Member of WEVA (Wedding & Event Videographers Association) & BAPVA (Bay Area Professional Videographers Association)

"A special thanks to extraordinary photographer Cynthia, of Cynthias Photography for the use of one of her very beautiful images in some of our online advertising. Thank you, Cynthia.

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Wedding Videography in the San Francisco Bay Area is a diverse and interesting choice. Video Madness has been part of that choice since 1989. Whether we are filming a wedding in San Jose, a Bar Mitzvah in San Francisco, a Cotillion in Walnut Creek, or a Quinceañera in Monterey, we bring the finest visual tools to the party. In the High Definition realm we are the industry leading experts.

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WHAT'S NEW?

We are proud to announce our newest addition, the Sony PMW-EX1. This new powerhouse is Tapeless, has full HD 1920 by 1080 chips, and is an incredible low-light performer. This is a tremendous advance in Event Videography.

The Pros & Cons So Far

To date, the most popular HD camera choices for wedding & event work have been the Sony Z1 & FX1, Panasonic HVX200, Canon XH A1 & XL H1. These are all fine cameras and we have been filming with the Sony Models for 3 years.

PROS
The great advantage to these cameras are their terrific resolution when viewed in actual HD. Further, they film in native widescreen. With the vast majority of consumers now having widescreen TV's, this is a wonderful plus. High Definition resolution is a sight to behold when used well. After all, you DO NOT want every line in your face to be distinct. Our experience in working with HD assists us in handling this problem with ease. With plenty of light, these cameras are terrific, and we will continue to use them in our standard packages.

CONS
Light. The one flaw in these first generation HD cameras is low light performance. Quite simply, they struggle in low light. The Sony handles the low light better than the others, not because it is any brighter but because it doesn't exhibit the graniness the others seem to display.

Resolution. While the resolution is quite high in these first generation cameras, they DO NOT use true 1920 by 1080 chips. They use 1440 by 1080 chips and use mathematical tricks to deliver a very fine picture. This resolution is far greater than standard DV. But it is not true HD. The EX1 films in true 1080p.

Tape. These first generation cameras record to tape. This means the inevitable tape jam, data loss, drop-outs, etc. that tape incurs. Further, the record times are just over an hour. This means for the average wedding or event a tape change must occur somewhere during the ceremony.

NEXT GENERATION ARRIVES
With the advent of the Sony PMW-EX1 (EX-1 for short) every limitation of the first generation cameras has been overcome. It is a stunning low light performer, actually seeing images brighter than the human eye. It has true 1920 by 1080 chips, 1/2 inch in size, and can shoot true 1080p. For an explanation see: http://tinyurl.com/2tyuc9. This is actual HD resolution. It also uses no tape and no hard drive. It records to flash memory. No tape change, virtually endless recording times, no drop-out worries, no tape jams. This camera, which we proudly offer first in the Bay Area is, in a word, incredible.