Help Me Out (mini Dv's)

[Jeza]

Hi all,

I am looking into buying a mini dv i have two on my mind but would like somebody with more knowledge to take a glance.

Click for site

Right im looking at the Sony DCR-HC46 mini dv and the JVC GR-DF540EX Mini dv,

Could you please state what your choice would be, the reason for it and try and explain the price gap and the reason for it.

Things i am looking for:

Iam looking for good video quality crisp and clear at all times, but all good stills as i will be using it as both video camera and still camera

Thanks

Edited April 19, 2006 by Jeza

[Lunja]

That should do you fine mate. The Carl Zeiss lenses are great, and the optical zoom is fairly decent. It'll take your stills as well on the memory stick card, so really it should do everything you want

If you can stretch the budget a bit, look around for cameras with 3 CCD's - these are probably gonna be mentally expensive but I'm not sure... A mate of mine found a Sony triple CCD cam for under £900.

[Jeza]

Thanks for the comment, well appreciated

To be honest mate i havent go that money, just wanting a decent camera to forfil my needs

Jeza

[Greetings]

I'd go for Sony. It's apparently well worth it and it's not only the name you're paying for. The image colour is much better comparing to JVC (Panasonic is not bad). The best thing you can do is to buy a used 3CCD camera, yet I don't know if you'll get one for 500 pounds. The cheapest new ones about 1,5 years ago were about 1000 quid (HC1000E). Bought one when they were still in production (discontinued due to being the choice of professionals) and I'll probably be using it till it wears out because it's just amazing.

Other things which you should take into account if you decide to buy a different camera to those listed.

Advanced HAD which is a Sony system used to concentrate the maximum amount of light on each pixel allowing for good night shots. The camera I've got is about 5 lux which is pretty good, the VX2100 is 1 lux yet it's no this parameter that decides about the image quality. With an Advanced HAD, raising the gamma correction wont result in a totally s**t and grainy image.

It would be good to buy a camera which has a fairly standard lens adaptor size. My friend's got a JVC to which he can't find any converters because they just don't fit.

DV input and output is essential. Not all cameras have the input though so check this before you make your choice.

Battery size. You'll probably get a lot of footage on a standard battery but there will be situations where you will want to film longer. Some cameras (like mine) have an internal compartment for the battery. The problem with this is that you can't buy a more capacious battery, you need to buy another standard one and always carry it around with you. And trust me, you will loose it and that's a pity because they cost a fortune. With an "external" battery mount, you just buy a more capacious battery which is larger and sticks out. With some cameras (especially the small i.e. HC18 series) a 3100mAh battery will last for about 5-6 hours of filming and that's good enough to take it with you for a weekend and not have to carry the charger around.

[Jeza]

Thanks for that it helped a lot, i am swining towards the sony at the moment, does it include all i need input and outputs?

[Dr. Nick Riviera]

i was hasty to respond to this at first, because i wanted to keep my secret. however i shall share it with yee.

Panasonic NV GS-75

3ccd camera

now its no good for stills , but combined camera's often aren't . buy a proper camera for that.

this camera cost me about £400 last year, now thats might cheap i hear you say well yes it is.

however it doesn't show , the manufacturing anf actual camera are second to none really.

they've done away with shite that you dont need.

you get a decent 4:3 ratio , no 16:9 although you can just take a step back and crop it if you really care.

firewire port, sd memory card , as you can take screenshots of the video.

battery lasts all day.

and the manual settings are usefull too.

only downside is that low lighting filming may suffer because of the thre chips. however , who films in the dark anyway?

i guarantee you wont get better picture quality from a £400 camera.

everyone should own one.

[Luke Drewery]

I have just bought a Canon MV790 brand new for £200, its my first mini DV cam and Im very impressed. It has a 16:9 true widescreen mode, night mode, digital effects option, plenty of optical zoom etc etc. Its everything you would need for trials videos. I also recently bought a firewire capture card and 6 pin to 4 pin cable and its so easy to capture now. Its fast and really nice quality. I got hold of a fisheye lens too to make things a little more interesting.

If I had the dosh, I would buy something like a Canon XM2 but thats not gonna happen anytime soon.

[Backgren]

I'd stay away from Canon video cameras, the picture quality tends to be quite poor, and on the cheaper ones there are many annoying small things, like noise from the cassette compartment, very shit wide angle(an extra lens is a must have), really really poor quality indoors or in the evening. Mine is about 1.5-2 years old though, but as far as i know the newer models aren't that much superior.

[Luke Drewery]

I'd stay away from Canon video cameras, the picture quality tends to be quite poor, and on the cheaper ones there are many annoying small things, like noise from the cassette compartment, very shit wide angle(an extra lens is a must have), really really poor quality indoors or in the evening. Mine is about 1.5-2 years old though, but as far as i know the newer models aren't that much superior.

The picture quality on mine is very good both on the TV and the computer, and there is no such noise from the cassette compartment.