Used Prosumer Camcorders
Canon XH-a1 vs Panasonic AG-DVX100B???
I am going to be purchasing one of these two prosumer camcorders and I need advice. I know that in one hand I have HD and the other is not. They are both widescreen ratios. They both have XLRs. Since I will be using the camcorder for Music Videos, Documentaries, and small independent shorts, I need help deciding. Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Get the A1. Period. The A1 is the same as the DVX except newer, HD, and made by Canon.
I have owned both and have shot both professionally. The DVX100B is older and is SD, whereas the A1 does 1080i HD. No, the DVX does NOT do native widescreen. It has a fake “squeeze mode” to mimic it, but it is not native, as the A1 is, and has much less quality.
The cameras are pretty comparable otherwise. There is no doubt that you should go with the A1 at this point unless there’s some reason you need SD. HD is 6x the quality of SD. Yes — SIX TIMES — so you’d be throwing an awful lot of quality out the window if you were to get the DVX instead. Get the A1.
Again, I’ve owned both, and also have samples of videos I’ve shot with each of them, so let me know if you want to know more.
EDIT: After looking at the other answers, I had to respond because I cannot believe this. HD is not “overrated.” It is not a small tiny increase. It is a SIXFOLD increase in quality. I do agree with the last commenter that your lighting is much more important than your camera, but the camera still matters, and the price difference between the DVX and the A1 is so miniscule in comparison to the quality difference that you’re just wasting cash if you spend almost as much money for far less quality.
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