Hi, I've been researching camcorders for the past few weeks, and I've ended up completely stumped. I was originally trying to decide between the HR96 or the Panasonic GS300, but considering that the vast majority of my shooting will take place indoors, I was seriously leaning toward the HC96.
But then, after doing all of this research, I happened upon the SR100 on the main page of this site, and that threw all my work right out the window.
It seems to me that the SR100 is basically the HC96 but with a hard drive, which I would think is the wave of the future of digital camcorders.
It's a little bit more than I was wanting to spend, but at the same time costs in the long run will be more equal without the expense of tape involved.
At this point I really can't figure out if it's worth shelling out the extra money, or if I should merely wait until the prices of the hard drive camcorders go down (and perhaps the quality goes up as well). Or maybe just buy the HC96 and be a little behind the technology in a couple years. No tapes really sounds promising though...

Any ideas or comparisons between these two models would be greatly appreciated.

Opeth

The HC96 is a MiniDV camcorder which records in the DV AVI format which was designed to be edited, so far Hard Drive camcorders use the MPEG-2 format which was originally designed as a delivery format, not as easy to edit as DV. I prefer to edit MiniDV because of the type editing I do. It is a highly discussed subject. Some would say memory based camcorders and/or High Definition is the wave of the future. I still drive my original 1984 GMC pickup...

You can store your original MiniDV tapes for years, how do you plan to store your video?

The HC96 is a good camcorder.

This recent thread might be of interest. Sony DCR-SR100 first impressions: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t126133.html

Also these threads:
HDD vs tape
Hard drive vs. tape camcorders
Comparison test of nine MPEG2 cameras




Rich

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Thanks for the information Poncho,

In the first statement I made that you responded to, I was, in a roundabout way I guess, trying to figure out if these two camera have the same (close to it anyway) picture quality. The reviews seemed to alude to that conclusion.

Being a complete newbie to the world of camcorders, I know absolutely nothing about video editing; I probably need to look more into this before making any final decision. What exactly are the problems with editing MPEG-2 format footage?

I really hadn't thought that much about long-term storage to be honest, it's nice to know that mini-dv tapes last that long. With the hard drive camcorder, I was just planning on transferring the videos to my computer, which has a whole ton of storage area on it; either that or buy some sort of peripheral storage device in the future.

Thanks again,

Opeth

The video quality between HC96 and SR100 will probably be about the same. Any real differences would probably not be noticeable unless you shot the same exact video with both cameras at the same time under the same exact conditions and then closely compared the two very carefully.

A very brief explanation:

1. MiniDV records in the DV AVI format which is not compressed as much as MPEG. It uses individual complete frames. Do not confuse DV AVI with other .AVI files which can be highly compressed.

2. MPEG is much more compressed than DV AVI and does not use individual complete frames, they are built up using data from comparisons with previous frames rather than containing all the data necessary for that frame. This means that it can take a lot longer for the editing software to regenerate the frames when displaying and editing.

Rich

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hi Opeth

finally I found someone with the same predicament..just like u I had a tough time deciding between hc96 and panasonic gs300....but then bcoz of low-light capability of hc96, I decided to go in for that and was abt to place the order when I stumbled upon SR100

I did lotsa research on these two models - hc96 and SR100 and ofcourse sr100 being new, couldnt find much reviews....IMHO and from other reviews/feedbacks, the picture quality stored in the tape will be much better than the pic (MPEG2) stored in the hard disk due to the raw format..but then, we ultimately convert the tapes into DVD thus compromising on the quality..

Thanks to Poncho on his feedbacks and views (other forums too), it helped me a lot....but sadly am still confused between hc96 and sr100. plainly bcoz I feel am not much of a guy who will edit the movie, etc....but then, the idea tht i will be losing on the quality is killing me

please reply whether you were able to decide and go in for either of the above models and whether you are happy with whatever u have purchased..
am plannin to buy during independence day sale
thanks
Andy

"finally I found someone with the same predicament.."

Me too! My old DCR-TRV740 just lost its tape transport mechanism and that was after a total of about 20 tapes. (Tho' I did transfer many analog 8mm tapes to my hard drive using that camera...)

Living/ranching in Wyoming (dust and dirt supreme) I always hated the problems with tape mechanisms and longed for an HDD camcorder. Every time I opened the cassette door and mechanism, I knew dirt was infiltrating, no matter how careful I was. I considered the JVCs when they arrived - that is until I learned they had no viewfinders.

When the SR100 was introduced, I thought it was "the thing" and earmarked money for one before my TRV740 broke. BUt now that I need to buy one, I'm not so sure any more...

There's the MPEG-2 compression/re-encoding issue when editing (I use Pinnacle Studio 9.4), the audio hiss problems some people share, the 5.1 sound issue with editing with most software packages, no mic-in, no focus ring, a touchscreen (I get greasy in my job), and a lenscap as fragile as the lens itself. (But I guess most are going that way...) Oh, and total dependence on hard drives or DVDs for backups and storage (i.e. NO archive on tapes...)

It's just a shame to read all the reviews here on this great website, only to find that like most other industries, substance is being swept away by "sizzle". To me, it's like a car manufacturer removing the reverse gear from a new platform, and selling the idea with "Hey, it's got seventeen cup-holders and GPS navigation!"

But I'm still considering the DCR-SR100, along with the HC-96 and the PV-GS500. I was almost sold on the Panasonic, but when handling the lesser models of those cameras at a nearby electronics store, the Sony feels SO MUCH more stout in the hands.

I know this post is not of much use to anyone, but maybe someone will read it and shoot down some of my concerns, convincing me to try the DCR-SR100. I have two weeks to buy something (and get it delivered) before a short vacation, so the pressure's on!

Thanks to everyone for their really helpful posts.

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