Looking to buy a DV Camera

[JayX]

Thought i'd finally take a step into the world of MiniDV/Digital8 but finding it a nightmare to find a suitable camera.

I know one thing : it MUST have DVIN or be hacked via www.lynxdv.com 's appliance to do DVIN. I really want to get the most out of my PC with it, and in my opinion, this is essential , as i dont have a DVDR and i dont want to downsample my work when i run out of hdd space

I have my eye on a secondhand JVC DVL157, which i believe to be the dvl150 with the DVIN i require, and its quite a reasonable price (price is the other important thing, i simply can't afford the price of most of the DVIN cameras i've seen, so would rather buy second hand, get a bargain or a cheaper "last years model". £500-600 is pretty much the maximum i'd have to spend)

The other cams i have my eye on are the Sony TRV120E (hackable im sure) and the TRV140 (NOT in the list, but possibly hackable) both look to be good cams, altho i've found it hard to find reviews except on whatcamcorder.net

Any suggestions would be great, i'm mainly lookin at the JVC and SONY ranges, as they seem to be the more popular makes, and the budget Canons etc don't seem to be as favoured, but maybe i've just been mislead.

Thanks a lot
Jay

[JayX]

^Bump^ :D

[nigel_williams]

I've got a Panasonic DV35 which is nearly 2 years old. Great camera, nice and small, good optical zoom (15x). It was about £800 when I bought it.

It only has DV-Out as I use my PC to edit. I do have some software to enable DV in using the docking station for capturing stills.

[Goose]

I`ve got the JVC GR-DVL157 & think its an excellent camcorder.
Hav`nt really played with the DV in/out side of it yet so can`t really help you there.
Did get some editing software supplied with the camera (JLIP Video Capture which allows you to download stills.
Would`nt mind some sotfware where by I could actually watch what I`m editing via my pc monitor if thats poss,if anybody has got any suggestions.(sorry ,dont know much about that side of it).

[JayX]

Thanks guys, and im glad that the 157 has a fan, as i can't find much info about it.. im more than a bit tempted towards it at the moment :D

[Goose]

While I think about it , if you do decide to go for the JVC & you need an extra battery try this site:

www.countybattery.co.uk/


I`ve just bought a spare for mine for £29.99 inc p&p which is a damn site cheaper than the original JVC batteries.Works just as well as the original.

[JayX]

http://www.jvc-victor.co.jp/english/cyber/e_uk/europe/mini_dv_camera/gr_dvl557_555.html

just bought that from eBay. £490 including 5 MiniDVs (9.99 each according to jessops) and that JVC Fifa 4xDVD which is pretty cool.

Brand new from a store that sells on there, so pretty good deal (the slightly higher model (the 567) on QED sells for about 580)

Thanks for the help and the confidence to go with JVC :)

Looking forward to shooting in anamorphic WS now :D lets hope my DVD players support anamorphic modes on SVCD heh :)

[RIDGMONT]

Try Lets Go Digital (http://www.letsgodigital.co.uk) they have excellent service and often special offers I got an £800 Panasonic MX5 for £400 with next day delivery thrown in.