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Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

MiniDV, DVD, Hard Drive, 8 mm, High Def, brands, import / capture techniques, settings ... talk about camcorders in here.

Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

Postby John 'twosheds' McDonald » Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:53 am

Someone I know wants an easy to use, cheap, miniDV camera. :???:

Well I could spend an hour or two looking at Camcorder Info and other sites but I think a much better way is to ask you guys - the forum users - for any suggestions/pointers.

This camera will be used by someone who HAS to do the videoing (as distinct from someone who WANTS to do it). As it has to be pretty easy to use manual controls are not important. A good optical zoom and some form of 'steady shot' will be good. MiniDV and cheap are the keywords. :lol:

Any recommendations/suggestions gratefully received for which thanks in advance. :-D :-D
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Re: Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

Postby Chuck Engels » Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:58 am

Hi John,
I went cheap for my first one, Wal Mart had a sale on the JVC GR-D347U, it was $197 a little over a year ago.
It works perfectly with Premiere Elements, has poor low light capability but is really very nice in good lighting.
It has a 28x optical zoom which works very well and also has a great built in stabilizer that works very well.
The only thing that I really haven't been happy with is the color but that is what you get with a cheap camera.
I now get to use cameras that are so superior it makes the JVC look even worse, but if I didn't have the other cameras I might not know. It isn't any worse than my JVC VHS-C camcorder and I thought that was wonderful when I got it :)
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Re: Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

Postby jackfalbey » Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:08 am

John,
The Canon ZR800 and ZR850 both have decent image quality and good features, and are both under $200 US. The 830 has a mic input, which the 850 does mot, but the 850 offers slightly better resolution.
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Re: Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

Postby Steve Grisetti » Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:25 am

I vote Sony or Panasonic.

Many brands (Canon is notorious for this) reduce their picture quality a lot at the lower end. Even a cheap Sony or Panny, though, produces great video!
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Re: Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

Postby jackfalbey » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:57 pm

Steve Grisetti wrote:Many brands (Canon is notorious for this) reduce their picture quality a lot at the lower end

From what I've read, the ZR line has improved on this quite a bit. I agree that the best images at the entry level will come from Sony and Panasonic, but I was addressing John's friend's need for cheap and easy. Sonys and Pannys start in the mid-$200s; the Sonys have complicated menu systems and the Pannys have a lot of manual controls. If this recommendation was for a beginning videographer who wanted to learn the craft, I would suggest the Panasonic PV-GS83 ($240) or GS320 ($370), depending on their budget. Just my two cents for twosheds...

Hey, maybe I should change my username to Jack "twocents" Falbey... image213

Uh oh, my smilies are rebelling!
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Re: Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

Postby John 'twosheds' McDonald » Mon Feb 18, 2008 2:38 am

Thanks for the input. The cameras that I proposed were:

Sony DCR-HC27
Sony DCR-HC37
Panasonic NV-GS80
Panasonic NV-GS90 - this is the one I think he has decided to go for.
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Re: Ask the Experts - You Guys!!

Postby JohnnyO » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:51 am

Sony DCR-HC27
Sony DCR-HC37
Panasonic NV-GS80
Panasonic NV-GS90


All very good choices.
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