[spookymulderagain]

Hi,

I am in the market for a home miniDV camcoder and am a little overawed by the choice! Basically I have a very limited budget (UK) and the only things I need for sure are:

Decent video quality
True 16:9 widescreen capability (not just letterboxing)
DV IN as well as out
iMovie and general mac compatibility (I would like to edit all my holiday stuff on my G4)


I don't really care about still photo taking as I already have a digital camera.

I have narrowed it down to 2 cameras at the moment:

Sony HC42E and the Canon MVX30i.

Both seem to have similar capabilities. Ordinarily I would have gone straight for the sony but my rsearch has brought up a couple of things:

When in the camera shop the sony LCD display seemed a bit grainy while the canon was superb. does this mean that the actual video recorded onto tape would be grainy with the sony?

I have also read reviews which have claimed that the sony has problems with image quality in low light.

Can anyone offer me any advice? experience? I would like to make a purchase in the next week or so and any thoughts would be greatfully received.

thanx in advance

[jlincoln]

The LCD on the camera is a good judge, but shouldn't be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

I found that all DV cameras are lacking in the low light department.

I'm in the U.S., so my model names will be different, but I have a Canon Optura 200MC and an XL2. I really like Canon across the board. Canon also uses optical image stabilization, rather than Sony's digital image stabilization, which ends up costing you some pixels to compensate for the movement. Of those two, I'd go for the Canon. They are all about images and know it well.

The bad about my Canon, an what you may face with the MVX30i, is that "matchbox" style cameras place the mic on top of the camera. On mine, in quiet conditions, it picks up the noise of the motor. I highly recommend that you take a pair of headphones to the store and listen for this. My camera is much older and this issue may be a thing of the past. At the time, it was not uncommon on most small DV cameras.

Here's some other food for thought.

I'd consider getting a camera with a manual focus ring. I personally think it's a must have feature. From my experience, those without have a little dial wheel on the back that is about as responsive as a dead hooker.

If I were buying a camera today, I'd go for the following two choices. I like the Optura MVX4i / Optura 600, with its large, native 16:9 CCD, and standard size lens of 34mm. You'll find it easier to buy protective (UV) filters for this over the MVX30i. I also dig the 3 CCD Panasonics. The only thing I do not like about the Pannys is that they are not using 16:9 CCDs. You'll get 16:9, but it'll be at the sacrifice of some pixels.

You may want to take a look at www.camcorderinfo.com for reviews and comments.

[mania]

Panasonic