Hiya

firstly like to say what a great forum

It been quite useful to help read comments to decide what camcoder to buy

My background is that i my dad does asian weddings on a dsr 250 dvcam edited on a Dv storm system. So i m happy using dv capturing and making a DVD.
But this camcorder is for my wife for family and she wants something as simple as possible
Ideally we would like to make dvd out of movies- but not the small 8cm- onto a proper size dvd or dual layer.


AFter lots of headache i decided on a HDD model

I did this as i thought using a DV would mean capturing, and then converting to MPEG etc and making into a DVD

I assumed that the HDD models would make a MPEG file which i could just put into moviefactory and author.

The JVC despite having three chips makes a .mod file.
Also the sony has a handy docking station so eventually i decided to go and buy the dsr90e

I popped down to jessops with all my internet pages printed off to do a price march. They agreed but the sales guy asked what TV i had.

I told him im about to get a LCD HD- either panasonic or sony.



He then said that a HDD cam would look terrible on a LCD HD tv. They ghost and quality looks very poor. He claims they have had a number of people return camcorders because they thought the camcorder was faulty when it infact it was because it was being used on a HDtv.
He reckons as long as i use it on a niormal TV ill be fine but a HDTV ill be disappointed


The second thing he said was that the JVC mg505 is worth paying premium as its 3 chip.
However he reckons that the difference in picture quality between a sr50/ sr70 and sr90 is hardly noticeable. The only difference between these cams is the still picture ability.
He suggested that there only advantage of sr90 is the better sound dolby 5.1.


his advice was that if i decide to still go for a sony hdd camcorder to go for dsr50 or 70 as it cheaper and would do the same job. The dsr70 would give me 60gb harddrive


His recommendation was to go for top range DV model instead like the panasonic DV. Or oif budget allowed the Sony HC3 at around 700

If i particualry wanted a HDD then he said to wait for the Sony sr1e .



This has made me go back to square one and usnure of what to buy?


IS what he is saying true?

should i wait and save up for sr1e? or go for a DV one?

ALso if i go for a HDD is there much picture difference between a sr50 sr70 sr90?


Would saving up and going for the JVC mg505 help matters?


thanks for your advice


confused! and needing help
Raj

[lurcher]

Well I am in a similar pos to you debating whether to buy the SR90E , I am fairly convinced that it will give better quality video than its cheaper models and it has a viewfinder which the other Sony & JVC models dont.
It has received good reviews.
I also went into Jessops last week and was told that the Sony HDD models out performed Mini DV in terms of PQ and that all HDD camcorders didnt have a viewfinder ( even though there was a Sony SR 90E in front of us )

Yes Mini DV is up there but the reviews I have read give the SR90 favourable comparison to the entry level DV camcorders.
For ultimate PQ I use my Sony HC3 ( High Def ).

Sorry - My previous JVC MG 50 HDD camcorder looked ok on my Plasma screen , didnt have a LCD at that time.

[ush flynn]

first of all, ive been out of the camcorder game for about a year but this may help you. Since time began, manufacturers have released series' of camcorders, in this case the SR series, as you know they have a 50,70 and 90. Well ever since 1999 when i started selling camcorders each of these models would be based on the same chasis, and with progressively better features, but rarely would the PQ change unless one of those features became 3ccd, or true 16:9, the actual recording hardware and the processing software would be the same in each model. Its only when you go up a series (usually different model numbers and more money!) that you start getting better glass, bigger chips, more manual control over exposures, manual focus rings etc etc.)

Just before i got a proper job they had released HD camcorders, they were about a grand when they first came out but have no idea of the price now. I never got to use one myself but i can only assume the recording time is less on the same tape? Did they ever produce a longer running dv tape? no idea. Presumably, a HDD HD camcorder is in the works... makes the most sense really

Hiya

Thanks for fast reply

It seems youve been told the opposite that the HDD outperform the DV ones except of course if you have a hc3.

I agree with what you say that on paper the sr90 should be better than the sr70 and sr50.

I checked on chip size and the sr50 has a 1/6 in ccd, the sr90 has 1/3in ccd- double the size.

Hence id assumed the picture to be a lot better.

I discussed with the wife about saving up and going for the best is sr1e which is 1000 and she says she would be on edge carrying a £1000 camcorder incase she dropped it etc or we lost it on holiday. Also the issue of how to edit the AVHCD not sorted out yet



My wife did come up with one sensible comment which was to go for the cheapest Sony HDD ie teh sr30 for 360 pounds- use for a year and see what happens with HD camcorders as they drop in price.

We ideally like a camcorder ASAP as we have a month old baby and want to ckeep memories of what she was like now.
So far we have been using the vide mode on my ixus 500

[lurcher]

Raj uk,
Can you indicate what internet sites/stores Jessops would be prepared to price match ?.

Thanks

Hiya


what i did was go to pricerunner and print out all the prices and then take them to Jessops


They wouldny price match Pixmania or amazon.

A few others such as rgb and KK they would Not match as they said these people sold grey imports.


However bestcameras cameras2u and sselctricals they wouldprice match and these people have the sr90e for 530 comapred to jessops 699 price.


The other thing i was trying was to try and get John Lewis to pricematch- as theu give a free extra years warranty. However they have a stric policy of it having to be a proper shop and on display.

Raj

[redsox_mark]

Raj,

A lot of info here. My comments:


He then said that a HDD cam would look terrible on a LCD HD tv.

I think he was exaggerating here. With a HD TV, I'd recommend getting a HD camcorder if you can... it's not that SD HDD (or DV) will look terrible, but HD will look so much better.

Pound for pound, DV gives you a better picture than SD HDD... but an SR90 is still an excellent camcorder.

The second thing he said was that the JVC mg505 is worth paying premium as its 3 chip.
However he reckons that the difference in picture quality between a sr50/ sr70 and sr90 is hardly noticeable.

MG505 does have 3 small chips, SR90 has one large CMOS. There isn't much in it between the two. The SR90 is a much different cam than the SR50/70, it has a much larger CCD as you have discovered. I disagree with his advice here.

His recommendation was to go for top range DV model instead like the panasonic DV. Or oif budget allowed the Sony HC3 at around 700

If i particualry wanted a HDD then he said to wait for the Sony sr1e .

This sound advice in my view, if you want the best quality for the money. A Panasonic GS500 in the SD domain will give you better picture than the SR90 for similar money. The Sony HC3, especially as you have a HD screen, will blow both of them away.

You are right about the SR1 does not have editing support yet, though Sony Vegas will support it soon I believe. You probably will need to use an intermediate codec to edit it (it will be very CPU intensive to try and edit natively).

My wife did come up with one sensible comment which was to go for the cheapest Sony HDD ie teh sr30 for 360 pounds- use for a year and see what happens with HD camcorders as they drop in price.
We ideally like a camcorder ASAP as we have a month old baby and want to ckeep memories of what she was like now.
So far we have been using the vide mode on my ixus 500

A sensible approach, except your baby will only be a baby for so long... I'd want to get the best footage I can now.
So I'd go with either the HC3, or take a leap of faith on the future editing support and go with the SR1.

[xmb]

The advantage of a DV unit comes in when you want to edit footage as it is the best supported format for editing (even in HD form).

If I want to make a quick DVD of my footage I just connect to the firewire input of my DVD recoder and pop in a disk! No PC, conversion of other messing about to do.

Maybe in a few years time this will change but for now I would stick with DV and if your budget will allow get the Sony HC3 so at least what you capture is in the highest quality available. But don't forget to back it up as maybe in 5 years time they will be no units available to play back your tapes! (But if you went HDD then you need to do this anyway.)

[blicky_1]

Originally Posted by lurcher

Raj uk,
Can you indicate what internet sites/stores Jessops would be prepared to price match ?.

Thanks

Sorry to jump in here but I got a price match yesterday on a lens for my DSLR at Jessops, they said 'as long as it's a UK company with address and it can be verified then thats ok'

I took my print out with me and they checked this on the internet in store.

I saved £40 on a £120 lens, not bad for 5 mins work!!

[ush flynn]

Originally Posted by blicky_1

Sorry to jump in here but I got a price match yesterday on a lens for my DSLR at Jessops, they said 'as long as it's a UK company with address and it can be verified then thats ok'

I took my print out with me and they checked this on the internet in store.

I saved £40 on a £120 lens, not bad for 5 mins work!!

its still to their discretion though so be nice about it! A lot of the time its just jessops being slow to alter prices after thier own buying cost has come down. Thier suppliers (Swains) arent very good when it comes to keeping costs down