Video Cameras

[peloquin]

i need to find a video camera for work. the camera will be used to tape processes (i work at a manufacturing plant as their IT guy) and other such things. we are looking to get the most bang for our buck, it doesnt have to be a super-good one, but the best options and quality for the price is our goal. my budget range is $800-1200 for the camera. any experts/knowledgable peeps about these contraptions, i dont know much about them...

thanks

[miketpoto]

Re: Video Cameras

Get a Sony or Canon mini-DV cam... they are reliable, simple, and more than effective for your needs....

[peloquin]

Re: Video Cameras

any particular recommendation, between the two brands?

[Kamal]

Re: Video Cameras

I got the Sony DCR PC 115 from etronics.com right before I got married... its got a 1.5 mp still camera built into it and has Super Night Vision.

For a few $100 more, you could get the DCR PC 330 with a 3 MP still camera

bother are extremely small and very good Video + Still cameras

[Kamal]

Re: Video Cameras

this is the DCR PC 115

[miketpoto]

Re: Video Cameras

I am partial to canon, but sony's cameras have been impressing me as of late, and for video the new HDV cams are sick! I'll try and up some footage we took recently soon.

[Kamal]

Re: Video Cameras

Dont get my wrong Mike, I'm still partial to canon still camera's, but I do like the Sony MiniDV Video cameras. They come with Carl Zeiss lenses..... sweet stuff

[miketpoto]

Re: Video Cameras

yeah, I've got the same stance these days

[palmer]

Re: Video Cameras

800-1200 is a hard price point for cameras. Pretty much limited to consumer cameras which I don't know a whole lot about. I can tell you however that your best bet is with panasonic. For about a grand I know they make a 3 chip camera(3ccd) with a leica lens(quality) and a lot of bells and whistles. Something like that is your best bet. Its about as close to a real camera as you'll get. I've been shooting primarily on panasonics for the last 4 years, on the dvx100, and have very few complaints. I've used canons and sonys, used a jvc dv5000 for awhile... nothing really compares to the new panasonics. That is my opinion/experience.

I'll tell you this now and don't forget it.
Don't buy a Sony ANYTHING. They make the worst products under the sun. Your camera will crack and break and fall apart right before your very eyes. It is a fact they make the worst shit on earth. I had a buddy that just bought one of their hd cameras. He dropped about 4 grand on it. This dude has been using it for about a month now and its already getting sent back.

[BobbyJassi]

Re: Video Cameras

Those JVC cams with built in HD, i hear there pretty good?

[Kamal]

Re: Video Cameras

not sure what kind of processing power they have to record / encode / save at the same time..... I'd still be willing to bet my money on MiniDV for the present

[palmer]

Re: Video Cameras

Those JVC cams with built in HD, i hear there pretty good?

I've used HD recorders before. At present there aren't a whole lot of perks. The footage gets compressed and encoded to hell and ends up looking worse than it would if you just capture through firewire. Not to mention the harddrives they are putting in these things are hardly sufficient in terms of size.

[hulkhuss]

Re: Video Cameras

casting couch camera?????