BEST Professional Camcorder Review Guide

Buying Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder

I got this camera about a month ago, and I think I've figured out every possible manual control on the camera and the best ways to use them.
Everything is great about the camera except a few things.

The battery is tiny. I bought a larger 4 hour battery works great, $170 from J&R
The auto focus is poor, it's very slow
The on-board mic is bad

but what do you expect.

Audio controls are nice and easy to use.
Video quality is excellent. A little noisy, i wish the sensor was bigger.

Editing with a quad core 2.66GHz PC with 6GB of RAM.
Editing works great, with Sony Vegas 9.0 Pro
However I need to get some more RAM because when full editing lags more.

Overall a good camera. I'm shooting a wedding this weekend. I'll write another review after that experience.

Buying Canon XL-H1S 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder With 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III

Canon has done it again with another truly remarkable camera. The XLH1 and XLH1a are by far the best camera's in this price range.

Actually this camera is better than most that cost 3 or 4 times as much.

Great picture quality, very nicely laid out controls, fast auto focus, very clever image stabilizer and a enormous amount of flexibility.

I have been a Canon fan and user for 20 years and have never been disappointed. The Canon XLH1 is a work of art and a thing of beauty.

Sure this camera is not for the novice because it can be quite complex to get set up to perform the way you want it to but once you do go through the tedious tasks of adjusting it to your own tastes then you have the most wonderful video camera right at your finger tips to do what ever you want it to do.

You can set the camera to auto everything and get pretty good HD video but I suggest you learn how to adjust it to do more of what it was made to do and that is capture absolutely stunning video.

Panasonic Pro AG-HVX200A 3CCD P2/DVCPRO 1080i High Definition Camcorder With 13x Optical Zoom (16GB P2 Included)

We used this camera to shoot our short film and it proved to be awesome. The P2 cards were a little tricky to work with, but certainly less difficult and more portable than film; without the added expense of telecine.

For the cost, we could not have gotten this level of quality otherwise. I believe its got the depth of 16mm, plus it shoots in 24p. When we saw our final projection, we were just amazed.

Great cam for the money.

Canon XH-A1S 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder With 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III

I love this camera. If you don't have a lot of experience with prosumer cameras (as in my case), the first look may be a bit intimidating (a friend said, "It looks like you're filming tv news"). Especially as I added a Rode shotgun mike (not sure it does anything other than make the sound louder, but...still checking it out).

You can't rest the camera on your shoulder, but the image stabilizer helps and the grip and buttons are all well designed and easy to reach. I struggled through the manual, but fortunately bought Dan Curran's dvd about the xh-a1 which appears to be almost identical. This was a -huge- help. I can't recommend it enough if you are at all unsure of what you're looking at. He goes through the simplest things (putting the shoulder strap on) to some very technical settings that you can do. The dvd saved me -so much- learning time and also prevented some careless mistakes (like letting sunlight through the viewfinder).

This camera feels like a terrific tool that can do whatever you need and the picture quality--even on Auto--is beautiful. Having the two XLR terminals will make a big difference, too. The versatility and design really meets such a variety of needs--way too much machine/expense for "home video" (it's not the kind of camera people forget is pointing at them), but great if you want to shoot training films, web videos, independent films.

Technology has changed so much in the 20 years since I was in film school--and it's still hard for me to believe that such a great camera, capable of such a quality product, is available for under $4000.

Very impressed. Highly recommended.

Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder With 10.6MP Still And 12x Optical Zoom

I just met this camera last week, little brother to the HMC150. The HMC40 brings several welcome upgrades to market. I'm an intermediate producer in training with lots of self study and attended a few great workshops. After two years of shooting 1920 HD on the low end I have to say this camera impressed me.

PROS:
1) MPEG-4. Shoots very good quality in a tiny light weight package. Just love it. Even has time-lapse capability which sure beats roto-ing in post for a time lapse effect.
2) You can squeeze two HMC40s in the same size carryon pelican case as the 150.
3) Start editing your shots on Mac in only 2-3 minutes without waiting for rendering. No transcoding required, no $600 P2 cards either. But you should use something faster than just class 6 SDHC media if you want to bump up the quality a little, otherwise you might get some artifacts (image problems) with fast motion and striped clothing. Same problem as any media recording slower than the camera.
4) I'm cool with renting HMC150 and redrock/letus for higher end projects if necessary. This camera is fine for making DVD projects or streaming HD.
5) Great looking shots with 4:2:0 sampling.
6) We produce our own stuff, make a profit and clients keep coming back. With a $1995 retail price tag I can finally afford to own two very nice HD cameras.

CONS:
A) Manual button lovers will need to learn the softkey menus. I love the softkeys with all the same features. No different than using an iphone.
Two choices for sound: Seperate sound (best) or get the panasonic/beachtek adapter for on camera. I like using seperate sound on a tascam or fostex digital recorder with four seperate channels (mic 1, mic 2, wild background). This gives you plenty of room to remix in post or replace sounds. Great sound is still 50% of the production.
C) It's not the same glass lens set as 150/170 so you may need different accessories.
D) No timecode jam sync between two cameras. This camera does have its own timecoding (HH:MM:SS:FF). Oh well, I've been living without timecode sync since I started. It just adds a little to the time in post for manually lining up shots and sound tracks. It's no problem to keep using a clapper board anyway. Clappers do give a kinda nostalgic flair for the crew and spectators.

I hope this helps. Upgrade cameras every couple of years while the resale value is still a good plan. After shooting a short this weekend I think this is going to be a good two year relationship. I wish you the best.

Canon XL-H1S 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder With 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III

Sure there are better high-definition camcorders out there, but if you're just an average consumer like most of us and aren't running a national news studio or filming a big-budget action thriller, the Canon XL-H1S should be more than sufficient at meeting your videography needs.

I have spent entire weekends shooting hours and hours of gorgeous footage, and after editing it together on my computer and viewing the finished product, I have been consistently blown away by the outstanding sound and picture quality the XL-H1S provides.

This camcorder is equipped to handle any professional-grade attachment you can throw at it -- portable microphones, expandable battery packs and memory cards, filters, lenses, etc. -- and is all extremely user-friendly. I stand by my purchase of this product and have thus far loved every minute I have spent using it. The Canon XL-H1S comes highly recommended.

Discount Canon XH A1 1.67MP 3CCD High-Definition Camcorder With 20x Optical Zoom

What can be said about the very best value in film making gear that's not already been said?

Canon's made the XH-A1 very easy to use for a novice like me and my producer's husband who IS an expert camera person. The quality is super and the camera can do so many things that high end cameras DO.

The Mini-DV media is now becoming a bit dated since everyone seems to be making cameras that feed into chips. Perhaps thats why the unit was a bit cheaper but if you use new cartriges on every shoot the quality is great; we use only Premium Sony MINI DV's. They are inexpensive and even if used more than once don't seem to get degraded. Besides, my producer justs downloads them to the editing software immediately so nothing gets degraded on the hard drive anyway.

The owners manual is huge and explains the numerous bells and whistles that all the big shots know how to use but right out of the box I was shooting great scenes.

The controls are easy to use and the camera comes with all the cables needed to hook up a director's tv monitor. With the large battery we can shoot all day and have power to spare.

The camera really does fit the professional and the consumer as well so both should be happy. Don't put off buying the best low-priced HD on the market. By the way, my old GL-2 has lots of accessories that fit the XH-A1 too like the pricey wide angle lens, the long life batteries and more.

I originally started with the GL-2 and have just stayed with Canon ever since. There quality is fabulous; I've never had a problem, (YES...I'm knocking on wood).

Lowest Price Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder With 20x Optical Zoom

We needed another camcorder didn't really want a HD because of the problems of no software out there to create HDDVDs. We bought this because our other sony is 10yrs old and didn't want to buy what we had. We are very glad we did. Even regular tapes look stellar in the 1080i format. The 20x zoom is to drool over. It is wonderful we use it for birding only now they are moving. All the techie stuff should come from my husband, but I am writing this so you won't hear it from me. I do not hear him swear or crank about difficult maneuvers. He likes the programable buttons. I found the change to Final Cut HD easy. You edit in HD and made the non HD DVD (we use a MAC) record it back to HD tape and wait till the software is written. Broadcast wants tape anyway. Ease of handling cam great, additional sound source easy to deal with. Mike on cam improved over our other camcorder. Easy to carry with handle. Need to use manual focus at times. Lots of buttons if you want a point and record not a good choice.

JVC GY-HD200U High Definition 3-CCD MiniDV Professional Camcorder (Body Only)

This camera has the features that I was looking for. The fixed earpiece is abit aukward, but a seperate headset works fine. I was looking for a broadcast quality camera, and the price was within my budget.JVC GY-HD200UB High Definition 3-CCD MiniDV Professional Camcorder with 16x ProHD Fujinon Lens

Discount Sony Professional HVR-A1U CMOS High Definition Camcorder With 10x Optical Zoom

I purchased this camera last month, and almost at once I knew it was not the camera for me. For several years, I've owned and used a Sony DCR-VX2100 3 CCD Mini DV Camcorder, and have been truly impressed with it. I thought that buying a high definition camera from the same company would be a great move. I was so wrong.

The HVR-A1U is the most disappointing camera I have ever come across in my life. It is astonishingly slow to auto focus, and at lower light levels makes nearly continuously adjustments. Even with the CCD turned up to full brightness, the picture looks washed out. Admittedly, I used it mostly at 480i, but even in 1080i mode, the result was no better. So much for the manufacturer's boasts about the Zeiss Vario-Sonna lens; they are, in my opinion, thoroughly unwarranted.

The sound quality was also poor, despite the large mic, and when rewinding tapes, this camera makes the most horrendous noise. It is actually designed to do so since the noise changes pitch as the tape spools from one segment to the next. The sound is irritating at all pitches, and I cannot imagine why anyone would want to listen to it.

The camera was also a lot smaller than the photos lead one to believe, so check the dimensions if you're used to a bigger, semi-professional camcorder.

I returned this camera after trying it for 10 days. Buyer be warned about this one.