Sony DSR-PDX10P

[Mr.Si]

Hey ya'll,

 

I'm kinda looking at getting a decent 3CCD cam and am interested alot in the Sony DSR-PDX10P.

 

Has anyone used one before? or have a knowledgeable view on it?

If so, would you recommend one or if not, what would you recommend? I might be able to stretch to a DSR170, but the PDX10 looks nice n small.

 

Also the idea of paying on 20 months 0% is pretty attractive.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Si

 

Edit: removed a bit of mis information by me, sorry.

[david.elsbury]

If it's the camera I think it is, it performs very poorly in low light. I've gotta head off now, but I'll do some looking up for you tonight after work.

FWIW, we've got a Panasonic DVX 102 and are extremely happy with it.

[timperrett]

I think the X10 is now discontinued (www.sonybiz.net) and is now the HVR-A1E which is in the HDV range rather than DVCAM range.

 

Sony PD170 tends to be the favourite across many companies

 

Not sure if it covers it but having a look to see what http://www.simplydv.co.uk/ has to offer in the way of reviews, might be a good starting point.

 

Happy shopping!

[peternewman]

Our student TV station has one which I've used a fair bit, no real problems that I can think of and it gets used and abused by people with many different skill levels. The only casualty has been the large lense hood, which broke off, although I think this was after someone knocked it quite hard by accident. The large LCD screen is quite a nice feature, as its bigger than most other cameras. Also the phantom power on the XLR inputs can be useful for powering shotgun mics, one minor niggle may be the lack of permanent control of the audio levels, its only available from within a menu when you navigate there. I seem to remember that the backlight button is very good if you don't want to fuss about exposure etc too much.

 

Hope this is of some help, if you want any more specific information let me know and I can try and answer any questions.

 

HTH

 

PN

[blamelewis]

I've used both a PDX10 and the PD 150 (precursor to the PD 170) quite a lot, and both are very capable cameras for their price. The big screen of the PDX 10 is a bonus, but as was pointed out its performance under low light is poorer than the more expensive model.

 

The other major difference is the ability to remove the microphone block from the PDX10, which makes it a lot less "bitty" to carry around and use handheld - there's an internal mic so you can still take sound, but you don't get the XLR connectors and phantom power options that adding the mic block gives you.

 

There's a very honest analysis of the differences between the two models on the product page for the PSX10 here - and I've found this company very helpful (I've no connection to them except as a customer!)

 

Good luck!

 

Tim

[david.elsbury]

Oh, and on the PDX10 the zoom (when zoomed out) is not very wide- meaning you have to be further away from your subject than most other cameras I've tried.

[Mr.Si]

...we've got a Panasonic DVX 102 and are extremely happy with it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I take it, that that's 1 up from the DVX100A?

 

If I do get a cam, I probably will get something of either the DSR170 or higher, or better still the HVR-Z1E. But it's stepping up a level in professionalism there.

 

Si

 

P.S. - Any comments?! :unsure:

[david.elsbury]

Yep. Pretty much the same model, but a newer release. May be some features that are different.

 

My personal comparison between PD170 and DVX102 are that the PD170 has a motor controlled focus and zoom ring, rather than driving the lens mechanically. I prefer this as it's smoother control for me- enabling me to do a slooow zoom in and as I get close to pull the focus to fuzzy quickly. Something that's not possible on the panasonic. But the panasonic has the film-look.

 

Get demos of them both... etc. Night