Sony HC9 vs Sony HDR SR12

[scubaseven 1]

Hi. Just wanting to know if the new SR12 is a good camera or stick with the HC9. I know the specs of the two but is the new hard drive camera better quality or just better overall? I have a laptop and hard drive so that is not a problem. Just want a good camera with good quality shots that is easy to edit. The prices are similar so not much difference there. Anyway thanks to anyone who replies, glad of any help.

[wagsy 0]

Well to edit raw AVCHD... it's a real struggle even on my 3.2 Ghz QUAD here so you have to convert it to an intermediate codec so one can edit it easy.....so you are really not saving any time.

A 3.2ghz Quad will edit raw HDV m2t though.

 

Once on the computer you have to archive the raw footage at some time.

The problem is what too and how long is that going to take

 

A tape you just through in the cupboard and it's archived.

[pmooney 6]

Given the choice I would take the tape based camera for the simple reason that the tape based HC9 has less compression than the SR12.

[meimei 0]

loading the tape into ntoebook.. do we need to do anything to it before we can start editing??

can it go into iMovie direct and we can start editing?

[detsop 0]

Just compare camcorder ratings.

This way you can figure out if it sucks or not.

[wagsy 0]

Well let see now..... here are my thoughts.

 

1. TAPE

Shoot 60 mins,

Into the computer = 60mins.

EDIT

Make you DVD or whatever.

Footage archived already.

Hard drive fails, no problems have raw footage on tape.

 

2.

Hard drive or card based AVCHD camera.

Shoot 60 mins

0 - 10 mins to get it into the computer

Edit at low preview res on a fast computer if you can or convert to an easier code to edit so you can see what you are really editing at high quality.

60 mins takes 60- 90 mins to convert to a intermediate codec.

EDIT in camera if you are happy with basic editing.

Make your DVD or whatever.

Burn raw footage to a Blu_Ray which is a very slow $$$ process, now you really are not gong to trust a hard drive are you to store your raw footage on.

 

We had one of those HDR SR camera's here and with our little HDV A1 we pointed them both into a dark area of the house to see which one handled low light better, the A1 won that no problems.

Got 2 Terra drives here full of HDV m2t footage and are very happy it's stored on tapes in case the drives fail one day.

[TODD 0]

Nothing is easier to edit with than the HDR-SR12 in my opinion. Unless you are filming dive movies on a daily or weekly basis you will not run into the archival problems. Yes, you will need a significant scratch or back up drive, but this would be needed anyway. The HC9 is the last of a dying bread of quality Sony consumer level HD cameras that are all AVCHD now. Unless you are bound to a housing that is specific to the HC9 or absolutely need a couple more controls, or tape + hard drive archives vs. just hard drive I cannot reason why you would consider tape based for a new camera, unless you were after really high quality, in which case you are looking at the wrong cameras. If I compare video between my SR12 & HC9 to my Canon XH-A1, there is NO comparison, it's very obvious to the naked eye that there is a huge difference between a consumer level camera and a pro level camera. However, I don't want to travel with that large of a housing. Also, you could archive on Memory Stick too with the SR12.

 

I have used miniDV cameras for years, even used the HC9, and recently got the HDR-SR12 and it is truly a life changing innovation and huge time saver for me. The quality is great, probably better overall than HC9. Read this: http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/showthread.php?t=13610

 

My workflow for a dive trip is so easy now:

-Shot video

-Open housing every couple days and edit, cut down clips(all within camera UI) to desired content, and backup to the Memory Stick. Wow no wasted content on tapes.

-Do final cutting while waiting for or on plane ride home(all within camera UI), and backup complete content to 8 or 16 GB Memory Stick.

-Insert Memory Stick into computer, processing only the already chosen content instead of wasting time processing tape after tape after tape.

-Create Movie and I am done.

[Texas diver 0]

.....

We had one of those HDR SR camera's here and with our little HDV A1 we pointed them both into a dark area of the house to see which one handled low light better, the A1 won that no problems.

....

 

Glad to hear that wagsy. My A1 has server me well, and I'm surprised it does not get more consideration. I guess it is a bit more expensive than the HC9 and the SR12, especially when rebates are not available.

 

I really like the manual white balance and being able to assign it to a single push button. I don't think it's low light abilites are any worst than the HC7, HC9, and others of comparable form factor size from the videos I've seen.

 

The small size makes it easy to travel with, and I've been very happy with the video from it, but it will never compare to the 3 chip cameras. However, considering it has been on the market for about 3 years, I think it is still a strong performer.

 

Personally I still like the tape option, since I feel that the memory stick/harddrive formats are still changing. In a couple of years, I'll probably go away from tape, but not yet.