Which digital camcorder?

[_Luke1_]

In the market for a digital camcorder. I've checked over at PCcomputing and some other sites to check out reviews. They all tell me how good each one is.

I'm thinking about the Sony TRV33 or 38. I was going to get the 38, but then realized that the 33 seems a bit better ergonomically. The 38 has a bit more resolution. The Sony's seem to outperform the Canons, but that's just from my reading.

I'm looking at MiniDV. I really don't want the DVD since I hate uneditied film. I'll be editing it all on my computer and burning the finished copy to DVD.

Anyone have comments?

[Kam]

What's your final output for? ie. home movies, to friends, etc? what's your pc editing software and video capture card? and what's your budget?

[_Luke1_]

The use will be for the kid's birthdays, football games, and for getting the kids exposed to something they may enjoy, like making movies. The budget is around $600-$750 +/- based on the benefits of speding a bit more.

I haven't decided on editing software yet. There's a couple out there for around $100 which I know is not the end all, but I'm looking for basic editing, not production editing.

I can't say which video card I have off-hand, but the computer is only a few months old with a P4 3GHz processor so it should be something recent.

[Kam]

in that price range, the technology is all pretty much the same. i.e. all the single chip ccd camcorders are basically the same. what you are then looking at is ergonomics, features, reliability, customer support.

i don't have a lot of knowledge in this class range of dv cameras, but at the higher level, the sony's are more durable then the canons. i personally have used a bunch of different canons and like them, but prefer panasonic to canons. the sony trv 33 + 38's both are single chip ccd's, so if you are happy with the features of em, you can't really go wrong. if you can plug a little more into it, then i'd say a low-end 3ccd camera is better then a higher end single-ccd camera.

i would reccomend staying away from jvc at any level. they aren't as reliable from my experiences and the experiences of others i know. take a look at some of the 3ccd chip panasonic's and see if you think they are worth the extra $$, i think they'll be around $200 more then the single ccd sony's. i think the panasonic dv95_(0,3,5?) is a 3ccd chip camera that will take great pictures.

all you would need is a firewire input to really take advantage of the camera. if you don't have a firewire input, you could either get one to take advantage of the camera's, or if the costs are getting to high, then just get a high-8 camera since without firewire, you won't be able to take advantage of the digital medium. (weakest chain link issues).

and if you really want to inspire your kids in the filmmaking process. buy them a super8mm film camera. there are tons available and this will teach them the true medium. just my 2 cents :)

peace
k2

[_Luke1_]

Thanks Kam, I will check out that Panasonic. I was checking out the 3 CCD models also, but the prices were more than I was interested in paying. I figured if the kiddies did ever get into the medium, that's when I would spend a couple $K's and do it right. The only reason I don't have one now is I keep waiting for the next great thing. Damn technology. I just gotta bite the bullet and put out.

Thanks again.

[Kam]

one thing i've always found to be a solid way to go about it, is to always go with the middle-level option when jumping into a technology. especially in the computer/digital arena. there will always be innovations and things will be obsolete relatively quickly so as tough as it is, its pointless to wait until the 'next' innovation because there'll be another one right after that.

on the flip side, film has yet to be replaced and they are still making super8 film stocks based off of full 35 film stocks. and don't worry about digital replacing film, it's not going to any time soon.

[Chris]

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