Even with solid state 4K and up cameras nowadays, I’d still prefer something like this. Solid construction, plentiful accessories, and it records on MiniDV! HDV has always been something super interesting and I’d definitely like to get something like this one day. Not to mention FireWire, one of the best connectors to have. Combine this with a 2005 PowerMac G5 and that is the best of the best. Doesn’t matter that it’s “obsolete”, it still works just like new! It’s also cool that this uses InfoLithium M batteries, convenient when you have a bunch of HandyCams. Newer products just aren’t the same anymore, hard to believe that this HandyCam is old now. Great video as always!
To think I can watch this on a handheld phone that’s half the price with a 4K 60p stabilized camera inside it… crazy how far tech has come! But something about the raw CCD image with little computational photography compared to today has a charm
I've used this device for almost a decade and a few observations: - The buttons for exposure were a fiddle, and I had to use it somewhat more than you would nowadays when they've made face recognition - The tape mechanism isn't as durable, but it works. - The screen is of a sort reflector kind so it works in full bright sunlight. Never seen anything like after this... - With a small wired remote control it was a breeze on the tripod. Last ones with LANC-control - The bluetooth powered remote microphone was a real nice working thing to record presentations or speaking people from far away on a tripod. Mono though - The 1080i is not as sharp as nowadays but stille very nice. - Recording and showing in HD in 2006 in a country where introduction of real HD was around 2010 was a real eye-opener for some. It was a real step-up from 576i digital widescreen or even letterboxed widescreen at that moment. I've seen some real jaw dropping to see the footage on a Full-HD screen. - 2500 euro for this piece of equipment was a lot of money.
Damn 2500€ for the HC1 in 2005 when I was born… For that you just save money and buy a HDR FX1 or a Z1 instead because they where a lot better and bigger…
It's great to see more consistent videos from you. For a while you weren't posting very much. And the quality of your videos seems to have been stepped up considerably. Looking forward to more content...
I've definitely tried to turn that several year era of malaise around over the past year with weekly uploads. That seems to be just the right amount of frequency without it becoming too much for me to produce or subscribers to watch. I've also upgraded my camcorder and have been experimenting with a few other things so I'm very glad to see it's being noticed. Thanks for watching!
@@stereophonicstuff It's absolutely been noticed, especially the editing and overall quality in general. It really makes a huge difference and shows that you care about producing good content. That means a lot to us viewers. I'm sure you'll see the channel grow. Best of luck to you and keep em' coming...
These are essentially what marked the beginning of modern digital video that we still use today. Older digital video like standard DV tapes were designed more with CRT viewing in mind.
Fun fact: If you hook up these cameras to an Atomos Ninja, you can actually enhance the quality. You can do this with all of these old cameras, and it’s great
Can you elaborate?? I used to have this camera back before life got in the way when I was really into film. It’s still at my parents’ home and I’ve always wondered if it’ll still be good to work with nowadays.
2 Grand! That's... a midrange consumer camcorder now. Although I guess this too would have been considered midrange in its day. Funny to think people back then probably considered the high resolution to be some sort of gimmick. I mean.. who's even gonna watch anything in that res? I had a JVC HD1 but it also had that issue of a dead firewire port so I had no way to capture the footage. Some day I want to get another one because that thing recorded really good quality video despite it being 20 years old.
It's rather fun to read the old forum threads talking about this and other HDV camcorders when they were new; so many people just used them in SD or DV mode, since the technology was so new, and their computers and editing software couldn't handle it. How times have changed!
Both. I used 99% normal mini DV as the HDV were 4 or 5 times more expensive in France. No real difference, I recorded more than 1000 in almost 20 years.
I have the A1 and HC1. They are nice machines, and the DV tape recordings they make seem far higher quality than my Canon cameras, which are very dropout prone. One thing I must give these Handycams credit for is the touch screen. I normally hate touchscreens, but the Handycam ones work really well. I recently got a new Panasonic model, and while the touch interface works, its too fiddly for my liking.
Hello! I have a HDR HC1 now and when it works, I am in love with it! But it keeps saying C:21:00 Condensation error. Do you know any fixes for this? I tried cleaning and and resetting the camera, which definitely helps for some time, but then the error comes back. Thank you for your time!
If I'm not mistaken, the HVR-A1E is the PAL version of the HVR-A1U. I'd like to get one just to have the external audio input interface and better viewfinder eyecup they come with. Thanks for watching!
Even with solid state 4K and up cameras nowadays, I’d still prefer something like this. Solid construction, plentiful accessories, and it records on MiniDV! HDV has always been something super interesting and I’d definitely like to get something like this one day. Not to mention FireWire, one of the best connectors to have. Combine this with a 2005 PowerMac G5 and that is the best of the best. Doesn’t matter that it’s “obsolete”, it still works just like new! It’s also cool that this uses InfoLithium M batteries, convenient when you have a bunch of HandyCams. Newer products just aren’t the same anymore, hard to believe that this HandyCam is old now. Great video as always!
To think I can watch this on a handheld phone that’s half the price with a 4K 60p stabilized camera inside it… crazy how far tech has come! But something about the raw CCD image with little computational photography compared to today has a charm
I've used this device for almost a decade and a few observations:
- The buttons for exposure were a fiddle, and I had to use it somewhat more than you would nowadays when they've made face recognition
- The tape mechanism isn't as durable, but it works.
- The screen is of a sort reflector kind so it works in full bright sunlight. Never seen anything like after this...
- With a small wired remote control it was a breeze on the tripod. Last ones with LANC-control
- The bluetooth powered remote microphone was a real nice working thing to record presentations or speaking people from far away on a tripod. Mono though
- The 1080i is not as sharp as nowadays but stille very nice.
- Recording and showing in HD in 2006 in a country where introduction of real HD was around 2010 was a real eye-opener for some. It was a real step-up from 576i digital widescreen or even letterboxed widescreen at that moment. I've seen some real jaw dropping to see the footage on a Full-HD screen.
- 2500 euro for this piece of equipment was a lot of money.
Damn 2500€ for the HC1 in 2005 when I was born… For that you just save money and buy a HDR FX1 or a Z1 instead because they where a lot better and bigger…
It's great to see more consistent videos from you. For a while you weren't posting very much. And the quality of your videos seems to have been stepped up considerably. Looking forward to more content...
I've definitely tried to turn that several year era of malaise around over the past year with weekly uploads. That seems to be just the right amount of frequency without it becoming too much for me to produce or subscribers to watch. I've also upgraded my camcorder and have been experimenting with a few other things so I'm very glad to see it's being noticed. Thanks for watching!
@@stereophonicstuff It's absolutely been noticed, especially the editing and overall quality in general. It really makes a huge difference and shows that you care about producing good content. That means a lot to us viewers. I'm sure you'll see the channel grow. Best of luck to you and keep em' coming...
having this in 2005 must of been pretty boss
These are essentially what marked the beginning of modern digital video that we still use today. Older digital video like standard DV tapes were designed more with CRT viewing in mind.
Correction: The first HDV camcorder I incorrectly mentioned at 12:53 as being the JVC GR1 is actually the GR-HD1.
Fun fact: If you hook up these cameras to an Atomos Ninja, you can actually enhance the quality. You can do this with all of these old cameras, and it’s great
Can you elaborate?? I used to have this camera back before life got in the way when I was really into film. It’s still at my parents’ home and I’ve always wondered if it’ll still be good to work with nowadays.
Excellent review!
Thank you!
2 Grand! That's... a midrange consumer camcorder now. Although I guess this too would have been considered midrange in its day. Funny to think people back then probably considered the high resolution to be some sort of gimmick. I mean.. who's even gonna watch anything in that res? I had a JVC HD1 but it also had that issue of a dead firewire port so I had no way to capture the footage. Some day I want to get another one because that thing recorded really good quality video despite it being 20 years old.
It's rather fun to read the old forum threads talking about this and other HDV camcorders when they were new; so many people just used them in SD or DV mode, since the technology was so new, and their computers and editing software couldn't handle it. How times have changed!
Does it use special tape, or does it use normal mini dv to shoot in hd?
Both. I used 99% normal mini DV as the HDV were 4 or 5 times more expensive in France. No real difference, I recorded more than 1000 in almost 20 years.
I have the A1 and HC1. They are nice machines, and the DV tape recordings they make seem far higher quality than my Canon cameras, which are very dropout prone. One thing I must give these Handycams credit for is the touch screen. I normally hate touchscreens, but the Handycam ones work really well. I recently got a new Panasonic model, and while the touch interface works, its too fiddly for my liking.
Hello! I have a HDR HC1 now and when it works, I am in love with it! But it keeps saying C:21:00 Condensation error. Do you know any fixes for this? I tried cleaning and and resetting the camera, which definitely helps for some time, but then the error comes back. Thank you for your time!
QQ: How can you see on a 1080i TV the footage from this camera if there is no output in HDMI? Does the AV shoe have that?
There is a IEEE1394 firewire output for PC and a component +A/V for TV, both full HD.
Very good camcorder. Here you shoot video in HDV format. How do the settings QTGMC parameters differ for a noisy matrix in your think ?
thank you for this video
Look like the model before the HVR-A1E. Cool video.
If I'm not mistaken, the HVR-A1E is the PAL version of the HVR-A1U. I'd like to get one just to have the external audio input interface and better viewfinder eyecup they come with. Thanks for watching!
@@stereophonicstuff They are nice little cameras. I used to have one and reviewed it on my channel. Keep up the great content
@@stereophonicstuff it also has a slightly higher resolution sensor, a regular sized hot shoe, and I think more manual control
@@alonzooop I'd like to get one, even though I already have way too many camcorders!
@@stereophonicstuff oh yea me too fs, I have a HDR HC1 but it broke the day I got it (screen cable) :(
Thanks for this! Do you which cord to use to transfer the video files to a Mac?
Thank you so much
How to aet leangue ? 😢