Just a few comments about this camera...
First off, I am a total snob when it comes to photography equipment in general. I have used this camera quite a bit, and I would say that it is a great camera for shooting parties or family events or what have you, but don't expect broadcast quality video. Be aware that the low light shooting in this camera is not very clear/detailed. Unless you are planning to shoot in a bright area or something like a concert under bright lights, your picture quality will be very dark. You can make some sweet home video with this camera, we shot some snowboarding footage on a local mountain and it looked great.
I don't want to deter anyone who in interested, but I just want to make sure that people are expecting a consumer quality camera. The sound on the on board mic is very poor. Try to use an external mic whenever possible. The still photo feature is a joke. Don't think that this camera will replace your digital still camera.
One last thing, if you are going to use a miniDV camera with Premier or After Effects they will only work with the Microsoft DV driver. 90% of all IEEE 1394 (firewire) cards use the Texas Instruments chipset, and the TI drivers are not compatible with most Adobe software. Also I havent tried this myself, but I've heard that Sony's iLink has some issues with premier too. If you can find one, try to get a fire wire card that doesn't have the Texas Instruments Chip set, it will work, but you need the Microsoft DV Drivers and it is a pain to get it all working. (Check the Adobe site for instructions to remove the texas instruments drivers.)
Hopefully this is was helpful. This is one of my favourite entry-level consumer cameras, and I would recomend it strongly. Just remember that at the low end, you get great value for your money, but you have make some comprimises.
Loren.
First off, I am a total snob when it comes to photography equipment in general. I have used this camera quite a bit, and I would say that it is a great camera for shooting parties or family events or what have you, but don't expect broadcast quality video. Be aware that the low light shooting in this camera is not very clear/detailed. Unless you are planning to shoot in a bright area or something like a concert under bright lights, your picture quality will be very dark. You can make some sweet home video with this camera, we shot some snowboarding footage on a local mountain and it looked great.
I don't want to deter anyone who in interested, but I just want to make sure that people are expecting a consumer quality camera. The sound on the on board mic is very poor. Try to use an external mic whenever possible. The still photo feature is a joke. Don't think that this camera will replace your digital still camera.
One last thing, if you are going to use a miniDV camera with Premier or After Effects they will only work with the Microsoft DV driver. 90% of all IEEE 1394 (firewire) cards use the Texas Instruments chipset, and the TI drivers are not compatible with most Adobe software. Also I havent tried this myself, but I've heard that Sony's iLink has some issues with premier too. If you can find one, try to get a fire wire card that doesn't have the Texas Instruments Chip set, it will work, but you need the Microsoft DV Drivers and it is a pain to get it all working. (Check the Adobe site for instructions to remove the texas instruments drivers.)
Hopefully this is was helpful. This is one of my favourite entry-level consumer cameras, and I would recomend it strongly. Just remember that at the low end, you get great value for your money, but you have make some comprimises.
Loren.
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