Posted by Spex on 07/14/07 13:38

Martin Heffels wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:50:42 -0700, P.C. Ford <meoh@mouse-potato.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I have heard that the 150 is one of the BBC's favorite cameras for
>> shooting in far corners of the world. As a friend said, it shoots good
>> footage but is not too expensive not to put down and run when things
>> get a mite uncomfortable.
>
> More and more camera's like the PD150 are discarded in the UK (my
> friends who work for RedBee etc tel me so), and like Spex said, they
> use the Z1, but then running in DVCAM. It's because it has a true 16x9
> sensor, so no finicking necessary with optical adapters.
> Now obviously the PD150 will still be around for some time, but then
> probably only in the hands of the folks working for ITV/Channel
> 4/Five. It is a cheap and proiven to be reliable camera, so, yes, it's
> a workhorse.
>
> I have to agree with Spex that uprezzing a 400 pixel image won't look
> that fantastic, and will jump out, compared to HD. Reall, you would be
> better off buying a cheapo HDV-camera, and if budget allows and the
> market has settled, get a decent camera. maybe a XDCAM-HD or the GVG
> Infinity.
>
> cheers
>
> -martin-

The V res of the PD150 is 450 lines in 4:3 mode this drops by nearly 30%
in 16:9 so it is much worse than I originally posted and closer to 300+
V lines. That is why broadcasters stipulate that an anamorphic adaptor
be used "at the very least".

One thing that is very apparent is the take up of the Z1 and other
compact cameras for news acquisition as they are after all lightweight,
cheap and produce a bloody good image. It is symptomatic of the state
of flux in British broadcasting with the imminent-ish move to HD as
no-one wants to back another wrong horse in the mid to lower end of the
broadcast market. It's not just the SD-HD move but also the
tape-tapeless move that is getting people (that I know) nervous of
spending big. With so many competing formats it is going to be a
minefield to navigate for sure.

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