HV30 Discontinued? HV40 Soon to Follow?

[George Tyndall]

B&H says the HV30 has been discontinued.

What is the reason for this?

Will the HV40 soon suffer the same fate and there will be no more similar price & quality camcorders?

[Bobby]

There has been a lot of discussion about this in other threads. The general belief is that tape as a consumer medium is pretty much dead and that the HV40 may be the last of this line of products. The masses have spoken.

[Chuck Engels]

Various companies are still churning out Professional DV Tape cameras, why would they stop producing the consumer models?

The HV30 is taking the same path that the HV20 took when it was replaced. They don't want two competing products out there. You will start to find sales on refurbished HV30s and some closeouts at various locations but they will continually be harder and harder to find.

The HV40 is a great camera and the price is going down. Anything Under $800 is well worth the price.

[George Tyndall]

The HV40 is a great camera and the price is going down. Anything Under $800 is well worth the price.

Chuck, would you recommend the HV40 over the HV30 and if so why?

Thank you.

[Chuck Engels]

I was trying to get a HV20 or 30 when I first started looking.
The price of the HV40 came down lower than I could find either of the others for which I did not expect.

There is very little difference between the HV30 and HV40 so I would recommend the best deal you can find on price.
The HV40 does have 'real' 24p which is a 'Film Look' but I haven't even started investigating that yet.
The HV30 has a 'fake' 24p from what I understand, but that would not be a deal killer for me.

Either way you go, HV30 or HV40, you will be happy with the purchase. It is an amazing camera for under $800

[George Tyndall]

Either way you go, HV30 or HV40, you will be happy with the purchase. It is an amazing camera for under $800

Thanks for the advice.

[jackfalbey]

The HV40 is just a slightly upgraded HV30. Camcorderinfo.com goes over the new features (I don't remember off the top f my head). Either one will be an excellent choice.