HD Acquisition Options

You don’t have to shoot HD to deliver HD.

You certainly can shoot using an HD video camera. If you chose to do so you will be faced with a number of options. The most popular formats include HDCAM, DVCPRO HD, HDV, XDCAM HD and Panasonic camcorders which use P2 memory cards. In addition there are also higher end digital cinema cameras that shoot HD or higher than HD size video straight to hard discs.

Shooting on 35 or Super 16 film and transferring to HD video is a viable option. High cost film stock is a commonly quoted disadvantage of this approach. There are other considerations to take into account when deciding whether to use film or video.