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MiniDV camcorder @ Walmart for $ 120 on clearance - Canon ZR900

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marmasatt

marmasatt

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Not sure how good of a deal this is anymore or if MiniDV is a thing of the past but we love ours (miniDV) for the kiddos. We're kind of partial to Sony, but I had no idea you could just kind of pick up a new sealed camcorder for $120 these days. I almost picked them all up just to resell. There were at the RI Mall Walmart. A cart w/ a half dozen Canon ZR900's marked down from $299 - > $ 199 - > $120. Not top of the line, nor is it a spanking new model. But this is a pretty warm deal relatively speaking I believe.

Price check
 
These are solid Cameras, but they have been selling sub $180 for the last two years. We have 2 for our AV students. They are durable and super easy to use. However newer HD cameras now use SD cards, can take higher quality video and have longer battery life due to fewer moving parts though prices wildly vary from around $100 to well over $1,000. Mini DV is solid, but old technology with a capture time of 1:1, sd cards provide direct copy vs capture.

edit, we have the Zr800's which are pretty close.
 
I had an older verion (zr650?)....it sucked balls. so much backround noise....i'd hope that they fix it 3 generations later.
 
I have a dying older Panasonic MiniDV so I'm tempted, however I was able to get all my movies to HDD so now it's a decision of investing in older technology or moving to a newer flash based model. The HD versions are still very pricey so I'm not sure if the quality of the entry level flash models will beat the older MiniDV in terms of smooth video and colors.

I will swing by WM today and see if they do have any though.

[Edit]Checked 2, in Lantana and Boynton, and neither had any in the obvious spots. They had some other cameras on clearance, but, nothing of value. Oh well, probably for the best. 😛 [/edit]
 
i would pass. i too have an older mini-dv cam - sony pcr5 - little tiny cam for back in the day but still mini-dv and i hate the 1:1 transfer method. it does offer a a->d converter and can be used as a vcr which is a nice touch, not sure if the new cameras off that feature but i think they all should.

buddy of mine has some sanyo 720p unit that uses the sd cards and the camera was only a few hundred $$, the video quality is excellent and so is battery life. a bit bigger than my sony but much lighter.

personally i wouldnt buy another mini-dv as the price of the tapes, the batteries of the camera and their usage time mixed in w/ the slower transfer of video, and it is still sd video.

just my .02
 
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