Recommend me a good DV camcorder please

[Moldiver]

Hi all. I'm looking at buying a digital camcorder to shoot low budget films on. My budget is around £450.

So far I've looked at JVC models and am interested in the JVC GR-DX97EK DSC

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001ZN722/qid=1093373195/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_3_7/202-5965799-4665412

I've been told to make sure I get a good optical zoom and that sony and panasonic are very good, but the more i search for cameras the more confusing this is becoming. I just can't decide what to go for. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance

[thescrounger]

That's a good cam, but it depends how serious you are about this low budget film thing? If you're thinking of it as more than just a hobby then you should really consider a 3CCD camera

Here's an example of probably the cheapest:

.Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00027YI6I/thedvdforums-21)


3CCD captures the core colours red, green, blue, independantly and will give a clearer richer picture with more resolution. A standard cam like the one in your first post captures the three colours through the same single CCD chip.

Other things to consider: external mic out socket for boom or tie mics, and of course DV in.

The 3CCD thing is a must for serious low budget film making IMO.

Edit: Updated link, found cheaper cam.

[Moldiver]

Thanks scrounger, although that camera is out of my range at the moment, unless I save for a bit longer.
I am serious about it but if I can achieve decent result i'd be happy as I don't mind a bit of grain or whatever on a cheaper cam. I'm not too clued up on 3CCD. I will have to look deeper into it.
Also i think the cam i linked to already has dv in and out and mic input.

[Moldiver]

actually thats not too bad a price. I was linked to a pricier cam before from your link.

[thescrounger]

I'm not sure about 'mic out' on the model though, best check first.

[Moldiver]

The JVC site doesn't list a mic out, only in :/

[thescrounger]

Mic in is all you need, come to think of it there's only mic in! Since it's an input you need.

Accorfing to this link the Panasonic does have external mic input:

http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPF-Panasonic_NV_GS120_Digital_Camcorder

Also, if you put the model through pricerunner.co.uk you can find it for £498

[Moldiver]

I was being weird with the mic thing.

Anyways I found a review for the panasonic:

http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/products/hardware/1155808

Doesn't sound too bad, a few niggles there but like the review says you can't expect much more.

So that and my first choice so far. Though I'm still tempted by my first choice, not that I don't appreciate the help but I like a little grain and this 3CCD thing sounds like its too good :)

Decisions decisions

[Moldiver]

Also looking at this one scrounger, if you're still about:

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/products/hardware/1155810

nice review there

The new XL2 looks really nice but pricey as hell no doubt.

[thescrounger]

The Canon looks good. Better than the JVC.

Re: "the grain". On video it's called noise and it's nasty and looks really bad in low lights, in some cases so bad your footage will be unuseable. With a 3CCD cam you'll get less of it in dark situations, and if you really want it, you can add it later. Video is still a low resolution medium so you really want to avoid anything that will degrade the image. As I say, if you want it you can add as much as you want later on a PC.

For the price I'd personally go for the Panasonic. Having played around, made films with a variety of camcorders, you really won't regret going for a 3CCD one. You'll get quality that looks professional. Something like the XL2 is the Daddy but is gonna cost you twice the price at least.

"28 days later" was shot with cannon XL1 which is a 3CCD camera.

[Moldiver]

How important is analogue input? I read a review for that panasonic you linked to that says this about negative aspects:

"There are, of course, a handful of disappointments, many of which have the faint whiff of compromise about them. What looks promisingly like a focus ring, for example, is just a bit of decoration. Those wanting to focus manually will need to faff about with the control buttons normally used for fast forwarding and rewinding, which most enthusiasts will find very unsatisfactory. Meanwhile, an equally encouraging ?cinema mode? turns out to be a dodgy letterbox setting that simply crops the top and bottom off the image rather than reshaping it to a 16:9 ratio suitable for widescreen TVs. A final crushing blow is the absence of an analogue input something that will put many advanced users off an otherwise excellent camcorder."

otherwise it sounds good.

also, is thaere a large difference between the canon xl1 and the xl1s? I have seen the older xl1 going fairly cheap at places like ebay. say £700

[thescrounger]

XL1s is the updated newer XL1 (which is now out of production). The difference is in design, no big differences. http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/skinny.php

Analogue input is useful for recording old VHS home movies onto mini DV, that's all it's for really.

The drawbacks of the panasonic are things you need to weigh up for yourself.

[Moldiver]

I see. Well analogue has no value to me then. Thanks again for your help. I will note down this panasonic and keep my eye on the XL1S.

[threadkiller]

www.simplydv.com is a great site dealing with camcorders & movie stuff

[paulsaz]

dont know if this is too low end for you (similair spec to your first link but no dv input, has dv out though which is the important one) but I have a panasonic nvds29b I was going to stick on the classifieds as I've only used it once in just over a year.

review here

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews8229.html

and here

http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/camcorders/0,39023800,10002163,00.htm

was going to ask £250 inc a couple of tapes and postage. I'll put it in the classifieds tomorrow so give me a shout if youre interested, you could use the extra cash on a good mic and tripod for it.

[Moldiver]

Hi. Thanks but I'll skip for now. I probably won't be getting a cam until the new year now anyway.

[paulsaz]

ok no worries.