Mike Winton. Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Ive been looking at some of the panasonic and sony models but i dont have much of an idea what im looking for !Does any body know any good mini dv cams i could get for under £200?I will only be filming riding on it but id like to make better quality videos thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Manual Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 To be honest for under £200 you can get a budget hard drive camera (not HD obviously). I've had two mini-dv cameras before and the mechanisms that the tapes go into have screwed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that NBR dude Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 At that sort of price, you have a fairly sizeable choice of cameras, from all the major brands. They are all much of a muchness and do roughly the same things. Its all mainly down to what you like the look of. You won;t be seeing much of a performance difference from any of them at that price. It's not until you go past the £500 mark that you start to see a difference. Don't be lured in by fancy effects and stuff, as I can garantee you wont ever use any of them. If you can find one for that price, which is reasonably likely these days, try to find one that uses 3CCDs. These will have a better quality and clarity compared to a standard DV. A final point would be to stay well clear of these cheap knock off import, so called "HD" cameras for like £200. They are not HD, by even the slightest of margins, and you will end up with a camera of worse video quality and build quality, compared to a similarly priced DV cam. I can give you some more specific links if you like, but I would just have a browse round Amazon (as in some cases now, Amazon is actually cheaper than Ebay) and see what the choice is. Look for things like a decent sized LCD, optical zoom and a decent image stabiliser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Winton. Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Wow, thanks alot man, i shall check out amazon now ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Winton. Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DCR-HC35-Hand...236&sr=8-22http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DCR-HC37-Hand...236&sr=8-25http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-NV-GS90E...236&sr=8-23http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DCR-HC62E-Min...CMZWZGSWCTV6YAMDo any of those stand out from each other? looking on amazon most are fairly similar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurtisRider Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 and dont get sucked in by digital zoom, optical zoom is the one you should look for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that NBR dude Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Out of those, id say either the Panasonic NV GS, or the Sony HC62e, as they both have widescreen LCD panels. The sony has a better image stabiliser, which makes a massive difference to shots, as Nick Manning found out when I showed him. The Panasonic has a bigger Zoom, but if I'm honest, you wont ever be filming with such a zoom.I'd say the Sony HC62e if it was my own money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Winton. Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Ok well il keep that one at the top of my list for now, what are these cameras like?http://www.amazon.co.uk/JVC-GZ-MG330H-micr...9304&sr=1-6http://www.amazon.co.uk/JVC-GZ-MG330A-micr...S8J24NFRAC1J5DY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that NBR dude Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 HDD cameras are useful, as it saves worrying about tapes ect. I've never used one myself so I cannot quote on how reliable or easy to use they are. For me, Ive always prefered to use MiniDV, as it allows me to keep an archive of tapes, until I'm ready to use them again and overwrite them. They are cheap to buy and you can stock up, carry a few spares around with you for when you fill one up ect. I dont know what you would do with an HDD camera when you fill it up. Whether you can delete them clip by clip, or have to clear the whole thing off at once, I wouldn't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Winton. Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Any more recomendations ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that NBR dude Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Canon XH-G1e ?? no.... ? I love mine.To be honest, the ones you've listed previously look pretty good. Short of browsig flebay for some 2nd hand bargains (if you want to go 2nd hand of course) then I'd go for that Sony. I dont think you will find much better in that price range. All the cameras in the under £200 bracket are all pretty much the same, so choose a brand you trust. The choice doesnt start to get a bit harder until you get into the £400-500 bracket when you start dealing with different sensors and so called "HD cameras". Or you could go really silly, and aim for the professional range at like £1000-5000+ like some of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M-i-t-c-h Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) canon 5d mkII....?its got a creative mode that guarantees creativity and everything.also i would bow down to the knowledge of nbr dude, he knows his stuff Edited November 1, 2008 by M-i-t-c-h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Winton. Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Canon XH-G1e ?? no.... ? I love mine.To be honest, the ones you've listed previously look pretty good. Short of browsig flebay for some 2nd hand bargains (if you want to go 2nd hand of course) then I'd go for that Sony. I dont think you will find much better in that price range. All the cameras in the under £200 bracket are all pretty much the same, so choose a brand you trust. The choice doesnt start to get a bit harder until you get into the £400-500 bracket when you start dealing with different sensors and so called "HD cameras". Or you could go really silly, and aim for the professional range at like £1000-5000+ like some of us.Haha a touch out of my price range ! If i buy a MiniDv the Sony is top of my list I am just tempted by the simplicity of the HDD cameras and id imagine they are harder wearing, thanks alot for your advice Its just down to weather i would sacrifice picture quality for the simplicity of the HDD cameras, tough decision ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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