I'm going to buy a used HD cam, like Sony A1E, but since it's an older camera, I'm wondering if there might be a better one on the marked for my budget.
I have a budget of 500 -700 Pound, and I'm looking to buy a used one on e-bay.

Looking around I see newer models which might be better, but more expensive. I'm wondering how much more I will get with a newer model like the Sony HVR-V1 HDV (full HD)
I'm basically looking for a camera with tape, because I believe they are cheaper than the ones with card.

Most important is that it's HD, with manual features like zoom and white balance, external mike (xlr cables), and that it's not too big.

Any suggestions or thoughts on this would be much appreciated as this jungle of cameras is so huge and incomprehensible.

All the best,
Stine

Both really old cameras now and I sold my V1 about seven years ago.

HDV looks really dated too and there are far better AVCHD cameras on the market now.

I personally now use a canon HF11 as my small handycam and as a b-camera to my full size P2 cameras and it can do most things manually at full 1920x1080 HD. Ok no xlr inputs but the 3.5mm jack can be useful for a straight mic plugged in such as a sony ms957 or even a sennheiser radio mic.

Have a good look at second hand larger AVCHD cameras and the 17 or 24mbs codec is a lot nicer than HDV and card shooting has huge advantages over tape these days.

I own two Sony V1U's I have shot Wedding Videogrpahy with them for about four or five years. I agree with the other posters that HDV has been surpassed with newer cameras but I absolutely love the camera itself. It is solidly built (something I came to really appreciate when comparing to the Canon XA10 I bought a year ago) and despite what some users say I have had no problem with it in low light and I think the auto focus does an amazing job.

We now have supplanted our V1U's with a Canon XA10 , a Canon T4i DSLR, and a consumer Canon camcorder. However to extend the life of my V1U's I purchased the Atomos Ninja hard disk recorder that is perfect for the V1. The V1 sends uncompressed 1980 x 1080 @ 60i through the HDMI output to the Ninja. Much better than the 1440 x 1080 going on the HDV tape.

I think you might actually get a better picture out of a new consumer camcorder but what you would not get is the better lens, myriad of manual controls, and solid build. Not to mention a professional look that a small consumer camera might not give to prospective clients.

Bottom line is that without the Atomos Ninja recorders I would not be interested in continuing to use my V1's despite loving the camera.