I am looking for a digital camcorder, but not sure which is best for me. I want decent recording times and good a good image (500 lines of resolution) and good zooms. I want to be able to easily put the videos on my computer. I read that mini DV is good for that but how is it better than maybe one with compact flash or a smart media card? Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be better for me? Thanks
As usual it depends on your budget. You can get a great Panasonic with great features and a very good digital camera function (even takes pics while you`re filming) for £850, or you could get a camera for a few hundred. Personally I`d say mini-dv definitely. Get one with dv-in and out (and pass-through so you can capture analogue stuff through it). Canon`s are great on features and zoom but are horrendous for motor noise. JVC`s are great but have a little noise and need their heads cleaned alot. Sony`s are great but expensive and also try to lock you in to their proprietary stuff.... So I`d go for a Panasonic in your budget range or a JVC (but be prepared to clean the JVC every couple of weeks). Panasonics are more expensive and don`t generally have as big a zoom or features, but are well-built and dead quiet. Try some out and see what you think... most decent stores should allow you to swap a camera for another brand if you don`t like one. We bought a Canon MVi650 (iirc) but it was too noisy so replaced it with a JVC DX95. btw don`t buy a dv-cam just because it may have a still-shot feature to xd-card or whatever, as (the expensive Panasonic excluded) they aren`t worth it... you`re better off spending a few hundred on a dedicated digital camera (Olympus and Fuji are the best imo) which can take MUCH better pictures.
Thanks. Is the nosie on the cannons bad to the point of it interferes with the recording sound? And if you could abouthow loud is it? As loud as a refidgerator? well you get me question. I really like the ZR85 cannon but i don't want the noise. Thanks again.
Yeah it`s bad I`m afraid. Like a loud fly all the time. Your best bet is to go into a store and test out a number of the one`s you`re interested in. Don`t take my word for it as everyone is different. I tried out the MV600 and 650i`s btw, so I can`t comment on the ZR85. _X_X_X_X_X_[small]www.mandyleigh.com[/small]
