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dude, you should try and find a panasonic gs400. It should be real cheap now, if you can find one. It was replaced by the gs500 which is not as good.

that is the best camera I can recommend. Stay away from hdv, as it will be a nightmare for you to learn to edit it.

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They are good cameras. I got a panasonic gs150 on indosnm's recommendation as well. It is a nice, small, really good quality camera... but it doesn't take a helmet cam plug so I am selling it.

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Don't get a dvd vid cam!!! It's just a gimmick to sell to people who think that recording to dvd means great footage. The picture quality is less than regular mini-dv cams. Dvd's are more expensive than tapes and hold less footage.then, who doesn't need to edit their footage?? So the idea of recording to dvd and then throwing it in to the dvd player isn't anything worthwhile. You can always connect a mini-dv camera to your tv with rca cables (that come with the camera).

check out reviews at

www.camcorderinfo.com

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I didn't know that thanks Kumapix. The tapes seem to do well (don't they have HD ones now), but I have known a few to get mangled up before now.

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anyone know of anywhere selling Canon XM-2 (or the old XM-1) dv cams cheaply in Japan?

 

or Sony VX2000s ???

 

or any other models with handle grips on the top?

 

The prices of other 3 chip dv cams have come down so much over the last few years, but this seems to be mostly in the consumer market, I never see these pro-sumer models in the Japanese shops (i guess cos they are big, so don't fit in the everything getting smaller category...)

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If you can handle Japanese you can check in this site:

 

kakaku

 

The only problem is that the Japanese models have differenrt code number than that they sell out of Japan. You have to first check in the Japanese site of sony etc to find which model you want and then check it through kakaku to find it cheap.

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AK, those models you are interested in have the same model numbers the world over. Your best bet would be the vx2000 and I would check the yahoo auctions. but then again it's been a real long while since it came out so I would be sketch about getting one. maybe a vx2100. How about you drop the cash on the panny dvx 100b? You'll get a way better picture with that. or maybe drop 15man on the sony hc1 or hc3 for some hdv (which will be harder to edit)

 

edit: just thought about it some more and you should just get the panny gs400. I know it doesn't have a handle, but having a handle doesn't equal best performance.

wait, I just remembered the panny dvc30. that has a handle. i think it was 14man before. it's prosumer

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Hi Kumapix,

Yeah, HD is the future, but I can't afford the future yet! ha ha.

As you say , it also makes editting harder - you end up having to upgrade your software, and your TV!

I have a panny 1chip (gs300?? 500?? i forget)that i've been really happy, with but the zoom toggle is easy to nudge when you're holding it from above, in grip around the body, when follow-camming of getting close (60-70 of filming i did like this - without looking through the viewfinder or screen) - that's why i was after one with a handle.

 

I like the build quality and picture quality of the panny - it was the only 1 chip at the time with an optical image stabiliser, instead of a digital one, which makes a real difference (plus nice and heavy for steady shots.

 

There was a later panny 3chip that didn't have a handle but did have REC button at the front top of the body, for your thumb if you are gripping around the body...

what was that... gs 600?

do they still make it? it must be a lot cheaper now - was 1000quid a few years ago

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I bumped into the filmers from Alterna films (Whistler based snowboard film producers) at Copenhagen airport on my way to Japan in March, and they had some cameras that recorded straight onto PC (PCMCIA?) cards which they then plugged straight into their powerbooks!

 

They looked super-pro!

They said the footage was really good from them

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don't know which camera that could be. Maybe the hvx? 49man

 

why are you zooming when doing a followcam?

I had really good success with a matchbox type cam for follow cam. You hold it and point it like a gun. Shooting from the handle doesn't really do it for me (I've done lots of both)

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no zoom when follow camming - wided out.

I meant the zoom toggle is just easy to knock when you hold the camera round the body from above - so spoiling any shot.

 

shooting from the handle is a skill like any other - NOT that i particulaly have it. it just takes experience to know what will be in shot (and a wide angle lense). it's more for skate than snow (where most of pro filming is done like this), but can be fun following lines through the park, or messing around on piste.

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