Hi all,

I'm looking for a miniDV camcorder to make some decent student films. Most of my films will be published for the web, but I do want a camcorder that will give me picture quality good enough to be projected in a small theater.
Sadly, I really don't have the funds to go for a high-end 3 CCD prosumer model (I'm looking to keep my spending at around $1,000), so I'm trying to stick to a high-quality 1 CCD. I've had my eye on the Canon Optura Xi for a while now, because I've read that it has excellent video performance as well as a host of manual controls, and I can get it for about $900. Does anyone have any personal opinions to share about this camera? Also, can anyone recommend some camcorders which may suit me well?

Here's what I'm looking for:
-Large CCD to provide high color accuracy
- $900-1100 price range
-Optical image stabilization
-Good manual focus using a ring (gotta have the focus ring)
-Manual control of shutter speed and exposure
-Low light performance isn't that big of a deal for me, since most of my subjects will be lighted
-I don't really care for digital stills, either

Thanks in advance for any help.

A good website is www.camcorderinfo.com
there the have hundreds of reviews from camcorders, all tested and almost all of the camcorders are tested by the same person, so its very good to compare, also the check it under special conditions etc... take a look

WARNING: You cannot just take a 5 sec. look, its a BIG website so take your time

I have a Sony Dcr-trv70 which is the same as the TRV80 verison. I've pretty much used it for everything and I can tell you, the cam is awesome. If you don't care about low-light, this camcorder does a superb job under lighted conditions especially outdoors. I don't want to sway you from the Xi, which is probably better because it is newer. But I've have nothing but great results with my trv70. The only complaint about it is, that my firewire port on the cam died a year later and now I'm stuck doing analog transfers until I can get a new one.(AG-DVX100A)!!!! I think the trv70 is cheaper now. All my videos have been shot with the trv70. I wish I can show you but all my videos are in .wmv format and you really can't tell. Good luck on your purchase.

Take a look at the Pany 953. Or its newer improved version the GS400.

Sony makes really great low-cost products. Take a look at their product line; I would recommend every model on it.

i just got a gs400. the equivalent to the trv900 but a hell of a lot cheaper. very nice features, nice to use.

Try E Bay

I have seen xl-1'a on there for really great prices, probably because they were stolen from the back of a truck or something.

Pan Modo, recently i nearly bought one of them, but after tracing an email supposedly from e-bay saying 'the seller is safe' back to the actual seller, i would not recomend using ebay unless through a store/ user with a score over a thousand

Go for a lightly used TRV-900. These things are a steal and produce GREAT results when in manual (and even in full auto, but a little too much gain IMO in dark settings in auto). I have a GL-2 and TRV-900. Other then the classic "Canon Magenta and Sony Cyan" differance, they both look great, the Canon has less menu driven manual adjustments. I got my TRV-900 for $900. The GL2 costed a lot more and I still cant tell the footage apart. For for a 3-CCD. Theres no comparison.

I know a few camera stores that sell on ebay that sell used stuff, but yeah you are right it is a risk. I don't think you will find a huge difference in 1 ccd cameras, but try that cheap panasonic 3ccd camera, even though it has cheap ccd's the quality is still better than a 1ccd for sure, plus it's around $1000.

quote:

Originally posted by StuDioRb:
I have a Sony Dcr-trv70 which is the same as the TRV80 verison. I've pretty much used it for everything and I can tell you, the cam is awesome.

Can you please explain the white balance to me of this camcorder? i have the trv60 (same as the 70. Only different name in The Netherlands or in whole europe, i dont know) for over a year now.

And iam not THAT happy whit it. One of biggest reasons is the lack of manual white balance.

There is a function called "HOLD" but i have the feeling that it does not do anything rather than hold the automatic WB so that the colour does not change.

But i want to point the camera to a white piece of paper and adjust the WB. But that is not possible whit the TRV70 (i think)

Can you give your opinion on this?

quote:

I do want a camcorder that will give me picture quality good enough to be projected in a small theater.

Stay away from miniDV... blech. It looks awful projected, even with "decent" setups.

Actually, my films shot on Super 8, transferred to miniDV, then projected from DVDs looked far better than projects that originated on miniDV. Something about video origination that looks awful projected.

The Panasonic 3CCD cameras are about the cheapest in that category, but the price definitely shows. There is a lot of smear and bleeding and the tendency is to blow out highlights in auto mode. The manual controls are not full-featured and comprehensive, either.

I have a GL2, which is a nice piece of equipment. A shame it records DV on tapes

quote:

A shame it records DV on tapes Wink

Evan, I had a dream that I invented the Andromeda Reelstream for the GL2. And sold it for thousands, and made millions, and oddly enough, instead of buying a really nice camera, I used my money to buy more "reelstreamed" GL2s. What an odd dream