Sony Digital Movie Camera Versus Panasonic

When I decided to buy a second digital movie camera for making dvds of my seminars, which are given to the attendees. This allows me to video both the speaker and the projector screen - cutting from one to the other when editing.  This is a feature sadly lacking from most videos of seminars where it is impossible to follow what the speaker is talking about, because you hardly ever see the projector screen.

I was determined that my seminar dvds would be the best.

So, before making the second purchase, I carefully reviewed what I had learnt from my experience with my first digital mpvie camera – a Sony DCR-PC109E. So here's my findings on the Sony digital movie camera versus Panasonic.

Whilst I had been pleased with the picture quality, there were a few shortcomings I wanted to avoid in my next purchase.

• Loading and unloading of the DV tapes could not be carried out when the camera is clipped to a tripod. Therefore, it is necessary to unclip the camera from the tripod, unscrew the tripod fitting from the camera, change the tape and repeat the procedure in reverse.

• Because the Sony is only 3 ¼ " (80 cm) long plus the zoom control being situated right at the front of the camera, above the lens, there is a tendency for the fingers to wander within the line of fire. This results in an occasional glimpse of a finger in the top of the picture.

• A headphone facility would be helpful.

• Taping a eight hour seminar on eight, one hour DV tapes, which then take a further eight hours to download into the computer, is very time consuming. Therefore a facility which would allow data streaming directly to a portable hard drive would be far more efficient.

After researching the market, I settled for a Panasonic NV-GS150.

This has a 3ccd color converter, normally only found in professional rigs. This produces excellent pictures, even better than the Sony. Also, on the four other aspects, mentioned above, it wins hands down!

• Tapes side load in a matter of seconds, whilst the camera remains firmly fixed to the tripod.

• The Panasonic is about 1 ¾" (4.5 cm) longer than the Sony. And, because of the DV tape being positioned on the side is also bulkier. However this is actually an advantage, as it makes for a more ergonomic shape, which fits well into the hand.

In addition, the zoom button is located towards the back of the camera, which means the index finger falls naturally onto it, with the other three fingers nestling comfortably on top of the camera and well out of the way of the lens.

The thumb of that hand then falls naturally onto the "Record Start/Stop" button on top of the camera.

• The Panasonic also has a headphone facility, as well as the usual built in loudspeaker for on location monitoring of the audio. This is useful for monitoring the sound in a noisy location.

• All the Panasonic digital movie cameras in this range feature digital data streaming, so you can either record onto conventional DV tapes or direct into a special portable hard drive, which can then be immediately edited to produce the DVD, without the need to download from tape.

To sum up, in my Sony digital movie camera versus Panasonic comparision - bearing in mind the costs of both cameras were similar - the Panasonic won hands down.

Copyright © 2006 InternetMarketingMagician.com and Paul Hooper-Kelly
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without permission prohibited.

Related articles:

Jargon Busters: Video Production Jargon

Converting Your VHS Tapes To Digital

return to home page