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looking to buy a DV camcorder

M

MonsterZero

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 29, 2004
42
0
1. To document my band etc...

2. To trasnfer VHS to my imac

Q: this... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1067391172839&skuId=6194548&type=product&cmp= Looks really good...

Im asuming it will come with everything needed ( fire wire ? ) to plus right into my mac so i can capture in final cut or imovie ?

I dont really want to spend all that much and for 350 it seems like a great camera...I just wnat to make sure my mac will work with it....Im assuming most EVERY DV cam will hook up to my imac.

Any info would be great
 
Based on bad experiences with other JVC equipment, I won't buy anything made by them any more. I had a 6 CD changer that broke, one of the plastic gears inside came loose and it wouldn't switch or even eject CD's any more. I also had a JVC bookshelf stereo system where the volume knob stopped working, and sometimes the CD wouldn't eject.

Of course, their camcorders are a different product and may work better... so take everything I say with a grain of salt ;)

I've heard good things about the Canon MiniDV camcorders, although some say that the picture is a little grainy in low light. A lot of people recommend Sony, which have better picture in low light, but tend to be more expensive.

Try reading some reviews of the different brands on Amazon.com

EDIT: Fixed a mistake where I wrote "Sharp" instead of "Canon"
 
1. I have to agree with the above poster about JVC's. I find that they do not make very good products these days.

2. If your looking for a good Mini-DV camera, take a look at models from Canon, Panasonic, and Sony (In that order).

3. I personally recommend Canon or Panasonic cameras. I don't like the Sony's, mostly because I've had nothing but problems (mechanical) with any Sony I've ever used.

4. You will have to buy a 4-pin to 6-pin Firewire cable to connect the camera to your Mac. I don't know of any company that sells a Firewire cable with a DV camcorder.
 
MonsterZero said:
1. To document my band etc...

2. To trasnfer VHS to my imac

Q: this... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1067391172839&skuId=6194548&type=product&cmp= Looks really good...

Im asuming it will come with everything needed ( fire wire ? ) to plus right into my mac so i can capture in final cut or imovie ?

I dont really want to spend all that much and for 350 it seems like a great camera...I just wnat to make sure my mac will work with it....Im assuming most EVERY DV cam will hook up to my imac.

Any info would be great
Click to expand...

BAD! BAD! NO JVC! JVC = BAD!!!

Trust me on this one, JVCs products might be good at first but problems are bound to develop and JVC doesn't stand behind their products AT ALL!

I had a DVM-90; there was an error message which would pop up - online I say that hundreds/thousands of others had the same problem and JVC denied it. They refused to help at all. Don't go JVC!

Canon or Sony is my advice (maybe Panasonic but Sony's Camcorders seem to be amazingly solid).
 
you can get a 4-6pin firewire cable or a little adaptor.

I recommend Sonys. They really do give a crisp picture and their products work extremely well over time. A little more expensive, but I'm still using a 3 year old Sony 4.1MP camera and a 2 year old MiniDV camera with no problems.
 
MonsterZero said:
weird !

yeha I guess that link was to a featured product....

this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...29137&type=product&productCategoryId=cat04015 is what i wnat to get, its a songproduct...it looks solid.

My only concern is hooking it to my mac / having a/v is ...so i guess whatever i get i'll need to get a 4 to 6 pin firewire cable.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but that particular Sony is a Digital8 camcorder (not MiniDV), so it records onto a different kind of tape. From what I know, either will work fine... but you may want to read about the specific differences before you buy. Here's an article that explains more (if you didn't know already):

http://www.epinions.com/content_1461231748
 
ive used a couple recent jvc minidv cams, and if you plan on recording any footage of your band with them, you better be either playing outside or under some big friggin lights.

JVC minidv cams (at least low to mid-grade) both suck and blow in lowlight (read: indoors) conditions.

the price is nice, but you will be happier if you look at something differant.
 
I recommend something from the Sony TRV lineup... They're priced well, and are really durable... I have a TRV 50 & a TRV 27, neither of which they make anymore (I believe it may be the TRV33 now?) ... Both of this cameras have been used for years to film football games & practices in all kinds of weather... I'm sure I will get many more years out of them & they are still as good as the day I got them... The Carl Zeiss lenses are a nice feature...IMHO...
 
MonsterZero said:
weird !

yeha I guess that link was to a featured product....

this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...29137&type=product&productCategoryId=cat04015 is what i wnat to get, its a songproduct...it looks solid.

My only concern is hooking it to my mac / having a/v is ...so i guess whatever i get i'll need to get a 4 to 6 pin firewire cable.
Click to expand...


If this link is right this time...

Do not buy D8!! It is crap!!
It is based on an ancient format and will soon be dead. It had originally been slated to be killed this year, but they ended up releasing a couple of models to compete with low end DV from other manufacturers.

The only reason you would buy one now is if you had old 8mm tapes laying around and you could not play them; maybe because your 8mm cam died.

Why is it crap?
Lens quality or lack of.
Less lines of resloution compared to Mini-DV.
Bigger.
Format will be dead a lot earlier then DV. ( if you cam dies in 2 years and you have not transfered your tapes, good luck at finding a new D8 to play your untransferred tapes back.)
B/W viewfinder.
LCD not as Clear.
 
I was a fan of Canon's 8mm and Hi8 camcorders, but not their miniDVs--at least not their affordable ones. In bright lighting they're fine, but in low light they are terrible--the Sony's are substantially better. You might find camcorderinfo.com helpful--lots of reviews, forums, etc. I've got a Sony TRV33 and it's quite good--a lot better in low light than the Canon Optura I tried.

Best,

Bob
 
As someone who has owned a Canon, Panasonic (well, borrowed the Panasonic), and a Sony, I would HIGHLY recommend a Sony MiniDV over the other brands. I own a TRV-33 and have had no problems with it thus far. It shoots excellent pictures, even in low light, and can perform all of the features you requested above. Yes, you will need a firewire cable, and you might also want to invest in a wind filter to block the microphone (the TRV's don't come with one so shooting pictures outside gets kind of noisy), but they are well worth the price. My roommate just bought a TRV-19 and is extremely pleased with it.

Oh yeah, and stay far, far away from Digital8 and Hi8 formats, which are sucky, outdated, and don't provide NEAR the quality of MiniDV. :)
 
JVC Okay

I purchased a JVC DVL130U (I think that's it) last year since I wanted digital video. I'm only in high school so money was an option and I found the cheapest DV camera I could find. I couldn't be happier for my money's worth. It works great, digital quality is excellent and clear. I took it to Germany last summer and used 4 full 90 minute tapes worth. I agree with what was said earlier about its performance in low light. Also, the image stabilization works to some extent but not near as good as Sony's. For what I paid I am completely satisfied. Mine came with a firewire connector and since I have no Mac yet (15" pb this summer) I can only say it works great in Pinnacle Studio 7 on my old Dell PIII. I have no problems with JVC, it works great for me and trust me, it gets lots of use. Get the extra warranty if you want, it also gives you unlimited free cleanings which are normally $35.
 
Canon vs Sony

I bought a Canon z something or other from Costco. The price was right, and the camera has analog->digital conversion. However, I had a problem with the Canon. The image was very grainy (in my opinion) when taken indoors under low light conditions. Well, most of my videos are taken indoors with probably insufficient light. The solution? Buy a light? No! Buy a Sony! I took the Canon back and bought a TRV-22 from Circuit City, and boy,that baby takes beautiful digital video in very low light situations. It has great image quality. It handles analog->digital conversions well.
 
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