I'm looking for a MiniDV camcorder and really don't want to spend loads on my first one. I had a budget of £200 but the three 1mentioned above can be had from £200 to £240 which is my limit.

Both these camcorders have the same amount of features but I must confess I'm unsure as to all thier uses. The features I'm really not sure about are DV-in and optical zoom. I can't quite work which is best 25X or 20X. As for DV-in from performing searches on here I've concluded that its more for transferring edited footage from PC eventually to VCR. However, I had thought I'd put the footage onto DVD through the PC.

Its really only going to be for special occasions and trips out etc. Whether it needs all the bells and whistles I'm not sure to be honest.

The JVC seems to have a few more features than the Panasonic and Sony and I have to say I can't see much difference between Panasonic and the Sony.

Any help much appreciated as its alot harder than I thought to choose a camcorder!

ive not looked up those cameras but i would go for sony everytime, i have the sony dcr hc39e and the picture quality is amazing

I have been looking at the same models.
I was thinking about the PANASONIC NVGS17B but I can't seem to find review of it anywhere.

Marcus

PS in general terms the larger the optical zoom the better.

yeah it depends on what features you want, i would recommend either buying a video camera magazine from whsmith or somewhere like that or there is an american camcorder review website www.camcorderinfo.com

[TheWhiteHouse]

Originally Posted by ScoobyDriver

The JVC seems to have a few more features than the Panasonic and Sony and I have to say I can't see much difference between Panasonic and the Sony.

I've got the same budget and have been looking at the same models, probably a good idea to pop into a store and get your hands on them all to see which you like the feel of.

[beachy]

like the rest of you guys i could'ent find reviews on the panasonic nvgs17b,but i bought it anyway for the following reasons,it is my first digital camcorder and also did'ent want to spend to much as i also had a small budget,other reasons were panasonic camcorders seem to have very good reviews in general,most reviews i have read for JVC camcorders seem to be very poor,and i also have other panasonic products which always come out top i have never had any complaints with panasonic products.

as i only got it last saturday i can't give a full review,but i will say for the price it has some nice features very compact feels nice in the hand great 24x optical zoom and also one touch navigation joystick control,i was a little dissapointed that the viewfinder was black and white but i can live with that,also it does'ent come with any software or mini dv tape but again for myself nothing major.

i plan to try it out this weekend at one my local football games,just to try to get a feel for it,so i will let you know the outcome as in picture quality etc,but finally i must say for the price IMHO i very much doubt you will pick up anything better.