I have a JVC mini DV camcorder that is just great except for reliability. I had it fixed under warranty once for a mechanical problem (jerky recording & playback), and now a couple of years later I’m having the same problem. The repair would cost more than buying a Panasonic PV-GS326 for something like $329 at Costco.
I would prefer to go with a mini DV to be able to continue to play my existing mini DV tapes. Mini DVD recorders are good but reviews I’ve read indicate there are still some format compatibilty issues to be hammered out. An HDD would probably be great but as I said, I prefer to keep compatible with my current media.
Has anybody had pros & cons with any of the technologies? I am not necessarily looking for a specific recommendation on a particular model but want to give you the opportunity to tell me I’m about to either make the biggest mistake of my life, or get a great bargain.
I purchased a JVC mini DV camcorder about five years ago. I didn’t use it a lot and it went to hell after a couple of years. I think I probably used it for a total of about five hours. Of course, it was off warranty and would have cost more to fix than it was worth. I was told that there had been a lot of mechanical problems with the tape drive. It is basically a miniature VCR in there. If you have ever examined the mechanical components of one of these, you know it is a real Rube Goldberg device.
I have decided that if I ever get another camcorder I will absolutely not get one which involves a tape drive. Never. I will probably get one with a HDD, as that seems to me to be the most trouble free. Like you, I have a bunch of Mini DV tapes. Too bad, but not a good reason to get another machine with an obsolete recording mechanism.
I’ve had a couple of Canons over the years that have been put through some pretty harsh conditions (think filming a rabbit decompose in a moist forest over the course of 6 days) and being tossed around in the camera bag with other equipment. The beater camera looks like crap now, the plastic exterior is all banged up and scuffed, but the thing stilll works fine. These where a Canon GL2 and a ZR45MC, both miniDV.
Before those, we used a Sony vx1000 that required a couple of expensive repairs, one involving being lost be the repair centre for 4 months.
We were using JVC GY-DV500Us until I picked up the Panasonic AG DVX100A. The Panasonic’s images are beautiful. More film-like (using the 24p mode) than the big JVCs. It currently has about 150 or 160 hours on it. I last used it a couple of weeks ago and got a PSD NG error. No worries though, since I was shooting from a tripod. I left the camera with my partner, since he was using the JVC and it was a little big for the rest of the night, and he reported that the error did not reappear.
I’ve been happy with the Panasonic. I’d consider getting another. Only I think the next camera will be HD.
I had a smilar camera to the GY-DV500U (UW?) It was the widescreen chip. Nice images, but the Sony VX-2000 footage was hard to distiguish. I am with you about HD. I understand the new Sony prosumer HD is a little soft in horizontzal resolution, so I am still waiting. :rolleyes:
I went over to B&H to look at their HD cameras, but didn’t find a lot. I’m not going to spend ten kilobucks on a Canon. I attended a local seminar on the new JVC HD camera. My (former) partner was going to get one until he saw the images from the Panasonic. The JVC was very nice, but not almost-double-the-price nice. And since then he said that he heard some not-so-good things about the JVC.
One thing about HD (in my opinion) is that most consumers will not see the difference on their televisions. This will change; but for now, given that my partner skipped town and that I’m looking for a real job, I can’t justify the expense.