How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E?

Andreq · 19th April 2008

Which do you all prefer and why?

thanks for the feedback!

kiwi2 · 20th April 2008

Go for Sony. Canon HV30 is lousy. Just my experience.

jaegersing · 20th April 2008

I bought an HV30 a few weeks ago to take on an overseas trip. The picture quality is superb, and I would recommend it any time. If you need manual controls, nearly everything is adjustable, and the little joystick is really well designed. can't imagine that the Sony comes anywhere close to this cam. Here's some footage I shot with the HV30.

http://www.vimeo.com/892592

http://www.vimeo.com/823821

http://www.vimeo.com/814237

http://www.vimeo.com/770502

engr · 20th April 2008

HV30 has 25p.. Sony doesnt. HV30 is cheaper than HC-9e.. go for the Canon. BTW, I own a small/medium camcorder so I am not biased against Sony. Just fell that HV30 is quite value for money. N of cse HDV is a better choice than AVCHD at the moment if u r seriously into editing the footage.

Andreq · 20th April 2008

Hi Richard,
Strange I have Flash 9 installed but can't view your videos.

Hi engr,

I went to read online about the 25p thingy. How does it actually work? The not-so-useful Canon website only says will make videos shot look like "professional movie maker".

Oh, so even though both Canon and Sony are HD cams, there's a diff betn HDV and AVCHD?

Gosh, there are so many subtle terminologies in videography, and I get many differing views. I wish they were simpler like digital photography!

Andreq · 21st April 2008

oh yippe. I can watch the videos. Nice Richard.

Oh some questions....

richard are you based in Singapore? Looks like I'm pretty convinced in getting the HV30. Not sure which is a good shop to buy from and if there are any free gifts thrown in.

by the way, I notice when you zoom out of a scene in Haifa, your exposure in the video remains fixed. How did you do that?

For me, using my present Canon videocam, whenever I zoom in or out, the exposure changes since the camera will automatically adjust it based on the new scene that it 'sees'. That doesn't make the video look nice or "pro".

thanks a lot!

jaegersing · 21st April 2008

Hi Andreq. Yes I live in Singapore, I got my cam at Alan Photo in SLS. Not sure what the current deals are, cos it keeps changing.

Exposure is fixed because I use the Exposure Lock feature of the camera. (I don't know if the Sony has such a feature.) If there is too much variation between the zoomed-in and zoomed-out positions, I tend to expose for the highlights, to avoid making it too bright. Then if necessary, I can adjust the dark areas while editing. The HV30 has zebra bars that are great for checking the exposure, I use them all the time.

Richard

tanwn · 21st April 2008

for your info, HV20 or 30 can take on alot of big cams even hd ones. Just compare the smoothness, detail and noise free image.

CanonEOS · 21st April 2008

HV 30 is not bad. Color and details are good. Get a High Definition software to fully utilise the fully potential of the camera.

Andreq · 22nd April 2008

Originally Posted by CanonEOS

HV 30 is not bad. Color and details are good. Get a High Definition software to fully utilise the fully potential of the camera.

Hi hi...
Thanks.

Do you have any titles to recommend? I heard Sony Vegas (basic edition) cannot fully utilize it? got to get the pro version, which costs many several hundred $$?

I just realize Sony is giving away the Vegas with their 9E purchase, though it's the basic version, better than nothing. If only Canon has an offer similar to this...

CanonEOS · 22nd April 2008

Hmmm I not very video person but from what I know, you can get Pinnacle Studio or Adobe Premiere.

Sony Las Vegas is nice too.

tchoonyong · 22nd April 2008

Originally Posted by CanonEOS

Hmmm I not very video person but from what I know, you can get Pinnacle Studio or Adobe Premiere. Sony Las Vegas is nice too.

I would suggests using adobe premiere and vegas as they are better than pinnacle studio which i used before contained alot of bugs that hindered your video editing.

munwei · 22nd April 2008

I recently bought the Ulead Videostudio 11.5 at Challenger education version as I'm a part-time student. It's about $110 or so, fairly easy to use and can handle the HDV footage from my HV30.

Rgds,

MW

Neo · 22nd April 2008

In fact, the HV20 (predecessor of HV30) had very rave reviews all over the world. I saw some sample videos of the HV30 by users (forgot which website) and it was really impressive. Many people assume that Sony is better (because of advertising perhaps?), but I'd strongly urge you to check out the reviews online and see the difference for yourself. Brace yourself for a big surprise too!

engr · 22nd April 2008

AVCHD is highly compressed codec compared to HDV. So far NLEs cant handle it well.. u can edit but the playback is not smooth making it quite frustrating. HDV is very established by now so all NLEs can handle easily. Thing is the 25P mode will not be straight forward for some NLEs to handle. 25Progressive is close to film cadence so it feels like "film" so to speak. Of cse there are many other elements involved to make it look like film like DOF. The other mode is 50i which is interlaced. Still very nice and good for fasting moving action n panning. Anyway, I would strongly recommend you to go for HV30. Price is right at SGD1.8k if I'm not wrong. If u have the $$, u can couple with a Brevis35 DOF adapter and yr output will be quite amazing!

Sony Vegas handles 25P quite easily as it has a template to select from to perform the pulldown. It is one of the easiest NLE in my opinion. All NLEs have their pros n cons but for a beginner, Vegas is good in my opinion. Price can be within SGD400. Check out B&H from New York. U can ship it into SG for a reasonable pricing. Have fun.

astroboy · 30th April 2008

Is the video footage captured by the HV30 considered broadcast quality?

In other words, can I make sell the video footage to online image banks later?

engr · 30th April 2008

broadcast quality... Eh depends ba.. where do u wan to submit to?

astroboy · 1st May 2008

Let's say a TV network is interested in a footage i shot... will the quality be good enuff... if shot using the HV30?

Originally Posted by engr

broadcast quality... Eh depends ba.. where do u wan to submit to?

jaegersing · 1st May 2008

If you shoot it well and the subject is of interest then they would probably use it. If you don't shoot it well, I doubt that the camera type will be the deciding factor.

astroboy · 4th May 2008

Did some mouseclicks and found the real answer here:
http://www.photolibrary.com/contribu...vent=producers

Which begs the next question:
Does the HV30 REALLY shoot at HD 1920x1080 25fps as advertised?

Originally Posted by astroboy

Is the video footage captured by the HV30 considered broadcast quality?

In other words, can I make sell the video footage to online image banks later?

19th April 2008	#1
Andreq Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 91	How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? Which do you all prefer and why? thanks for the feedback!

20th April 2008	#2
kiwi2 Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,253	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? Go for Sony. Canon HV30 is lousy. Just my experience.

20th April 2008	#3
jaegersing Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,141	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? I bought an HV30 a few weeks ago to take on an overseas trip. The picture quality is superb, and I would recommend it any time. If you need manual controls, nearly everything is adjustable, and the little joystick is really well designed. can't imagine that the Sony comes anywhere close to this cam. Here's some footage I shot with the HV30. http://www.vimeo.com/892592 http://www.vimeo.com/823821 http://www.vimeo.com/814237 http://www.vimeo.com/770502

20th April 2008	#4
engr Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Central Posts: 802	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? HV30 has 25p.. Sony doesnt. HV30 is cheaper than HC-9e.. go for the Canon. BTW, I own a small/medium camcorder so I am not biased against Sony. Just fell that HV30 is quite value for money. N of cse HDV is a better choice than AVCHD at the moment if u r seriously into editing the footage.

20th April 2008	#5
Andreq Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 91	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? Hi Richard, Strange I have Flash 9 installed but can't view your videos. Hi engr, I went to read online about the 25p thingy. How does it actually work? The not-so-useful Canon website only says will make videos shot look like "professional movie maker". Oh, so even though both Canon and Sony are HD cams, there's a diff betn HDV and AVCHD? Gosh, there are so many subtle terminologies in videography, and I get many differing views. I wish they were simpler like digital photography!

21st April 2008	#6
Andreq Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 91	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? oh yippe. I can watch the videos. Nice Richard. Oh some questions.... richard are you based in Singapore? Looks like I'm pretty convinced in getting the HV30. Not sure which is a good shop to buy from and if there are any free gifts thrown in. by the way, I notice when you zoom out of a scene in Haifa, your exposure in the video remains fixed. How did you do that? For me, using my present Canon videocam, whenever I zoom in or out, the exposure changes since the camera will automatically adjust it based on the new scene that it 'sees'. That doesn't make the video look nice or "pro". thanks a lot! Last edited by Andreq; 21st April 2008 at 12:33 AM.

21st April 2008	#8
tanwn Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 153	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? for your info, HV20 or 30 can take on alot of big cams even hd ones. Just compare the smoothness, detail and noise free image.

21st April 2008	#9
CanonEOS Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hougang Posts: 542	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? HV 30 is not bad. Color and details are good. Get a High Definition software to fully utilise the fully potential of the camera. __________________ Canon 40D: EF 24-105 L f/4 IS: Speedlite 580 EX II

22nd April 2008	#11
CanonEOS Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hougang Posts: 542	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? Hmmm I not very video person but from what I know, you can get Pinnacle Studio or Adobe Premiere. Sony Las Vegas is nice too. __________________ Canon 40D: EF 24-105 L f/4 IS: Speedlite 580 EX II

22nd April 2008	#13
munwei Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 281	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? I recently bought the Ulead Videostudio 11.5 at Challenger education version as I'm a part-time student. It's about $110 or so, fairly easy to use and can handle the HDV footage from my HV30. Rgds, MW

22nd April 2008	#14
Neo Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 947	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? In fact, the HV20 (predecessor of HV30) had very rave reviews all over the world. I saw some sample videos of the HV30 by users (forgot which website) and it was really impressive. Many people assume that Sony is better (because of advertising perhaps?), but I'd strongly urge you to check out the reviews online and see the difference for yourself. Brace yourself for a big surprise too!

30th April 2008	#16
astroboy Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 360	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? Is the video footage captured by the HV30 considered broadcast quality? In other words, can I make sell the video footage to online image banks later?

1st May 2008	#19
jaegersing Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,141	Re: How does the Canon HV30 compare with the Sony HC9E? If you shoot it well and the subject is of interest then they would probably use it. If you don't shoot it well, I doubt that the camera type will be the deciding factor.