Just get a Sony Handycam. Easy to use, fairly inexpensive. (You can probably get one for around $100, maybe less, off Craigslist or ebay.)

But you'll want to use a firewire to transfer the video instead of a USB. You'll get much higher quality.

Sony seem to make pretty decent cheap Mini-DV cams.

All the Sony use glass carl zeiss lens which are really good. It seems to me alot of the xtras that you pay more are easily recreated when you're editing on a computer and are an unnessary expense.

A Mini-DV cam will prolly get you the best quality for the price than any other format..


I don't that will change the quality at all - I think firewire is less likely to drop frames during the capturing stage.

Less dropped frames = higher quality video

(Firewire gives you faster download speeds too.)

DV is captured in real time :)

Firewire is superior to USB for uploading video from camera to computer or camera to internet.

I have a Handycam and I've uploaded dozens of hours of footage. With USB, it is nothing but problems. With Firewire, smooth sailing.

But don't take my word for it...

http://www.usb-ware.com/firewire-vs-usb.htm

Didn't Sony buy Carl Zeiss?

So they could put that name on the end of a Coke bottle if they wanted to.

LOL - I'm just teasing you.....

Of course firewire is better - I was just nit picking by saying its not faster for capturing Mini-DV tapes because they are captured in real time..


Is this true - damn....

I do know my photography friends still swear by em..

http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/.../sony-hc62.jpg

I'm going to get this one next week. It looks ok-ish. I'm getting a second hand Sony PD-150 at some stage but the fine details seem to be taking for ever. i can just use the HC62 as a carrry arounf camera.

I don't see much point in getting HD at this stage as I don't have the equipment to edit it.

Yeah, of course you can edit if you save to DVD/Mini DVD.

But camcorders that shoot to DVD store in MPEG2 (obviously, so they can be played on a DVD player).

MPEG2 is a lossy compression scheme that uses a system of key frames and intermediate predicted frames. So editing a video clip is more likely to suffer generational loss because by chance you are likely to be using predicted frames to generate more predicted frames.

Well they don't exactly own them, but they have a 'close partnership'.

http://www.vision.zeiss.com.au/__c12...ocument&click=

Note in the link that lenses are designed by Carl Zeiss and then manufactured in a plant jointly chosen by Carl Zeiss and Sony.

I wonder who would wear the pants in that relationship, based or relative industrial might?