DV Camcorders

[smada]

Hi everybody,

I'm going to be graduating from high school in a few months and my parents have told me that theyd be willing to get me a graduation present. I've always wanted a camcorder; ive spent too much time bumming them from my friends for months on end. The last time I seriously looked into buying one, the canon GL1 seemed to be on top of the game. Unfortunately it seemed to be at the top of the price range too. the 1000 or so dollars that I see them going for today is sadly still too expensive.

Does anybody have suggestions on a good MiniDV camcorder for not too too too much money?

 

[Rod Rod]

Two of my friends (one in California, the other in Michigan) recently bought the Panasonic GS400 and they both love it. It's $1000 brand new, so maybe that's out of your price range at the moment.

I'd recommend a Panasonic GS200 or GS120. I haven't checked prices recently but they should be around $700. All of these cameras are 3-CCD, but the CCDs are only 1/6" so your low light performance won't be as nice as on the Canon GL1/GL2 or Sony PD150/170, for example.

 

[solvs]

Sony has some nice ones for around $600-$700. Nothing professional, but they're good for the price. BHPhotoVideo is a good place to start.

 

[Lacero]

Forget the GL1, it's low light performance is terrible. You really can't find a decent DV camcorder for under $1000 bucks. Just not going to happen. Try looking for used Sony VX2000s, but they run at a high price though.

 

[krappamc]

as an amateur filmmaker myself, I would highly suggest you getting something with GOOD LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE. really.. u do need that low lighting ALOT. I would rather suggest you to save up more and get a good professional camcorder rather than getting a cheapo one right away..

Look for sony pd-150 on ebay. good camcorder for around 1500.