What kind of video camcorder is best?

[brigden]

I just watched the DVD from our keg party at my cottage and it was so good I want to buy one myself. What should I look for? MiniDV? Budget would be under $1000.

 

[richardycc]

one with 3 chip CCD


small size


price


pick 2.

 

[Ornery]

Under $1,000 eliminates the 3CCD.

I'm going with Digital8 for backward compatability with my 13 years worth of Hi-8 tapes. As an added bonus, 8mm tapes are far cheaper than any other media, and that seems to be a HUGE issue with the digital camera crowd around here.

 

[Kanalua]

Panasonic PV-GS70 - 3 CCD 1.2 MEagapixels....I've got it, works nice...

 

[Ornery]

Thanks for the tip about the Panasonic, Scott. This one REALLY looks sweet!

 

[AU Tiger]

I've had a Digital8 for the past four years and have been pleased with the exception of the size. Smaller is better for me and I am currently looking at MiniDV camcorders.

 

[Ornery]

You have NO IDEA what a large camcorder is! I used to rent SuperBeta units, and was thrilled with how much more compact they were than the VHS counterparts. Even today, shoulder mounted units are still the norm with pros.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Looking to get real high-quality captures of the drunken frat party orgies, eh? Don't worry, it all looks the same when you downsample to 352x240 MPEG for website distribution.



- M4H

 

[RossMAN]

Ornery, what cheap (sub $700) works best indoors low light?

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Under $1,000 eliminates the 3CCD.

I'm going with Digital8 for backward compatability with my 13 years worth of Hi-8 tapes. As an added bonus, 8mm tapes are far cheaper than any other media, and that seems to be a HUGE issue with the digital camera crowd around here.

No it doesn't... here is one and here is another. I dont know if there are any others under a grand with 3-CCD however.

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Ornery, what cheap (sub $700) works best indoors low light?

Don't know. Been out of the loop so long, I didn't even know there were 3CCD cameras available for so cheap.

Sony used to have the market wrapped up. They had the best bang for the buck at every price point, but now it looks like they've got garbage models scattered throughout their line. I really like the looks of that PV-GS400. It's expensive, but it looks like it's priced fairly for what you get. There are a lot of other reviews on that site. I'm going to take a peak at them now...

BTW, try and get one with a 3.5" LCD or better. You won't be using the EVF on the camcorder, any more than you do on your digicam. The bigger LCD is worth the $75 or $100 price bump.