Mar 29, 2005, 11:03
Good news and bad:
The good news is that I won't be spending $1,000 on a digital video camcorder.
The bad news is that I won't be getting a digital video camcorder.
From what I could tell, quality in the under-$500 category is just not there yet unless you're going to set up a bunch of video lights in your living room.
While these cams have lenses rated at f/1.8, the low-light performance is very poor. Autofocus is hit-or-miss, and the image itself is weak. They work very well in good light, but I'm not replacing my 60watt tungsten lamps with 150watt floods!
I played with Canon, JVC, Sony and Panasonic models. The $1200 (sale price!) Sony was quite nice. I would have like to have played with a Canon GL2 but there was not one available.
So I'm sticking with Hi-8 for the foreseeable future, and will get a video capture device to convert my tapes to digital on the computer.
( But NOT from Dazzle or Pinnacle! They have gotten horrible reviews! I've picked the Plextor PVR model, http://www.plextor.com/english/products/TV402U.htm, which will not only convert analog camcorder signals to digital on my computer, but will also function as a Tivo-like television recorder! With no subscription necessary! Whoo! )
The good news is that I won't be spending $1,000 on a digital video camcorder.
The bad news is that I won't be getting a digital video camcorder.
From what I could tell, quality in the under-$500 category is just not there yet unless you're going to set up a bunch of video lights in your living room.
While these cams have lenses rated at f/1.8, the low-light performance is very poor. Autofocus is hit-or-miss, and the image itself is weak. They work very well in good light, but I'm not replacing my 60watt tungsten lamps with 150watt floods!
I played with Canon, JVC, Sony and Panasonic models. The $1200 (sale price!) Sony was quite nice. I would have like to have played with a Canon GL2 but there was not one available.
So I'm sticking with Hi-8 for the foreseeable future, and will get a video capture device to convert my tapes to digital on the computer.
( But NOT from Dazzle or Pinnacle! They have gotten horrible reviews! I've picked the Plextor PVR model, http://www.plextor.com/english/products/TV402U.htm, which will not only convert analog camcorder signals to digital on my computer, but will also function as a Tivo-like television recorder! With no subscription necessary! Whoo! )
_______________________________________
Everybody got to elevate from the norm!