder the more one realises the huge step that HDTV is.

However it also shows that a under £1,500 camera produces pictures that are just a bit better than top quality PAL well processed on a HD pannel. Or more precisely the images have more detail but because they are not shot with as much light as you might find on a TV set of film set the vibrance of HD isn't as noticeable but then it is only a £1,500 camera.

I also have included at the bottom of the article a 1 minute film shot with the camera at various compressions from full HDV MPEG2 to a couple of DIVX compressions - you can see the difference in the quality of the comrpessed images but then again the HD DivX file is only 20% of the full HDV file.

If you have the patence you can see what I mean (the full 1 minute file is 178Mb in size!).

Have a read and let me know what you think.

[2Bdecided]

Thanks for that Alan! I hadn't realised prices have come down so much.

It's a pity you didn't get chance to point it at a test chart or something to check the resolution. Also, is it recording at 1080 - i.e. 50 fields, making 25 interlaced frames of 1080 lines per second? Or 720p50? Still, I can probably find this information on web - its good to have a user review.

I bought one of the first sub-£1000 mini-DV camcorders from Sony (upgrading from a Panasonic S-VHS-C machine), and I have to say I recognise many of the issues you talk about here. I suddenly had lovely pictures compared to S-VHS, but they were softer than they should have been - the lens and CCD didn't take full advantage of the resolution and quality DV format. The camera was terrible in low light conditions. Newer models have solved both these problems and prices have fallen dramatically, so in retrospect I regret spending so much so early on.

I think I've learnt my lesson. I'd love to be filming in HD now, but I think I'll wait until I can film in HD in doors in low light without getting horrible results!

Cheers,
David.

[ALanJ]

Originally Posted by 2Bdecided

Thanks for that Alan! I hadn't realised prices have come down so much.

Indeed and will no doubt drop further over time (as is the way with all new technology).

Originally Posted by 2Bdecided

It's a pity you didn't get chance to point it at a test chart or something to check the resolution.

There are lots of reviews on the web that have done that and I'm not set up to really get into the technical details - try http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...HC1-Review.htm for those techical details.

Originally Posted by 2Bdecided

Also, is it recording at 1080 - i.e. 50 fields, making 25 interlaced frames of 1080 lines per second? Or 720p50? Still, I can probably find this information on web - its good to have a user review.

It is as far as I can tell 1080i 50 interlaced interlaced per second. Which I think you are correct is only 25 full frames a second. It is not 720p (the JVC HDV cameras are I think this).

Originally Posted by 2Bdecided

I bought one of the first sub-£1000 mini-DV camcorders from Sony (upgrading from a Panasonic S-VHS-C machine), and I have to say I recognise many of the issues you talk about here. I suddenly had lovely pictures compared to S-VHS, but they were softer than they should have been - the lens and CCD didn't take full advantage of the resolution and quality DV format. The camera was terrible in low light conditions. Newer models have solved both these problems and prices have fallen dramatically, so in retrospect I regret spending so much so early on.

Well I'm not convinced I also purchased a JVC DV camcorder in the relatively early days (over £1,000) and although it isn't perfect it has done a good job over the years.

As I said in the review I am very tempted for the Christmas list this year All the more so as my wife and 5 year old son watched the school show that was professionally shot and put onto DVD and comparing it to the Sony's picture (even in doors) the picture quality was immidately obvious of the Sony's extra quality.

As with any gadget it is all down to what you want a camera for.

Originally Posted by 2Bdecided

I think I've learnt my lesson. I'd love to be filming in HD now, but I think I'll wait until I can film in HD in doors in low light without getting horrible results!

Cheers,
David.

I suppose the question is will what you are filming now be something that you will in 10 years time look back on and say - if only it had been HD