Image difference between 2 pro HD cameras

[alonerdottiearebel]

Has anyone noticed an image quality difference between the Sony F900 and the Panasonic AJ-HDC27H?

Thanks,
PW

 

[David Mullen ASC]

They are different cameras -- the Panasonic shoots 720P and the F900 shoots either 1080i or 1080P. So there is a basic difference in pixel resolution. Now how visible that difference is depends on many factors.

Otherwise, both cameras have extensive controls over gamma, color, etc. Some people say that the Varicam has nicer color / better latitude, but I don't feel it is a dramatic difference myself.

 

[alonerdottiearebel]

Ok, but if money were no object and you were able to choose which HD camera to shoot a feature with (I'm thinking image qualify mostly)?

Panasonic AJ-HDC27H
Panasonic HVX200
Panasonic SDX900
Sony F900
JVC GY-HD100U
Canon XLH1
Others?

This would be for a fairly dark (horror) film that will be straight to DVD for release. Cutting on FCP. I hear the Panasonic HVX200 is becoming a kind of standard but is that because of the lower price tag?

Also, I'm concerned about renting a camera that uses P2 cards because of the potential failure rate with those as well as hard drive crashes if you transferred all of the footage. If you use HDCAM, you would always have your tapes to go back to if any crashes happened in post.

Thoughts?

 

[David Mullen ASC]

If this is for DVD release and the choice was between the F900 and the Varicam, I'd go for whatever gave you the better rental deal and allowed you to use the high-end HD zooms and primes. The optics make a big difference.

If the rental was the same, I might favor the Varicam since 720P would be fine, resolution-wise, plus it's slightly smaller & lighter and does multiple frame rates.

One problem with the lower-end prosumer HD cameras is the small CCD's, giving you more depth of field. Plus the lack of good lenses, plus the compression and limited color depth, etc. Their main advantage is cost of purchase.

 

[alonerdottiearebel]

Thank you for for the reply.
It was very helpful.

I do have one additional question and that is your thoughts on:

Using P2 cards because of the potential failure rate with those as well as hard drive crashes if you transferred all of the footage to a hardrive.

If you use HDCAM or similar tape stock, you would always have your tapes to go back to if any crashes happened in principal photography or post.

Thanks again,
PW

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't know if one can quantify the greater risk of recording to P2 cards compared to tape recording. Time will tell how reliable these new methods are.