JVC DVP3 or Sony PC9?

Am about to puchase a new camera. Having an old, but useful JVC camera I want to by a 'pocket' camera and I'm having difficulty in deciding between the two above. Anyone else got a preference?

Ideally I would like Analogue in too - but I don't think either the above have this feature.

Plus, I'm not to fussed with the still photo side of it to be honest - it's the size question!!!

Is the JVC really that noisey?

[chriscaller]

I have a DVP3, but personally I wish I'd plumped for the Sony. Here're my reasons:

- JVC is smaller, but battery life at 1hr is pretty poor
- Manual focus. with the JVC you need to press buttons on the side of the unit and wait until the motorised focus does it's job - lowish light and off-centre focussing is a pain and you end up shaking the camera loads whilst trying to focus. Wish they had just done a focus ring on the front of the lens like the Sony.
- Battery doesn't "lock" into place very positively on the JVC, so you can pretty easily "miss" putting the thing on properly, even when sitting down to do it! Don't know about the Sony in this respect...
- Tape eject (admittedly only a few times in a few months) sticks so that you're forced to try it a few times before it works.

As far as noisiness of the JVC is concerned, if you use the zoom you can generally hear it. Also when filming in relative quiet, you can hear the tape-transport/motor noise slightly.

This is all just my personal opinion, but hope it helps anyway

Chris

[colinrbarrett]

Opt for the Sony PC9. Build quality is better, as is picture and sound quality. The JVC suffers from being a bit too flimsy and isn't as robust as the Sony. Memory Stick and DV+Analogue inputs on the Sony are also really good, and you might like the Touch Screen LCD operation of the PC9 (or you might not!!).

Regards

Colin

Colin Barrett
Freelance Contributor, "Camcorder User" and "What Camcorder" magazines.

Website: http://www.simplydv.co.uk