Sony HC3

[Ryan]

I have no fear of using a discontinued camera, it is a fact of life these days... The cameras are supported by Sony service for some time, and housings are still on the shelf. My intention was not to discourage someone from an HC3, but to show a comparable alternative...

HC3 aren't gone, either. I have them. B&H has them, too. And they are all over ebay NIB. You'll likely be able to buy cameras for the next 3-6 months.

If I were buying today and I couldn't afford to spend really big money (FX7/V1, FX1/Z1, Panny HVX200), I'd buy an HC3. No doubt or hesitation. But the Canon iVIS HV10 camera is an acceptable alternative.

 

[Gar]

Ryan - thanks for the explanation!

 

[wilbkr1]

I think this thread just helped me make my mind up and pull the trigger. I'm really tickled to finally own one and look forward to getting it home. I've talked to my Ebay seller now and have less concerns. So here is my setup.

Sony HDR-HC 3
Top Dawg Housing
Monitor Back

I think all I need now is to figure out how to use the blasted thing. I head to Bonaire in July 07. I think I'll spend some time in the pool with it and hope to get some good footage in Bonaire. I'll post my videos as I progress along the way.

 

[King_of_All_Tyrants]

Is there any reason the HC3 is better than the HDR-UX1, which records to a CD/DVD-type disk?

 

[Gar]

Is there any reason the HC3 is better than the HDR-UX1, which records to a CD/DVD-type disk?

You can compare features on www.bestbuy.com. Look up the HC3 and click on Compare with products in this price range.

Biggest difference is dvd vs minidv. also firewire support.

 

[ScubaBob92651]

Um, CES starts tomorrow. Coincidence, I think not....

 

[drbill]

HC3 aren't gone, either...B&H has them, too.

...But the Canon iVIS HV10 camera is an acceptable alternative.

They don't any more.

HV10 won't work in my housing, no LANC connector.

 

[paulpost]

I think this thread just helped me make my mind up and pull the trigger. I'm really tickled to finally own one and look forward to getting it home. I've talked to my Ebay seller now and have less concerns. So here is my setup.

Sony HDR-HC 3
Top Dawg Housing
Monitor Back

I think all I need now is to figure out how to use the blasted thing. I head to Bonaire in July 07. I think I'll spend some time in the pool with it and hope to get some good footage in Bonaire. I'll post my videos as I progress along the way.

Congrats and good luck with your new gear. Only one remark, I assume you've ordered a monitor for your housing, make sure that is compatible with HD video or you can use it only if you record in SD mode otherwise it's waste of money.

 

[alo100]

I checked with the whole seller also, there is no announcement for any new model (HD + tape) nor the continuation of more supply. It happened before, in spite of market response, they can just stop making it without telling ahead of time.

It's low in stock, but there are still some at the market, worse come to worse, if the model is popular, there maybe something similar in the near future (or SONY really want to push people to go for the AVCHD version only?).

 

[Ryan]

Is there any reason the HC3 is better than the HDR-UX1, which records to a CD/DVD-type disk?

The cameras use 2 very different formats. AVCHD (SR1 & UX1 Cameras) compresses the high definition footage (around 100mb/s) to 12-17 mb/s (the ux1 compresses more than the sr1). The HDV format, used by the HC3 and most semi-pro cameras, compresses to 25mb/s. I wish HDV compressed less in a lot of situations, but won't judge the SR1/UX1 quality until I see more underwater footage.

The HC3 is smaller, has more manual controls available through the manual dial, and is better in low light.

Congrats and good luck with your new gear. Only one remark, I assume you've ordered a monitor for your housing, make sure that is compatible with HD video or you can use it only if you record in SD mode otherwise it's waste of money.

This isn't correct. Even while recording in HDV, the camera outputs both sd (through the half circle jack on the back of the camera) and component for hd monitors. While an HD monitor would be a better choice for macro shooting, the standard definition monitors have proven to be adequat "sport finders."