Basic camcorder advice?

[Liebo11]

Hey guys I went into circuit city the other day and the salesman said the best picture quality and audio comes from miniDV cameras . . . if this is true what is the best non-hd miniDV camcorder I can get. I'm looking to spend in between $300-400. I've heard about different Canon's and how they are generally better. The guy in circuit city must have worked for Sony cause he was really trying to sell me on them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

J

 

[-DH]

Rule #1: Always take what a salesperson tells you with a grain of salt. Their interest is to sell whatever makes them the best commission regardless of your needs.

That said, the salesperson in this case may have said that due to the fact that of just about ALL consumer camcorders on the market today, the DV format has the LEAST compression.

Which DV camcorder is best? Certainly not any in the $300.00 to $400.00 range. One of the best is the Panasonic DV-X100 ... but well out of your range.

-DH

 

[marioman38]

Look for the Canon Elura 100. They stopped making them a month ago, and have yet to replace them. It won Camcorer of the year for 2006. (Scroll to bottom)

http://www.google.com/products?client=safari&rls=en&q=Elura+100&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wf

Be sure to visit resellerratings.com before purchasing, as there are many scam sites out there that look legit. One of the best sites to purchase from is bhphotovideo.com and is Highly recommended by many.

 

[JOD8FY]

I've always liked Canon and I highly recommend their camcorders. I've never really liked Sony because of their lack of support for industry standards. For example, in order to take pictures with your camcorder, you have to buy a Sony MemoryPro stick; they don't support industry standards like SD, miniSD cards, etc. Also, when I bought my HD camcorder, I decided to go with the Canon HV20 over a Sony because although both camcorders had an accessory shoe (which you use to attach microphones, lights, etc.) the Sony one limited you to Sony brand products only. The Canon used an industry standard shoe, so it will work with many more devices.

Just my two cents. Good luck with the camcorder search.

Best,
JOD8FY