This might come across as a stupid question but, hey, i'll ask it anyway: If I buy a Mini DV camcorder in the US will it work ok in the UK? I ask because I know there's the whole PAL and NTSC thing. I'm going to Vegas later on in the year and thought that i'd take advantage of the cheaper pricing that the US enjoys and the great exchange rate at the moment but want to make sure that it is actually going to be useable. Anyone have any ideas and suggestions for a camcorder in the $300-$400 range?
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What miniDV Camcorder Did You Buy ...
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Boy, this is one of the touchier threads I've seen in a while... (okay I do realize the thread itself isn't touchy at all)
I just ordered a Panasonic PV-GS65 from B&H. I didn't want to spend a huge amount of money, plus I'm guessing in a couple years we'll see some dramatic improvements in what's available at the low end (sort of like what's happened in the past 2 years with digital SLR cameras, such as my D70). Not to mention that I'm still a couple years away from buying a HD television anyway.
There seems to be a consensus that the low-end 3 CCD camcorders are better in low light than the 1 CCD camcorders, at least according to the hands-on reviews I saw around the web. But this is all new territory to me - I haven't bought a camcorder since the old VHS model I got from Sears back when my daughter was born in 1990.
Now she wants to try making movies...
I just ordered a Panasonic PV-GS65 from B&H. I didn't want to spend a huge amount of money, plus I'm guessing in a couple years we'll see some dramatic improvements in what's available at the low end (sort of like what's happened in the past 2 years with digital SLR cameras, such as my D70). Not to mention that I'm still a couple years away from buying a HD television anyway.
There seems to be a consensus that the low-end 3 CCD camcorders are better in low light than the 1 CCD camcorders, at least according to the hands-on reviews I saw around the web. But this is all new territory to me - I haven't bought a camcorder since the old VHS model I got from Sears back when my daughter was born in 1990.
Now she wants to try making movies...
MacRy said:
If you were buying PAL to use in the US I'd say yer gonna have a hard time, but from what I've heard finding dual format (both NTSC & PAL) devices in Europe is easier than in the US. You could always shoot in NTSC and then use software to convert the signal to PAL and burn that to DVD. But I don't know how much of a pain in the ass that would be if you had to do it on a regular basis. Also, the converted footage wouldn't look as good as native PAL footage because NTSC has few lines of resolution (plus you are converting formats which can affect the video as well).
If you had $5000 US to spend you could get a Sony Z1U (it shoots NTSC & PAL).
Lethal
I bought a Panasonic DV51 a little less than four years ago. I chose that because it was the cheapest camcorder I could get and still be digital. We recently got a Canon Elura 70 at work. We chose it because it was a reasonable match for quality (my concern) and price (the boss's concern). Very compact and lots of features too. If you can afford it, get one with 3 CCDs. My dad has one and they are great.
I'm going to buy the Sony HC-32 I think, or perhaps the HC-22 (which i think is the UK version of the HC-21).
I'm wondering whether to buy before my holiday to eastern europe... or do you think it'll get stolen?
I'm wondering whether to buy before my holiday to eastern europe... or do you think it'll get stolen?
I bought a Canon Optura 30. i needed a decent MiniDV cam for my video production class at school. i really liked the camera, and it had alot of the features that i needed for my class, and it was pretty cheap at the time. I bought it from B&H Photo, for around $500 with a $100 rebate.
As mentioned in another post, most devices in Europe are compatible with PAL and NTSC. So you wouldn't have much trouble using an NTSC camcorder in Europe. But you have to keep in mind the main differences between NTSC and PAL - the frame rate of PAL is lower than NTSC but the image resolution is higher in PAL than in NTSC. Apart from this, if you have a desire to transfer your videos to film (or film like quality), PAL is a better alternative because it's closer in frame rate (25fps PAL vs 24fps for film). Note that I mentioned "better" and not "ideal". Any changes made in the frame rate and resolution after shooting will have some impact on the quality of the video and audio. Converting videos from NTSC to PAL or vice versa is also not recommended.MacRy said:
Since you're based in the UK, I would recommend buying a PAL camcorder. But PAL camcorders in the US are usually more expensive than NTSC camcorders (there are some exceptions I have seen, but they're way beyond your budget).MacRy said:
You might already know that for most items bought in the US, the warranty applies only within the US (meaning you would have to contact the US entity of the manufacturer and probably ship it to the US if you have any trouble). Since you'd be in the UK, the US warranty is not going to make much sense at all. This being the case, I would still recommend buying a PAL camcorder in the US because it's not going to make any difference to you as far as the warranty is concerned (people in the US should be aware that many PAL camcorders sold in the US do not have US warranties...or any kind of warranty, for that matter).
Your budget of US $400 seems to be on the low end side - I don't know which ones are good, but I would suggest that you check http://www.cnet.com and http://www.camcorderinfo.com for reviews and information about camcorders in your budget. I would advise you to stay away from Canon if low light performance is very important to you. Sony consumer camcorders have a touch screen interface - almost everything is controlled via the touch screen menus. Sometimes this can be a pain. But otherwise Sony does have many good camcorders (check the DCR-HC series). Another brand that I have seen recommended highly is Panasonic. Read the reviews and make a decision - no single manufacturer makes the best models across the board.