Page 1 of Digital Camcorders. (sorry i know this is the wrong place)

I am looking into buying a Digital camcorder and there two type I beleive

One that tape DV onto a Mini Tape which is the advance type

and the other is a DV but it will put it on a Hi8 Tape but not as good as the above.

But could any of you that know things about these and also is there one that someone can reconmend me to get?

Cheers in Advance :o)

I`ve got a Panasonic NV-DS15 which is an excellent budget DV camcorder. I have no experience of DV camcorders recording onto Hi8 tape, so can`t make any recommendations there.

The Panny is easy to use and produces a nice picture. It`s also easy to enable the DV-in ;-) Battery life has never been stunning, but that`s lcd screens for you !

Depends on your budget, and what you`re hoping to do with it I suppose.

DanB

DVD Reviewer

Ok Mate, How much was yours? And do you know anywhere I can find them cheap?

Also can you tell me does yours tape on a mini tape and does it have a memory card slot or somthing like that?

Also it is the Panasonic NV-DS15B isn;t it?

This item was edited on Tuesday, 2nd January 2001, 19:07

It uses min DV tapes, which are incredibly small.

You can get exactly the same camera with a memory card, but it`s called the NV-DS150

Mine I think is the 15B. You can now get it for about £550 I think. I bought mine from SDB in Chiswick, as they always seem to have the best prices (no sales advice mind you, but fine if you know what you want...)

Ok Mate.

If you say it a great kit that is good. As it looks good for the price. Also If i went for a DV with sony they are from about £800 which is alot more. I am trying to find reviews between them. But I have known that panasonic are good for things like this as I have a panasonic Widescreen tv which is great. I checked there site and your right yours is £550 and the other is £650. I just wonder if it worth paying £100 more just for the memory or unless there are some more different between them.

Thanks for your help and if there anything else I should know please tell me.

Oh BTW have you got a PC kit for yours if so how much was that as I believe there is not one with it

Cheers

Andy

This item was edited on Tuesday, 2nd January 2001, 20:34

Oh BTW is the Viewfinder colour or black and white. I know the LCD is colour but what about the Viewfinder as I have read that some are colour so what is yours pls

Cheers

What about Hitachi`s new DVD CamCorder?

I have heard it rocks:P

Sod that. it be massive and alot of money

Heheh ! Nice one Ironduke - keep trying !!

The 15 has a nice colour viewfinder - if you really want to find all the details, check out some of the camcorder mags in the newsagents and get backcopy reviews (camcorders for some strange reason don`t get the same sort of excellent coverage online as, say, DVD`s... ;-)

Whether the memory card is worth it is down to your intended use. The photoshot quality is never as good as a dedicated digital camera, and for a handful of shots, simply transferring over the serial port is quick enough. If you plan to do extensive or specialised work, then I doubt a camcorder is going to give you the quality anyway...

When it comes to connections, I got a stills cable when I DV enabled the camera... Then I downloaded the stills software off the internet... Voila - over £100 functionality plus DV-in for about £40...

DanB

DVD Reviewer

Many of you guys helped me with advice on buying a dvd player and where possible I hope to give some of my knowledge.
I too am looking into getting a Digital Camcorder and will just say this: Get a DV camera...these are definetly the best for quality. Also make sure it has the connections for something called `Firewire` This will enable you to get a Firewire card for your pc (they are dirt cheap about 50 quid, this site does them http://www.belkin.com for 60 quid)
From there you can actually upload footage to your pc and add all sorts of nifty stuff.
You can even make your own movies...upload footage, add special effects (through adobe photoshop or after effects) edit it all together with adobe premier.
As you can read there is a lot of enjoyment you will get out of it (and so will i when i get one)
go to http://www.fanfilms.com and download a film called `duel` - this was done using a DV Camera. If you like DVD`s theres possible a tiny chance you may like watching movies ;) if you like watching movies you might think sometimes how cool it would be to make your own.
With a DV Camera you will have the best tools and will be able to produce great looking quality wise films or just family stuff if you just want it for that.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 3rd January 2001, 18:54