camcorder for long seminars

[Bamboopictures]

I'm considering a AVCHD camcorder for full-day seminar recordings. No need for bells and whistles. Just good low-light, long battery life, smooth file continuity and reliable auto focusing. Does the AX2000 or HMC150 fit the bill? Anyone with good or bad experience to share?

 

[DXNMedia]

I have a HVR-HD1000p with Compact Flash tapeless module to clear if you're keen....Nothing beats having the safety of tape backup & tapeless recorder running at the same time with overlapping record feature when either one recording system runs outta room.

And somehow even in the days of tapeless video, client always want footage tapes at the end of the day....so you'd still have physical tapes for deliverables rather than having to waste precious time to transfer to tape again.


But if you're still keen on the AVCHD format, i think some bro here posted some info on of a similar camera but upgraded with SDHC based AVCHD recording feature instead of tape based HDV.

 

[jasonjoseph]

we use the nx5 for conferences all the time.

pros: 20x zoom (from the back of a ballroom can tele in to a MCU of the podium), pretty good in low light, hot swapable SD cards, apart from conference use its a pretty good all round camera, even for narrative work.

cons: once the audio was out of sync for some obscured reason easily fixed in post, transcoding to prores is both time and storage space intensive.

i believe the ax2000 only uses memory stick and is fixed to either pal or ntsc. nx5 uses SD and switchable Between pal and ntsc.

 

[Bamboopictures]

Thank you guys for your kind offer and advice. I'm really psyched up over the AX2000. But the NX5 seems very very tempting also. The price difference is not great, but I hate it when the service centre charges a huge premium for servicing pro-line camcorders. The AX2000, I believe is consumer class. The NTSC mode is DEFINITELY a big carrot for overseas assignments.

 

[DXNMedia]

Maybe you may wish to check out AG-HMC82 too. Price point is definitely more affordable than NX5

 

[Bamboopictures]

thanks bro! HMC82 is certainly a lot of camera for a little money. But maybe a little heavy for my puny tripod. But certainly a good buy.

 

[jasonjoseph]

some clients still think bigger = better. damn weird if that was the case we would still be walking around with those water bottle handphone.

 

[DXNMedia]

Talking about bigger = better.
I was setting up for a multicam event and was using a AG-HSC1 cam for static safety/ISO shots...
Client actually asked if I was sure to be using that camera!

Thankfully I had a few eye candy large full-size cams to fool them. :bsmilie:

 

[Bamboopictures]

AG-HSC1U is quite a rare find. Wonder if they still make them these days. Was playing with a TM700 and was totally awed by the OIS and the low-light quality. Not to mention the audio controls.
Always good to have a good range of cameras at your disposal. These are great for industrial shots where you have to shoot in crawl spaces. Whatever gets the work done.

But for events,I would prefer a camera that wears most of its controls on the outside. Also easier for freelancers who may not be familiar with the camera.

Is the HMC152 still a popular choice?

 

[azman]

.
I'm using the AG-HMC152.

If you're shooting a seminar in a hall or auditorium, the low light performance of this camera is more than sufficient.

And if most of your shots consist of "talking heads", then shooting in its lowest bitrate of 6 Mbps is good enough.
And on a 16 GB SD card, you can shoot up to 6 hours in this setting.

Since it has two XLR audio inputs, you can hook one up to a shotgun mic and the other to a wireless mic which you can place at the podium :thumbsup:
.
.

 

[DXNMedia]

AG-HSC1U is quite a rare find. Wonder if they still make them these days. Was playing with a TM700 and was totally awed by the OIS and the low-light quality. Not to mention the audio controls.
Always good to have a good range of cameras at your disposal. These are great for industrial shots where you have to shoot in crawl spaces. Whatever gets the work done.

But for events,I would prefer a camera that wears most of its controls on the outside. Also easier for freelancers who may not be familiar with the camera.

Is the HMC152 still a popular choice?

My HSC1 and it's consumer-class brother, the HDC-SD1 have been almost in every shooting condition....been on low angle bike mount, car mounted, undercarriage mounted, ceiling mounted, mounted next to drum sets, bungeed from high level, clamped down in fixed positions to do timelapse, etc...

Best part about it is that it's CCD, doesnt suffer from CMOS issues, and it cuts well with my range of bigger cameras...

 

[Bamboopictures]

Thanks azman for sharing. Glad to hear from a Pany fan. I'm getting more feedback from HMC152 users. Mostly positive. May have to use a teleconverter for bigger auditoriums. Do you use one?

 

[deryiu]

any reviews on low light for AG-HMC82 ? considering buying it for events & seminars .
I seen the videos of it with sufficient light it turns out fantastic ,but concerned over low light issues.

 

[trucatus]

Why not consider a HD recorder like Citidisk or similar you can use it with most Firewire camera?

 

[Bamboopictures]

Reason: One more battery to charge. Not fail-safe. Not ergonomic.