narrowed my search to a few cams
 

ok, you guys have been great with advice and I have narrowed my search to a few cams. heres the list:

sony dsr pd170
canon gl2/or xl1s
sony hvr a1
pan agdvc30

comments????

Wow! that is a wide selection of video cameras. All of which excel at certain types of subject matter. I guess you need to start by telling us what type of projects you plan to do.

- Interviews
- Sports
- Documentry
- Nature
- Macro
- Studio
- Weddings

Give us some more information and we go from there.

Regards,

EVERYTHING!!!!!!!

I'm not sure as to what I will do most of, but i do know that I want something that will give me a good picture. I will eventually move up to a hiigher end cam but im torn between these cams. the posts here have been great, but I think I read too many becuase now im at a loss. I have felt these cams in my hand and im leaning towards the sony hvr bcus of hidef, but i really like the chasis on the dvc30.

maybe I should roll the dice???

LOL Sam....I understand your position....A little of everything!!!

Maybe you should do what I did...buy the first one that comes along you can afford...

Good luck and keep us posted on what you end up with...

Bob T.

Do you need HD? What will you use HD for and how would you distribute it?

If you are planning to upgrade in a year or so anyway, is HD worth it?

If not, don't think of it as an advantage.

Sam,

I have used both the GL-2, XL2 and the DVC-30. I am going to recommend the DVC-30 because IMO it would suit the largest variety of shooting conditions. Its 16x lens, compact and durable "tank-like" body, really smooth slow speed zoom, scene file setting capability, decent low-light capability as well excellent picture quality make it a stand-out. Don't get me wrong all the cams you listed are good. But this is the one I like the best. Also, I wouldn't get caught up now in HD because how are you going to distribute it? Most all commerical DVDs are still in SD. Additionally, SD editing software is mature and well thought out as opposed to the HD work-a-rounds that are common in some editing software.

Hope this helps....

how would I distribut it? well, hopefully with my hands! hahahahah....no, just kidding, I know what you mean. I guess if i had to narrow it down, i am torn between the dvc30 or the vx2100. I am also buying used from bh as I am turning in some of my studio equipment to them for trade. what i reallly want to do is get into 24p. but i think thats a lil farther down the line(late fall). does anybody have a link to a clip shot by the dvc30?

Sure, go to my website. About 95% of the clips posted there are shot with the DVC30. If you want to see less compression then e-mail me your address and I will send you a DVD of a nature project I am about to release.

Regards,

DON't buy used!!! i know too many people that bought used cams and at first it seemed like a steal until they had to pay for repairs or servicing! you might as well spend the extra couple hundreds bucks and buy it new!

personally, i vote against HD, i know it's tempting but there seems to be a lot of hassle with HD video, i keep reading that people have problems editing it, the footage takes up a LOT more space and if you truely want to see the HD result you'll need an HD burner, HD dvds, HD player and HD tv, there's so much more $$ you have to invest in....but on the upside, you would be buying a camera that will not be out of date for a long time...weigh your options, spend money now, or spend it later.

if i were you i'd consider some other things too, like sound, the gl2 doesn't have xlr inputs, i dont think the vx2100 has them either, if you pick either of those two cams you'll have to settle for the onboard mic, or rig up a ghetto conversion box(it would only cost a few bucks to make, but it looks unprofessional). now the pd170 or a1u has xlr's and they both come with a directional shotgun mic that is rather decent. i havent really used any panny's first hand so i wont comment on them.

what about portability? do you want something small and portable? keep things liek that in mind. a bigger camera is sometimes a bit frustrating in tight places...

it's a tough decision to buy a cam...good luck.

PS. extended warranties are 99.8% profit for stores! if they push the warranty its because they know that you'll never have a problem with the rock solid product they're trying to sell you!

Question: Does the DVC30 do widescreen?

It would be a definite deal killer for me if anything I was considering did not.

Hi,

Nope it does not. It has a Squeeze mode like the DVX 100 (A,B) and as the GL2, vx2100(pd...). The only 16-9 chips are in the XL2 (in SD i mean).

Phil

I disagree with the vote. I have both HD and SD, and my SD camera sits idle most of the time. There is a requirement for working storage (i.e., large disk space availability), and a robust CPU. However, I've found that (for the cameras I can afford), the HD camera ends up with a much higher quality SD result than does the SD camera. Eventually I'll want to start with the HD burners, once one format or the other demonstrates a clear advantage in the market. Even so, SD-DVDs created from my HD footage have a much better picture on my HD TV than the SD-DVDs created from my SD footage.

My next camera later this spring is definitely going to be HD....

Anyhow, that's just *my* opinion, out of many available.

Thanks,
Matt

I have VX2000 and FX1. I use my FX1 in any most situations these days. I shoot HDV. If I am going to go to an SD with it, I simply edit in Premeire Pro 2.0, and then render an output in SD. Alternatively, when I mix the VX and FX1 footage, I will capture the HDV from the FX1, in the downcoverted DV mode out of camera.

VX 16:9 has a bad rep. I have mixed footage from the FX1 and VX 16:9, going to DVD, with a decent result .

If you're going to stay with SD, consider the Canon XL2 instead of the older GL2 or XL1 models.

WOW, so many opinions. now im really lost!(not) well, the size isnt a matter for me coming from using a jvcdv500u. I am considering pd170 or dvc30. xlr is a big must as i have two exp mics w/boom poles. as for the a1u, dont know what that is......be right back(surfing)........