CAMCORDERS- WHICH ONE???

Question

I AM LOOKING TO BUY A GOOD MINI DV CAMCORDER...I WAS THINKING OF THE HV30 HIGH DEF ONE? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I DO EDITING AND EFFECTS.

Answer 1

I don't think you need any help. The Canon HV30 is as good as it gets as an HD camera under $1,000.

Choosing HDV (HD miniDV) is smart choice too. It beats HDD (Hard Drive) and miniDVD camcorders any day. HDV camcorders have less compression= better quality, easier to edit (MiniDV is compatible with every video editor), easier and cheaper to archive source footage on cheap $2 MiniDV cassettes.

More specifically, the HV30 is probably the best choice you can make. It has excellent HD resolution, stunning color saturation, super fast and super accurate automatic controls, has a 1/8" mini-stereo input for external mics, and also has a 24p mode (for that expensive looking film-ish look).  

It's great for point-and-shoot kind of people who like HD quality in a pocket (well almost pocket)-sized camcorder. However, it may frustrate those who are manual control freaks.....cuz it's manual controls suck--they are a pain to use...all consumer cams are like that though.

Overall, the HV30 is a great camera. Being a MiniDV tape-based camcorder, it's easy to edit, and it'll work on pretty much everything you got. I'm not saying it's better than a pro camcorder, but it's pretty impressive considering it's size and price. Even if you decide NOT to use HD (which may be a good idea considering hard drive and playback issues), it's standard def mode is very good.

The only other consumer camera I'd ever think about considering next to the HV30 is Sony's HC9. Even that's $1,000. It's picture quality is good, but it doesn't have much more to offer so it's probably a better deal to go with the HV30.

So I hope that helps, and good luck!!!