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fobside · Dec 6, 2002, 09:48 PM

I am looking to purchase a digital video camera. Does anyone have any recommedndations? I really don't know much about the hardware, so if you can inform me why you recommend a specfic camera, please let me know. I am not lookig for anything too top of the line, just something to record memories, and perhaps simple editing in iMovie. Thanks for any suggestions.

OldManMac · Dec 6, 2002, 11:38 PM

I recently bought a Canon ZR40. It's relatively inexpensive, it has FireWire, is lightweight, and easy to use right out of the box. You can check it out here.

Nebrie · Dec 7, 2002, 01:57 AM

The Optura 40 seems to be winning a lot of awards lately. The best price/performance one I've seen lately is the Sony DCR-TRV18. Just lowered to $629 at J&R right now with $100 rebate. Lots of features and uses the excellent Carl Zeiss lens. I just bought one.

NewOldbie · Dec 7, 2002, 02:09 AM

Any recommendations for ~$1000.00 digital camera?

I know NOTHING about them or camcorders but:

Why buy a digital camera when you can use something like the Sony DCR-TRV18 to capture video and then grab a frame? Or is that a stupid question?

fobside · Dec 7, 2002, 02:39 AM

I'm looking at that Sony as well as the Canon ZR45MC, but I think the Sony wins out despite it's lower zoom.

As far as I've seen, the still pictures taken on by the DV cameras aren't that great. Can anyone verify that?

slugslugslug · Dec 11, 2002, 05:49 PM

http://www.dvspot.com is a site with a bunch of DV camcorder reviews. In pretty much every review, he stresses that if you want to take a lot of still pictures, you should buy a still camera. Apparently even the lowest end still cameras take way better pictures than a DV cam. If you want a lot of stills and video, shop around and get one of each. If you'll be doing mostly DV with the occasional still, it might be worth getting a real high-end DV camcorder..

hope that helped..

Originally posted by fobside:
I'm looking at that Sony as well as the Canon ZR45MC, but I think the Sony wins out despite it's lower zoom.

As far as I've seen, the still pictures taken on by the DV cameras aren't that great. Can anyone verify that?

Camera God · Dec 11, 2002, 10:55 PM

I strongly recommend any Canon Digital Video. Color is good, and the *true* optical image stabilization is much better than the digital crap panasonic and sony use. I could expand on this but I am tired.

MikeD · Dec 12, 2002, 08:22 AM

I think the best stills on a video camera comes from the Latest Sony IP model. But they're a totally new format called MicroMV or something and the still are 2 megapixel. Typically, you'll see about 1 megapixel in video cameras (check the specs!). That's why people get a separate digital camera. So there's a tradeoff. You can have excellent video and crummy stills. Or you can have awesome stills and crummy video (mpg files that you can't really do anything with in iMovie etc).

I for one have both... But I use my still cameras more than my video cameras.

Mike

zigzag · Dec 12, 2002, 11:05 AM

About DV camcorder stills - as others have said, they're just not very good, which is why people still use still cameras. A camcorder can take a still that's usable for a low-resolution medium, but if you want real quality you need a decent still camera.

Another reason not to worry about still capacity in a camcorder: in iMovie, with a single click, you can create a still from any frame at a resolution of 640 x 480, which is about the best that most camcorders can do anyway. So there's little point in interrupting your videotaping to take a mediocre still with a camcorder when you can just keep shooting and create any still you want in iMovie. I have still capacity on my Elura and have never used it. If I want a high quality still shot, I use my still camera.

KeyLimePi · Dec 12, 2002, 12:54 PM

With respect to price and performance image stablization really is a signifant feature. Take the Canon cameras for example. The Canon cameras in the sub-$1,000 range have 'digital' imnage stabilization. In short this means that a computer is manipulating your pixels, which is never good. More expensice Canon cameras have 'optical' image stabliztion, which means that a computer adjusts the optics (lenses) to compensate for shake.

I've used at the Canon ZR50 and it is a great camera for the price, although the quality isn't as good as the new Eluras, although both use digital image stablization. If you want optical, you have to go up to the Optura cameras.

Bargin hunters take note, now that the Canon Optura 200MC is available, the price has come down on the 100MC (which I think is actually a better camera since it has a hotshoe). If you only have about $1000 to spend, I highly recommend the Optura 100MC if you can find one.

One final note. Sony has come out with a new line of very small, very cool cameras that use a new format called MicroMV. I don't know too much about these cameras, but if you are planning to shoot for iMovie or FCP, you should probably stay away from these as I don't think they are compatible.

scottiB · Dec 12, 2002, 03:15 PM

KeyLimePi is dead on: any camera with OPTICAL image stabilization. It might be more expensive, but it's worth it.

Rastar · Dec 12, 2002, 06:31 PM

I have had great results with my Sony TRV-330. Go for the best optical zoom, don't worry about long digital zooms- they are junk. And don't worry about image stabilazation....Use a tripod !
This will make wonderful DV movies in iMovie.
You'll luv it.