[Sean Adair]

13″ macbook pro for less than the equiv macbook used to cost. With SDHC card & FW 800!
Express cards are so yesterday ;^)

[Sean Adair]

I have the GY-HD200, DR-HD100 drive and 17x lens, and was also motivated especially by the 60p capabilities initially. I’m very pleased with my choice after some 18 months. I also came from JVC “pro” video cameras beforehand. The ergonomics of a “broadcast” or “professional” camera are important to me. Having a servo-operated manual focus lens adds feel and control to my work. The options available such as the awesome 13x lens, Nikon mount conversions for extended telephoto use, or 16mm primes with native 16mm DOF are very attractive. The 720 progressive format makes great technical sense to me. My older model doesn’t have the 1080i capability, but I’d only use it for a specific client compatibility scenario, as the chip and acquisition are 720p and conversion in post is probably superior, although less convenient.

I expected to shoot mostly 60p, but haven’t. 60p can look awesome for accurate motion, and is fantastic for true “overcranking” effects in a 24p project. However, ALL HDV compression is intensive, and this is the weakest link with this system overall. There are some scenarios, not necessarily intuitive, that can prompt artifacts and noise, and these are exacerbated by shooting 60p. Generally, I’d say “non-ideal” or “uncontrollable” light is where challenges begin.
Mind you, still frame analysis of 60p may not look quite as clean, but the frames are changing much quicker, and individual frame issues are less noticeable. Unfortunately, many final presentation scenarios (and all downconversion) ends up throwing out some of your allocated “bits” of information.

After years of fighting the “24p” look as having less motion information, I’ve relaxed my qualifications for shooting it, and even advocate it for more situations than before. People are used to the look, and even unconsciously prefer it, while 30p is neither here nor there. In down-conversion to SD, you aren’t discarding half of your carefully hoarded compressed information to interlace.

Ultimately, for camera choice, much depends on your end needs, and your cinematographer preferred ergonomics. Rest assured that great results can come from this camera, but one caveat is that additional cinematographer knowledge and experience is required to make the most of the qualities it has.

Sean Adair
http://www.adairproductions.com
NYC