I'm interested in purchasing a video camera. Don't know which is better..dvd or hard drive? Any information?

Question

I can spend up to $500. Would like to know the pros and cons of both the dvd and hard drive cameras.

Answer 1

This depends largely on how much QUALITY you want in your videos. If quality is not the issue and you want ease of use Go DVD / Mini-DVD once the video is finished you can just finalize the disc and its ready to play or share (Or you can Copy 'Rip') the whole disc for copies to give away. If you need 'Economy' get the Hard Drive /  Memory Chip type so you don't need to buy 'Media' for recording. For the BEST Quality, get a Mini-DV Tape - You can get a LOT Of Camera for $500.00

Good-Luck!

Answer 2

just repeating some prior info i just gave but still very relevant to you.

there are a couple of considerations when looking at cameras.

first, look at budget and then work out the best you can get for the money spent. try to steer clear of second hand units as they are usually more trouble than they're worth.

second, decide on a format to suit your style. most people are getting Hard drive cameras without thinking of the implications of the design. i will keep using mini dv tape myself until the bitter end as i think they are still the best format for low budget film making. you can use them in many HD cameras and will offer better archival storage and far superior image quality compared to DVD and HDD.

third - what sort of shooting are you looking to do? indoor studio? or outdoor sporting events etc. many cameras are good for one but might be lacking for the other. try to find something that suits your needs and work out features you may find useful. eg - night vision sounds great but it's highly unlikely that you'll use it regularly. but if you found something with decent mic inputs and separate sound controls you may find that FAR more useful.

consider you applications, decide your format and look at how much you want to spend. make a short list then try them out.

good luck to you.

PS - for the record, I use a sony hvr-v1p. it is an amazing cam and looks as good as super 16mm film.

Answer 3

the pros of dvd is it's easiest to use. Take your video, finalize it and you now have a dvd that you can send to relatives and friends or watch on your tv.  The pro of hard drive is you can take hours of video at one time (if you want to film gone with the wind for example). And not have to change dvds or cassettes. And transfering to your pc for editing is easy because it's already in a file. The file on a dvd needs translating to edit.  A con for dvd is high quality mini-dvd is only 20 minutes or so. Cons for both formats is they are low-quality. Mini-dv cassettes give the best quality of all formats.