I have been looking around for digital video cameras cause i will be taking a video production and editing class at my high school next year. ( I would also film unicycling, obviously.) I think i have narrowed my choices down to 2 different camcorders.
“sabin_a.” wrote:
>
> I have been looking around for digital video cameras cause i will be
> taking a video production and editing class at my high school next year.
> ( I would also film unicycling, obviously.) I think i have narrowed my
> choices down to 2 different camcorders.
>
> The first one is a Sony Digital8 $399
> The second one is a Panasonic MiniDV $399
>
> So I guess what I am asking is which one do you guys/girls think would
> be better? (please give reasons)
I don’t know anything about these 2 cameras, but I have these
comments on Digital8 vs MiniDV:
The Digital8 format came about because cameras were going digital
but the manufacturers still had loads of Hi-8 drive mechanisms,
so they found a way to use them in digital cameras.
Theoretically, the quality should be the same. They use the
same digital signal, but store it on MiniDV tape or Digital8
tape (equivalent to Hi8 tape)
In practice, MiniDV cameras tend to be better, simply because
they put MiniDV drives in the expensive cameras, and the old
Digital8 drives in the cheaper cameras. But that’s a
generalisation, which may or may not be true in the case of these
two cameras.
If you’re looking to share your tapes with other people, or
borrow tapes from other people, MiniDV is the most widespread.
If you’ve got a old Video-8 or Hi-8 tapes that you want to play
back, then you can do that on a Digital8 camera but not on a
Mini-DV camera.
All things being equal, I’d go for Mini-DV. But look at the spec
of the cameras in detail. Ignore digital zoom (it’s not worth
having), but a good range of optical zoom is. Good low-light
capability is worth having. Optical image stabilisation (or
the not-quite-so-good digital image stabilisation) is worth
having. A long battery life might be worth having, depending
what you’re using it for. A good quality lens is definitely
worth having, although it’s often difficult to tell! If one
has a lens that is obviously a bigger diameter, then that might
be a clue that it will let in more light and give better pictures.
Or if they make a big deal about the manufacturer of the lens,
then that might be a clue it’s good quality.
If you get into digital video, this bulletin board has lots of
useful advice (I hang out there a lot):
I bought a Panasonic MiniDV 2 weeks ago at Walmart
“Clearance” price $325
All the regular features. It has a light too. We like it. I replaced my 1990 model RCA VHS that was so big it made me look like an ActionNews cameraman.
Thank you for the feedback.
I looked at both the optical zooms on each of the cameras and they are both the same. O-zoom is: 20x. They both have low light capabilities.
So I guess what you are saying is, that the MiniDV format has a lot more capabilities than the Digital8. Like you said, the MiniDV can take a more varity of tapes, so I can share them with my friends and such. Where as the Digital8 is more limited to the kinds of tapes it can take.
I do not have an old Hi8 camcorder, so there would be no use in getting the Digital8 to play back old tapes.
I guess the only minor drawback to getting the MiniDV is that the fire wire doesn’t come with it.
-Sabin
“sabin_a.” wrote:
>
> I guess the only minor drawback to getting the MiniDV is that the fire
> wire doesn’t come with it.
Do you mean a firewire cable or firewire port?
Following the links you gave, both seem to have firewire ports
(IEEE1394) but neither mention a firewire cable. Anyway, firewire
cables aren’t particularly expensive.
One thing I noticed the Sony has is analog input, which the
Panasonic doesn’t. I find this useful, because you can then
connect the camera to a VCR and copy VHS tapes onto digital tape.
Then you can transfer them via firwire to a computer, where you
can convert them to go onto a web page, or burn a DVD copy.
Depends on whether you see yourself doing that kind of stuff.
Digital-8 is a retiring technology. It’s going to be gone soon. DV is the new stuff, and though the cassettes may change, the format of the tape should be around for quite a while. Also miniDV cameras are generally going to be smaller. This will matter to you at some point.
I don’t think lens size is an indicator of light capabilities. Bigger lens means bigger glass, so that part equals out. But a bigger lens may have higher quality optics. But let the price and specs guide you there. There is a lumens or lux rating that tells how much light the camera needs. Some can shoot in the dark using infrared.
I had a borrowed Sony miniDV camera at the 1999 NUC in Washington and UNICON X in China. That camera was amazing. 12 or 16x zoom, stabilized, and lots of other great, useful features. And it was a piece of cake to use. It had one of their info-lithium batteries, that tells you about how many minutes are left on it. That was very handy. Also I liked the hand position, which made it comfortable to use. Think about those things as well.
There, I mentioned unicycle events above. We’re on topic!
Sorry, I meant the MiniDV doesn’t come with a USB Cable.
Thats pretty cool!! Except, I dont have a DVD burner on my computer, so I wouldnt be able to do that. I was looking more at the Panasonic MiniDV, and you can use it as a webcam!