[FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Hi all! I am hoping for some guidance to find the right package for a relative beginner. I am looking for a second hand camcorder that will produce good quality image and cope with indoor filming. I really need it to have a dv out (think that is the right description) so that I can transfer clips to computer and edit on Pinnacle (this is what I am told I will need to edit and copy to dvd). Please, if anyone feels I have been misinformed, please let me know
I saw what looked like a nice machine on ebay which sold for £150 - Sony DCR TRV 255e but was unsure if I should go ahead. Ideally I would like to pay between £100 to £140 (probably unrealistic I guess).
I really hope some kind soul will spare the time to dispense some wisdom?
Thanks in advance Ellie[/FONT]

Just wanted to add:
I have browsed the forum and read some really helpful threads (new speak to me). This is such a cool set up, many thanks, however I really would still appreciate feedback on the above, ta!

[MarkE19]

If you can find them in goos condition and at the right price then you should be very pleased with the following - Sony TRV33 (probably still out of pricerange as its a very popular model), TRV22 & TRV19 (I think these are the model numbers).
The above camcorders are a couple of years old now, but are amoungst the best camcorders Sony have made in this price range. I'm not too sure of their prices second hand, so perhaps even lower models may be all you can afford. Later models do tend to have more whistles & bells but the overall quality seems to have been lowered to squeeze them in at an acceptable price point.

All digital camcorders will have a firewire (aka DV port, iLink, ieee1394) output for connecting to a PC to capture the video. Some will even have DV-in that will allow you to capture back to a new DV tape, and if lucky you might get one with AV-in that allows you to connect a VCR or analogue camcorder and use the DV cam to digitise the analogue tapes so they can also be captured. Don't even try to do this via USB as the results will be poor.

Pinnacle Studio is a very good program for video editing and creating a DVD output, but be aware that a lot of people find the software unstable and have no end of trouble with it. I would suggest you also have a look at Adobe Premiere Elements, Sony Vegus Studio & Ulead Video Studio. All of them can be downloaded from the makers web sites for a free 30 day trial and if you do like one of them they can be bought for around £40 - £50.

Good luck with your start in this great hobby. Let us know how you get on.

Mark.

Many thanks Mark I will follow up your suggestions and let you know how I get on,
Ellie

Hi Ellie, I've just listed a Sony DCR-TRV255e on ebay and I came across your thread when I was looking for information. The other camcorder that I have is more complicated and it is quite easy to press the wrong setting but Sony have done a lot with this one to make it new user friendly. The quality of the video is just as excellent as on the more expensive cameras. I would suggest that you get a wide angle lens as well as you can't get groups in with any of these cameras very easily. A ploy to extort more money I reckon. I use Nero Vision Express for general editing. The only problem I had was when I saved the video onto the pc with another programme and tried to use Nero to edit it. It all went horrible wrong but saved to the pc using Nero worked fine. Check out 7565074766 on ebay if you haven't got one yet and ask me any question you like. John