Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

Well the wife and I are looking to buy a cheap Camcorder to make movies of my kid. Which format is better? Im looking to spend in the $350 range. Thanks for any input.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

i told you
i got the old 8mm for free. do it gangsta son

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

For a more thorough response might I suggest changing yyour post to

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

dave id definitely suggest a mini-dv camcorder.

sheeit build me a nice EG chassis AC compatible sidewinder that'll clear stock radiator hoses and such with an audi wastegate flange and a downpipe to mate to stock exhaust and ill give you my JVC. Retail MSRP was like 700 bucks.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

DV > HI8

Dv is newer, better technology...I dont remember the reasoning but there is one.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

DV is the way to go. Also isnt alot of the newer technology being built to cater to DV?

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

dv is digital hi8 isnt
dv cameras (most) can be hooked up to ur comp and video transfered and edited then burned on dvd

DONT GET NO ANALOG BS EVEN IF ITS CHEAPER
You have 3 common types of digital:
mini dvd
mini dv tape
digital 8
and make sure ur getting the computer connection and software in the box

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

go digital 8 only if it has fire wire. i stress that... fire wire is key.....

something about digital 8 is shitty, when shooting a hi-8 tape instead of it being 90min it's 45 because the tape runs faster.

that's the only thing ... oh and i think the audio is analog.... alsoooooooo time code, i think the minidv has Vitc veriable interval time code, each frame has a number coded, for example... 00:00:00;01 is one frame. the computer can now remember exactly what is on each tape, and it never changes like your stupid vcr.... also alows you to do something called offline editing, which is digitizing the footage first in low rez editing it and then recapturing only the footage you use in the timeline as hirez,,, there by only using a little bit of memory on the harddrive...

trust me, look in to sony and mini dv....

chris

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

DV, I used to work at Circuit city and have owned 2 sony DV cams and there great.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

i bought a DV cam on Ebay for like 200 bux. its Ok for what we spent. You get what you pay for. But get the firewire for it otherwise you cant DL to your comp. Ebay also sells 10 Pack MINI DV tapes for like 30 bux. Not bad ;)

FYI 30 minute tapes can be made to be 90 mintues if you us LP instead of SP or is it backwards???

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

Thanks for the responses.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

I bought a 10 pack of JVC mini-DV tapes on ebay and my camera doesn't like them. They tend to tangle up.
Now I only buy Sony tapes from power city and haven't had a singlle one become tangled inside the camera.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

i dont have that problem.. hmmm thats odd.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

one thing you shouldn't cheep out on is tapes!!!!!!

maxwell and jvc are ----!

always get fuji or sony. but fuji is better...

and here is why.... fuji uses the best meterials and the magnetic coding doesn't flake off the sides of the tape..

if you use any of the shitty brands, then you are essentialy pouring sand into your camera... not to mention they are more suseptible to drop outs, or even ruining your heads in the camera...

trust me. fuji is the way to go..... oh and don't buy canon, unless you are willing to shill out alot on a xl1 or gl1 gl2. because the cheep canon dv cameras are known to break, after the warrenty is threw....

go sony for great picture quality and the for the best preformance in low light conditions. Usualy family camera moments happen with the shittiest lighting conditions, so it should be something to think about.

find something with white ballance. and don't look at digital zoom.
also try not to jump on the band wagon with the digital photos built into the camera, they are gay, and super low rez.

best camera for the buck is the dsr trv 900.... but at 2000 bucks it's a bit pricy, but has 3ccd's... which means, the image that is entering the camera is split into three channels. red blue and green, and there is a chip for each colour. it's suposed to be the best colour reproduction. meh....

so look for optical zoom, fire wire, low light preformance, mini dv, lithium batteries. you should be set... oh and don't get that shitty dvd cam bullshit.... that has the worst video compression technology ever!

can you tell i am a film student? also i do corporate videos on the side, and wedding vids, i know what i am talking about.....

chris

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

Chris is there a camera you like under $1000?

thanks for the info.
Mike


http://www.four-banger.net/8.html

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

Chris has good advice. But I'm pretty sure they don't make the TRV900 anymore. The TRV950 was it's replacement. And I think that's been replaced by the new cheapie HD camera. I'm pretty sure they only have the $3k VX2100 for 3chip DV cameras.
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...s&Dept=cameras

If you want a titties camera, look on ebay and craigslist for TRV900 or 950. Going price for a used one in good condition is $700-1000. It will DESTROY any new camera you buy under $1k.

-3 chip, and larger chips. Better resolution.
-adjustable white balance and zebra stripes. Allows you to manually setup exposure, for better colors and contrast. The automatic feature just sucks in some conditions.
-larger lens
-nice viewfinder and flip out screen. Some of the fancy 3chips, don't have the flip out screen, cuz serious filmers only use the viewfinder.

As far as new cameras go, the newer cheap sony cameras seem really geared towards the amateur, that doesn't really care about how to manipulate their image. People that just want to pull a little thing out of their pocket, point it, and push a button. The cheaper HC series, doesn't even have a color viewfinder. It has a pinner 1/6" CCD.

Re: Digital HI-8 or DV camcorder
 

don't forget my camera...... dsr pdx10 basicaly the trv950 with a xlr break out box on top.....

only gayness is the trv900 used to have the exposer in f-stops. now it's just a plus and minus bar....

chris