Recommend me a Digital video Camera Please!

[matthew_o50]

Hi guys, i'm looking to buy a new video camera since my Sony DCR-IPlE decided to stop working half way through a holiday!

I don't really want to spend any more than £400. Obviously the cheaper the better. I am not very up to date with what's new in the video camera world. I'm thinking of getting a MiniDV format camera as I believe the DVD ones use a lot of disks to record little video, am I right to say that? I have a DVD-recorder to put the film on to DVD so that is not a problem.

I would really like it to have night vision as I think this would be a fun feature to have and battery life is quite important. Other than that I'm open to any suggestions. Also where is the best place to buy?

Thanks

Matt

[kracken]

I have a JVC GR-DX97EK with very little use (< 4 hours) you can have for £200



Top Features

• F1.2 Aspherical Super Bright Lens for High-Quality Images
• 1/6-inch 800,000 pixel CCD
• 12x Optical Zoom/700x Super Digital Zoom with Spline Interpolation
• 3-Dimension Noise Reduction (3D NR)
• 3.0" Clear LCD Monitor
• Auto Illumi. Light (Auto Illumination Light)
• 520 Lines of Resolution with Super High-Band Processor
• USB PC Link
• Video CD Creation
• Email Video Clips (MPEG-4 Streaming MPEG-1 Video Capture)
• Web-Camera Function
• Digital Still Capture
• HG Digital Stills with 2 Selectable Image Size Settings (1024x768/640x480-pixel)
• Digital Colour NightScope
• DV Navigation
• Picture Stabiliser
• Colour Viewfinder
• DV Input/Output (i.LINK, IEEE1394 compliant)
• Analogue Input
• 8MB MultiMediaCard Provided
• Interval Snapshot

Other Features

• High Quality Image Sound
• MiniDV Format with PCM Stereo Sound
• Creative Fun
• Digital Effects and Scene Transitions
• Playback Digital Zoom 58x
• Movable Spotlight/Backlight Compensation
• Overall Convenience
• Power-Linked Operation
• Remote Control Provided
• S-Video and A/V Input/Output Terminals
• Mic Input
• LP Mode for 120 min. on single cassette
• USB/IEEE1394 (i.LINK)
  

[big fish]

currys

[slartibartfast]

I'm not really into video cameras, but what I would say is, go for the MiniDV format unless you have no interest at all in editing the footage at a later date.

You can find a few reviews here that might be of help, and for best prices it always wise to check out Pricerunner and Froogle first.

[Pyro Steve]

You should also look into these new hard disk drive based models, no tapes and they do 20 or 30 gig models im sure, think so far JVC and Sony have them out. Think you can get the bog basic one for around £350-400. Saves lumping tapes about, running out of room etc and they are tiny also.

[blurton]

I would avoid the DVD based recorders, i have a hitachi one and it is almost impossible to edit the output,

With my DVI one it is a breeze

[matthew_o50]

Thanks for the offer Kracken but i'm really looking to buy brand new and possibly with a few years warranty/cover since i'm quite prone to breaking things like this.

I've been doing a bit of reading and have decided I definately want a MiniDV one. It's just now a case of finding the right model. I'm going to go in to Currys and Dixons tomorrow to have a look. If anyone can recommend any specific models it would be a great help.

thanks

Matt

[BertRoot]

I have a Canon MV880Xi and I absolutely love it. Output good to the PC where I can fiddle with it to my hearts content. Uses standardish Canon batteries that you can get anywhere and the night mode is superb. Pricerunner listing here.