I have been watching the steady progress in High Definition video over the past few years. We were very early adopters of the HDTV systems from DirecTV and Comcast, and we have enjoyed lots of HD video over the air for a long time now.But until very recently, HD video creation was the domain of TV stations with two-comma budgets. Now that has all changed. The emergence of the Blu-Ray and HD DVD formats (good grief…why two?) and sub-$1,000 HD cameras has made it possible for mere mortals with single-comma budgets to produce videos in true High Definition.So, after sitting patiently and watching the progress, I decided that it was time to experiment and sink one of my hard-earned commas into HD.I purchased the Canon HG10 from B&H Photo for just under $800 with free overnight shipping. I’ll write up my thoughts on the camera soon once I play some more with it. But the bottom line is this: while it’s still very costly from a software, hardware and time standpoint. It is possible for us, the technological proletariat, to make really pretty videos.Photo courtesy of Canon, Inc.
I encourage you to keep frequent updates on your HG10 experience. I’m convinced tape cameras are going out at this point, but the editing workflow for various alternatives is confusing at best, maybe you can help shed light. I can’t even get a decent conversion for my pocket Kodak V1253 pocket camera that shoots in 1280 x 720 30fps.
What is the point of click and drag acquisition if you have to spend time to convert/render to a different format?