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Topic: Pro 9000 vs. C920

I have been using the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 for a few years, and have been "saving" for a DSLR for some time. Those quotations are because I put away a hundred dollars I got for my birthday one year, and kind of stopped there. It doesn't look like I'm going to win a lottery or anything any time soon, and I have begun to notice what looks like a difference in quality between my camera and some C920 images I've seen, so I thought I'd look into it.

I have searched around, and found some postings noting differences in the specs between the cameras, so now I'm pretty much just looking for two things:

1. Anyone who has first-hand experience with the difference between these cameras, and

2. An answer to this: When filming in shadowy or dark scenes, I've noticed vertical and horizontal lines appearing on my images that make it look sort of woven. I have not noticed this in anyone else's images, whether they are from the Pro 9000 or the C920, but maybe I just haven't noticed. Can anyone tell me anything about this? And is there any way to increase the dynamic range of a photo or even video clip in post-production?

Sorry for the long post, and I hope someone can help. Thanks!

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

OK, I've got experience on the 9000 and currently own the C910. (A slightly older model, but they're close enough)
So I can answer a few of the questions.

1. There's a huge quality difference. Not only in the resolution, but in the way it perceives color.
The 9000 images seem more washed out and dull, whereas the C910 images are crisper and more full of color.
Even when they are both set on the same resolution, I can notice a big difference.

2. Unless they fixed that since they made the 910, it's still there. Well, I get mostly horizontal lines, but yeah.
Not sure exactly what causes it, you just have to play with your lighting a while and try to reduce it. Increasing the contrast in post-production helps, and people don't seem to notice it in the final film/frames as much as you would think.
(It's all over the place in the darker scenes of 'Rooftops', but people haven't commented about it yet.)

And yes, you can quite easily. Try adjusting the 'contrast' and/or 'color curves' for a greater range of dark and light, and playing around with saturation and color-correction for color adjustment.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

Thanks, Pritchard! This is extremely helpful. You're right, when all of the frames are flashing by with different line patterns on each, they kind of tend to blur into a smoothness. mini/tongue  I am hesitant to mess around too much with contrast because of the funny things it would do to colors, but the color curves idea is not a bad one.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

I have the 9000, and sometimes get those lines when I set a lighting setting drastically different from the other ones.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

C920 all the way. I upgraded around last Christmas and I love my C920 so much. I can do so much more with lighting, especially, with it than I ever could with the Pro 9000.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

Looks like, even with the few posts we have here so far, those who have experience with both cameras (or the Pro 9000 and C910) give an overwhelmingly positive opinion of the switch. I guess that settles it for me... I'm going to finish my entry to the Darkness and Light contest, which was already started with the Pro 9000, and then buy the C920.

Does anyone happen to know if there is a particular version of the C920 software that I'm going to want? I know that, for the Pro 9000, you have to download version 1.1 if you want the ever-so-vital manual white balance control.

UPDATE: Just found out the C920 was marked down to $70 on Amazon, possibly leftover from their 20th anniversary sale yesterday. I snatched it up before the price could jump again. Thanks to everyone who has helped me with this decision!

Last edited by Top Hat (July 16, 2015 (08:37pm))

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

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Last edited by Noah (May 27, 2017 (01:33pm))

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

Fall Below Films wrote:

What camera would you guys recommend for brickfilming? I'm not exactly sure.

Logitech c920

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

Harborlight wrote:
Fall Below Films wrote:

What camera would you guys recommend for brickfilming? I'm not exactly sure.

Logitech c920

Assuming you can't afford a DSLR, which typically start at about $300 if I'm not mistaken.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

Top Hat wrote:
Harborlight wrote:
Fall Below Films wrote:

What camera would you guys recommend for brickfilming? I'm not exactly sure.

Logitech c920

Assuming you can't afford a DSLR, which typically start at about $300 if I'm not mistaken.

You could get a Nikon for $300, but a Canon DSLR would cost $400 or more if I am correct.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

$300 haha, good luck, in addition you probably need $275 worth of lenses, $300 worth of software, a $60 wall adapter, and if you made the right choice and went with a Canon with Nikkor lenses a $30 Nikkor to Canon adapter. If you get a DSLR welcome to the world of hidden costs.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

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Last edited by Noah (May 27, 2017 (01:33pm))

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

SlothPaladin wrote:

$300 haha, good luck, in addition you probably need $275 worth of lenses, $300 worth of software, a $60 wall adapter, and if you made the right choice and went with a Canon with Nikkor lenses a $30 Nikkor to Canon adapter. If you get a DSLR welcome to the world of hidden costs.

This! With a C920 you can start getting good results right away, with freeware and a low-power laptop. A DSLR requires you to also buy software, lenses, adapters, a tripod, and other accessories in order to make it workable for stop motion. And the files are big, so you can expect to need a more powerful computer and more hard drive space.

Not saying DSLRs aren't worth it, if you are already experienced as a brickfilmer and are ready to invest the money. Just that it could be an investment of $1000 on the low end, in order to make good use of the camera.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

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Last edited by Noah (May 27, 2017 (01:32pm))

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

I didn't use a DSLR for any of my brickfilms. I used a Powershot A620 for the bulk of them, which cost I think around $300 when I bought it new in 2007.

And that worked great for me. I don't know if the Canon Powershot line has any good offerings for stop motion these days, or not. It seems like everybody jumps from webcams to DSLRs now. Granted, the webcams are *much* better than they were in 2007.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

it's not that you can't make a stop motion with just a DSLR, but I don't think it's really worth it unless you are using the right equipment, so I think, by and large, web-cameras are the best option for most animators. There is no reason you can focus on animation and story telling with a regular old web-camera.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

You get a nice 'classic' look with the 9000, but the C910 and C920 blows it out of the water when comparing image quality.

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

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Last edited by Noah (May 27, 2017 (12:33pm))

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

UPDATE: For anyone interested, I got my c920 in the mail and tried it out. It's absolutely incredible. When I think about what I've been missing out on for so many years, it makes me want to cry. mini/tongue  The best part is, there are no lines in the shadows. It's perfectly smooth blackness! Thanks again, everyone!

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Re: Pro 9000 vs. C920

Top Hat wrote:

UPDATE: For anyone interested, I got my c920 in the mail and tried it out. It's absolutely incredible. When I think about what I've been missing out on for so many years, it makes me want to cry. mini/tongue  The best part is, there are no lines in the shadows. It's perfectly smooth blackness! Thanks again, everyone!

That's awesome Top! I hope to see what you will make with it in the future.

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