Sub-£500 video camera

[shellbryson]

Okay, I've pawed through the various discussions here, and I've not really found anything suitable yet... as much as I'd love a nice Canon HD camera, I don't have that kind of money. So;

Can anyone recommend a good, compact, video camera for under £500 that's on the market now and will work well with FC, iMovie and Premier Pro on my Mac Pro?

My old Sony DCR-TRV310E has served well, but really lacks the quality I need... and it's bloody huge.

Suggestions?

[shellbryson]

Is it worth making the stretch to the Canon HV10?

[shellbryson]

Well... I bought the Canon HV 10. I couldn't stretch to the HV20, but after reading about 100 reviews since my first post, it seems like the best option for me.

HV10 + 3 HD MiniDV tapes + spare battery + 2gb miniSD card + courier + vat = £635.

[Henri Gaudier]

I've been using a Panasonic NV-GS500 for 2 weeks now & I'm really pleased. It's my first camcorder but I am critical. I'm just doing basic stuff in iMovie with a G5 and there's no problems other than the camera isn't recognised as an external firewire device which I think is odd. Anyway, there's no problems with that like improperly put away device warnings so .... I bought it from Tek Dome in France but it's an Asian market machine with no French language option! Ha! (That's why I wouldn't recommend Tek Dome because they said it had) but it has English and it was €721 which is £493 at today's rate. There's no customs hassle either as the fees are included in the price.

It's a very "filmy" looking camera and I prefer it, admittedly I've only seen it at 17" to the sterile news camera vid quality.

I seen them on eBay from Honk Kong for £100 less but I didn't risk it as VAT is 20% plus whatever the Customs want. But maybe you feel lucky......