Just a data point: some of us HAVE had serious problems with long-GOP compression in HDV. But again, it all depends on what sort of work you do. Worth noting that the high quality 24P setting on the EX1 uses an extra 10 mb/s of bandwidth in addition to a slightly smaller GOP, which should make those blockies and fuzzies a little less problematic.
The EX1 is interesting. AT its price point its really competing with the HVX - once you add the cards its significantly more expensive than an XH-A1. The 1/2 inch sensor is a plus but it's still a far cry from the 2/3 inch sensors on high end cameras. Low light performance is about a stop better than than the HVX. Another thing to note: i uses CMOS chips, like the HV20 and the lower end Sony HDVs (and, for that matter, the RED). These use a rolling shutter, which can result in distortion when things are moving quickly across the frame. I actually LIKE this distortion - it feels somewhat organic, like an exagerration of the rotating shutter in a film camera - but some pros are leery of it. A lot of work is going into"improving" this in the RED camera. I don't know what sort of implementation Sony is using but if its a concern you should check on it. Again, I LIKE the look of CMOS, including the rolling shutter, so for me its almost a plus. (you can see a greatly exagerrated version of the rolling shutter effect on cel phone video cams like the Nokia N93 - it's nowhere NEAR that level of distortion on pro/semi pro cams though). Personally, I would still choose an HVX over the EX1 because of the long GOP issue (though I haven't used an EX1 yet so we'll see). But I'm not rushing out to buy either. I'm renting til the field stablizes or my production schedule gets heavier. Brook ____________________________________________ Brook Hinton film/video/audio art www.brookhinton.com studio vlog/blog: www.brookhinton.com/temporalab
