Moving to DV

ADinelt wrote on 10/18/2004, 3:07 PM
Howdy folks...

Well, I am finally going to bite the bullet and move up to DV (Yeah!!).

I've been looking around at different Mini DV camcorders and would like to hear your opinions on what makes and models you prefer or would suggest staying away from.

The must have items are analog to digitial pass through, decent zoom, decent low light performance, etc.

Nice to have would include a separate microphone input.

All the bells and whistles like titling and special effects are not that important to me.

Finally, price will play a factor in what I will be able to buy. My budget is currently around $500-$600 CAD. However, I am going to the US next week for a conference and the possiblity of buying something while there is not out of the question.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide...
Al

Comments

PaulS wrote on 10/18/2004, 5:52 PM
Al,

I have a Sony DCR-TRV33. Additional features you haven't mentioned that I like about it include image stabilization, color viewfinder (a lot easier to find things than with B/W), fairly compact size and FireWire interface. One other feature it has that I really like and would highly recommend checking out is a touch screen in place of all of the buttons. Not sure if anyone other than Sony has one right now. The zoom is too touchy on the model I have, but the replacement Sony DCRHC40 was better when I tried it out.

BTW thanks for all your past contributions to making this forum the success it is.

Paul
Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/19/2004, 6:25 AM
I've been very pleased with Sonys also. Features, such as pass-through and external microphone input, have always indicated to me design with an eye toward how high-level amateurs like us make movies.

And quality and dependability go without saying.

DV cams in the US sell for around $400 now. Amazing!

shmulb wrote on 10/19/2004, 6:31 AM
Check out this site, lots of very good unbiased info, reviews and forums.
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/
This is another good one
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/index.php?s=
ADinelt wrote on 10/19/2004, 9:27 AM
Thanks everyone for your responses and thank you Paul for your kind words.

I looked at some reviews on the TRV33 and the complaints were as Paul mentioned with the slider and the zoom.

I will certainly check out the websites mentioned and see what I can find.

Thanks again...
Al
ADinelt wrote on 11/7/2004, 9:48 AM
Well, after doing a lot of research (and double checking my bank account), I finally decided on the JVC GR-DV500U MiniDV camcorder. It is a model that has been superceded by a newer model, but dollar for dollar, I think it is a great buy and will suit my needs. It is not as small as some camcorders, but that is fine with me. I find that camcorders that are too small or too light are more difficult to keep steady when being hand held. I was able to play around with an open box camcorder at Best-Buy and liked the way it fit my hand and how the controls were located. I have ordered it on-line from Best-Buy in Canada for $499.00 CAD (shipping was free).

Here are some of the features:
- 1/4-inch 1.33 Megapixel CCD for Superb Image Quality
- 540 Lines of Resolution with Super High-Band Processor
- HG Digital Stills with 4 Selectable Image Sizes (1600x1200 / 1280x960 / 1024x768 / 640x480-pixel)
- 2.5" Amorphous-Silicon LCD Color Monitor
- USB PC Link
- Video CD Creation
- Email Video Clips
- Digital Still Capture
- Web-Camera Function
- NightAlive for full-spectrum low-light shooting
- DV Navigation
- DV Input/Output (i.LINK, IEEE1394 compliant)
- Analog Input
- 8 MB MultiMediaCard Provided
- Info-Shoe for Various Accessories
- High Quality Image & Sound
- MiniDV Format with PCM Stereo Sound
- Digital Picture Stabilizer
- 300x Super Digital Zoom with Spline Interpolation
- Digital Effects and Scene Transitions
- Playback Digital Zoom
- Random Assemble Editing (with Optional Remote)
- High-Resolution Color Viewfinder
- Power-Linked Operation
- Remote Control Provided
- S-Video and A/V Output Terminals
- LP Mode for 120 min. on single cassette

It will allow for analog to digital passthrough, so I should be able to remove my DC10plus capture card (and say goodby to anything from Pinnacle forever). It also has jacks for an external microphone as well as headphones.

Any of the reviews on this camcorder that I could find have all been excellent (other than the usual low light issues with consumer camcorders).

Thanks to everyone for their help.
Al

P.S. Once I get the camcorder and have played with it, I will give an update as to how good or bad it actually was.
ADinelt wrote on 11/29/2004, 5:49 AM
Well, I got the JVC Mini-DV camcorder and have played with it for about a week and a half. Overall, I am very pleased with the performance, although the night alive feature is not too great (the video becomes very choppy when it is turned on). Sound quality is excellent and the layout of the controls is great and feels very comfortable when holding the camcorder. Colour and clarity is outstanding.

I tried capturing a 20 minute VHS wedding video through the camcorder and the results were far superior than going through my DC10 plus analog capture card.

It is going to take a while to get used to all of the features, but that's half the fun!

Al