Canon HV20 vs Sony HC7

[edthesped]

Originally Posted by lovehateHDV

2cents.


HC7 had VERY positive reviews, until it came out.

and then suddenly everybody noticed that the amount of noise the cam produced in twilight overshadowed all of the good stuff about. It's still one of the best cams so far, but not without it's downsides.

HV20 could be the same thing.

Would you mind posting a link to some of these reviews? I have to have a video camera in hand by 3/25/07. At this point it seems that the HC7 is the way to go. Excessive low light noise would be a deal killer for me. At this point I feel I must choose btween the HV10 and the HC7. The HV20 looks appealing but I just can't wait till April. Also, the ability to get an underwater housing for the HC7 for ~$200 is mighty appealing.

[lovehateHDV]

Take a look at this clip. Change to .m2t after download.

http://media.dvinfo.net/sony/hdrhc7LL.m2x

This is shot with locked exposure. If it suits you- go for it, the picture seems sharp for lowlight. (At least it doesn't loose resolution like HC1 & 3)

I'd turn down the COLOR to get rid of chroma noise.

[sszudzik]

Originally Posted by mk_sullivan

I can think of 3 reasons to use LANC where a IR remote would not cut it:

1. Tripod with start/stop & Zoom control build into the handle. I have a fairly cheap<$60 tripod I take on trips that has this feature and you would not believe how much better your footage will be. Even on a tripod, if you have your hands on the cam to start/stop and zoom, they will make noise and shake the camera. A stout tripod and no zooming will make this less of an issue, but if you are following action, your hand will be on the tripod handle.

2. Underwater housing. Many underwater housings use LANC to control the camera. They have waterproof electric switches that control camera functions. The other option is to have mechanical plungers that actuate buttons on the camera. However the plungers have to be custom for each camera and they may not be where you would want them for underwater work.

3. Remote start/stop. The Canon has analog video in. This is great for connecting to a helmet camera or other external source. If you have a LANC port you can have a remote button to start & stop recording. The standard setup is to put the camcorder in your backpack, the helmet cam on your helmet and run a remote switch with recording indicator light near or on your hand so you can start and stop recording without digging into your backpack and pulling out the camera. That get's tricky when you are on the road or the camera is in a waterproof housing.

I'd have a HV20 reserved right now if it had LANC. Sony's HC-7 doesn't have analog in, but I will use my old (LANC equiped) SD camcorder for the helmet cam type aplications so I can get along without that. The tripod and underwater/wet situations are too important to me. If Canon made some sort of housing for the <$250 price of the Sony housing, I'd be all over it.

I'm really bummed about the LANC thing. I really wan't the Canon, but it just won't be able to do what I need. (sob)

Makes sense in regards to the underwater rigging your talking about. I'll be using a tripod with mine as well, but is it really that big of a difference to have the remote in your hand while your moving the tripod handle? Could always find a decent way to mount it on there if it becomes a big issue.

I can undestand about the other scenario as well, with the remote possibly not having the indicator lights to let you know whether it's recordign etc.. Very good points.

--Steve

[edthesped]

Originally Posted by lovehateHDV

Take a look at this clip. Change to .m2t after download.

http://media.dvinfo.net/sony/hdrhc7LL.m2x

This is shot with locked exposure. If it suits you- go for it, the picture seems sharp for lowlight. (At least it doesn't loose resolution like HC1 & 3)

I'd turn down the COLOR to get rid of chroma noise.

The clip looks mighty fine to me. Is this from the HV10?

[lovehateHDV]

"mighty fine"

I like that.

HC7.

[edthesped]

Originally Posted by lovehateHDV

"mighty fine"

I like that.

HC7.

I realize this may be the wrong forum. How do you like the HC7? At this point I am leaning heavily towards it.

[lovehateHDV]

Read that forum.

Plenty of opinions.

I am waiting for HV20, just to compare the two, but HC7 is my best bet for now.

[sashimiboy]

both of them are nice cameras but i want to wait for the hv20

[hokosuse]

Running on a time constraint. Need a camcorder by May. Need reviews badly!

[Sebsche]

go for the hv-20, definetly better specs