Notes On Video

A few first impressions of the AG-HMC70U: It’s pretty big. I was expecting that, but it’s somehow bigger than I expected or imagined. I guess I’ve been spending so much time with “small cameras” I forgot how big, shoulder cameras tend to be. The size isn’t an issue when on your shoulder, but it does make it more awkward to schlep around, and though I have a large bag I carry the HDR-FX1 around in, it’s too large for that. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised at how solid the body felt. Frankly, I was thinking that it might feel like a big empty plastic box, given that there’s no tape mechanism, the electronics are probably pretty small, and I imagine there’s a lot of empty space in that shell. Weight wise it’s probably a little heavier than the FX1, but not by much. Speaking of the body, it’s surprisingly devoid of buttons and switches (the FX1 is covered in them.) The BNC and XLR jacks certainly take up a lot of space on the back, but take those away and there are not many oth...

I'm not a big fan of those unboxing videos and articles that people keep doing, but since I got the thing and I had a camera near by... Unboxing the Panasonic AG-HMC70U: Open the box (left), and you find inside another box (right) that looks almost exactly the same; only slightly smaller Open the top, and you see the software discs, memory card (2 GB) and the side of the camera. The right-hand side compartment holds the power supply. Lift that tray out, and you see the lens cover and remote (right) and protective packaging: Take out the next layer, and there's the camera, sitting in a protective baggy: And here she is, right out of the baggy, with a piece of protective wrapping around the viewfinder arm (the rubber eyecup for the viewfinder isn't attached); Here's the camera, with all the parts in front, clockwise from left: * Manual and CD's (one has electronic manual and the other has software). * Battery * viewfinder eyecup * battery for remote * remote * should...

I have had a Sony HDR-FX1 for about three years now, and wanted to get another HD camcorder so that I could do multi-camera shoots. I had been looking at the Sony HVR-HD1000U; a long name for a fairly straight-forward camera. The HD1000U is a one chip HD camera in a shoulder-mount form factor. Its big selling point is that it sells for $1,599. That’s basically half what the FX1 cost. Also appealing – for me - was the shoulder-mount form factor. While I like the FX1, it’s one weakness is that it’s not usable on the shoulder; so most of the time I hold it in front of me. That’s fine for a lot of things, but sometimes a shoulder-mount camera can be really useful. An additional plus point is that being from Sony – I felt – would mean that color reproduction was probably pretty similar to the FX1, and I thought it would make for a good pairing. Then I heard about the Panasonic AG-HMC70U. Like the HD1000U, it’s in a shoulder mount form factor, but it also has XLR audio inputs, which - if you...