Is the Sony PD170 too far over the hill

[milton]

Hi folks,

there are a few used PD170s coming on to the market these days in various states of use. I know of its performance in low light conditions and of nothing current to match it. Is it too far over the hill to consider.

I'm not ready to commit to Hi Def yet.

The benefit of your vast experience would be much appreciated.

Best regards,
Ian.

[The Toybox]

It's a two and a half thousand pound camera.

We're talking about porn here (aren't we)?

You can film porn on a Flip Video, provided you film something people want to see.

Something a quarter of the cost would be fine, even for TV.

[one eyed jack]

Theres nothing wrong with it.

In fact, to consumers of porn most of them dont even know what Hi Def is, so its all about the content.

I know this because Ive been harping on about the site going hi def and most people ask than not what is this HD thing you are talking about then when you tell them its still over their head.

Sure you'll get a few people who will say they wont touch a site that isnt HD but lets face it, a majority of peoples favourite stuff was shot on standard format so....

In short...If your budget limits you to that then go for it.

[Marino]

My favourite camera is still my 13 year old Sony PD 100.

Even though we have been shooting with Z1's I much prefer my old PD.

[milton]

Thanks guys,

Up to now I've been shooting with a Panasonic NVGS400, a 3ccd compact. The image quality is great but falls down badly in low light. This one is 5 years old and is very much obsolete and in need of replacement.

I'm looking for something more pro quality, a bit chunkier to reduce the hand-held shake, good low light tolerance and which won't break the bank. The XLR sound is also attractive.

I agree about content. Hi Def is such a generic term for a range of formats definitions, file sizes and bit rates and still in my opinion a challenge for post production, streaming and web distribution.

Best rgds,
Ian.

[singh_is_king]

Hi,

Wait til the 3D stuff cums out. Yeh that's gonna be fooking cool dudes. 3D OLED HD2 !cool!


Laters

Nick

[Snow Patrol]

Its NOT about the camera... Its about who is holding it, and what he is filming with it it...

[Sarah Kelly]

What would you buy if... a) you only had a ?200 budget and b) you didnt have any lights!sad! .... and, do Currys stock it? Big love...x

[SpunkySam]

Well sexy miss kelly id look for 3ccd and second hand. And to get you going with lights use a basic site light bounced off the ceiling, they will be hot im afraid and youll have to be aware of shadows but will get you going for less than ?20.

[sparky]

What would you buy if... a) you only had a ?200 budget and b) you didnt have any lights!sad! .... and, do Currys stock it?

Nothing brand new but a top notch model from a few years ago.

As an example right now there is a Panasonic NV-GX7 on eBay starting at ?75. These were about ?1000 new when a reasonable consumer model was around ?400.
I have two of these and they knock spots off my mates 3CCD Panasonic in low light.
If you get it for under ?100 you have ?100 to put in your lighting budget.