First post so please be gentle...

Been following this forum for about six months and feel the need to replace my breeze block size VHS-C camcorder.

I especially like the sound of the new, sub £350 Panasonic and Canon ranges. Whilst I am waiting for local suppliers to receive stock to carry out the obligatory 'see how it feels' test, can anyone offer any comment on either of the ranges. I am especially interested in the Panasonic NV-GS35 vs the Canon MV850. Both seem to offer a compact sized, reliable, easy to use unit, but differences in spec may put one in a more favourable light. It is with this that I require access to the experience that is apparent within the members of this forum.

The Panasonic is listed with a sensitivity of 2 lux whilst the Canon states 0 lux. I understand that this is an indication of the amount of light needed to register an image on the CCD, but what in real terms would the performance be like. Most of it's use will be indoors filming kids growing up etc, so will the difference be noticeable.

The new Panasonic range of NV-GS cameras don't offer the DV-IN feature (except the 'top-of-the-range' units), surely this is an indication that the feature is not as beneficial as posts elsewhere would indicate? Or is it? I have amassed a small mountain of VHS-C tapes over the years, all with odds and end on, I envisage 'getting in to' DV editing and DVD burning to create keep sakes of events. Am I really likely to want to copy the edited video back to a tape? Again any experience would be welcomed.

Finally for now, the Canon's predecessor (MV7XX series) reportedly suffers from transport noise. Any news on the MV8XX series? And again for the general user is it going to be an unbearable issue.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any advice will be welcomed.

Regards,


Stuart.

Anybody...?

[fcat]

cant help you out on the panny's or the canons, however the main reason for a lot of camcorders not having DV in enabled is that the import duty is a lot higher for a camera that is able to record from an external source, its then classed in the same duty tarrif as a video reocrder. Im not sure how much higher this is but i heard mention a while ago of it ending up with between a £75 to £100 increase on the price of the unti!

Ive only used DV in on mine a couple of times in the last 4 years , in general you'll probably not need DV in due to that fact that all your wanting to do is archive your footage on DVD. DV in is great if your wanting to make backup copies of your DV tapes for any reason.

Hi StuartW

I've just been through a similar dilemma, and here's my thoughts FWIW:

Having used a couple of Canon 530i's I was very happy with them, til one of them broke. I looked round to see what the £500 of insurance money would buy: I eventually settled on the Pana NV-GS120, as it's a 3 CCD device and had good reviews. I figured I would be unlikely to need DV in and out, and thought if I needed that capability I'd just buy a card for the PC. The Pana would not connect via firewire, and judging by reports on this forum and others in the USA, I get the impression that Panas above all others are very 'choosy' in the exact firewire chipset and driver software on the PC. I sent mine back for refund, and bought a Canon 750i from Pixmania, who have a very good deal at the moment. One of my reasons for choosing the Canon is that I have a shed load of batteries from the old 530i, as well as the fact that they're the same batteries as fit my EOS300D still camera. Other reasons include is its very good 22x optical zoom, its wide angle attachment, and its pass through analog to digital is a quick way of getting analog footage onto the PC for editing and sticking on to DVD - if you have the time and the patience!

I have not found a problem with tape transport noise on the 530i or the 750i, but this is subjective and depends on the ambient volume anyway. I considered the 8xx series, but they seem to have little improvement over the 7XX series apart from cosmetics, a different power pack, and higher price as they're this year's model.

Another camcorder you might like to consider is the JVC GR-D93, which also came into my reckoning. I can't speak from experience, but the spec sheet is broadly comparable to the Canon MV750i, and it can be found on the internet for about £300 (less than the lower spec GR-D73).

I would not take too much account of the quoted low light performance: I film a lot of equestrian events in the winter evenings, and if you have to rely on the low light functions you'll end up with very jerky footage. Most camcorders in the sub £700 range have only average performance indoors, particularly with artificial light, but generally produce acceptable results (which can often be tweaked if necessary in decent video editing software).

Hope these very subjective impressions help

Paul

Oh yeah, and it'll be AV in for your VHS-C tapes, not DV-in

Paul

I also liked the Canon MOVE750i but I have been put off by people saying on other forums that the noise of the mechanism on the Canon MV750i is rather loud. I am thinking of using the camcorder to film steam engines as Iamb a railway enthusiast, and stuff outside will the mechanism noise affect the quality of sound I can pick up? Does the Canon have a separate microphone socket? I probably wont use this initially but I would like the option in the future.

Thanks in advance.

Tim