Hard Disk Camcorder image quality

[Jon12345]

I have read various comments about hard disk camcorders having lower quality compared to mini DV etc. Is this true? If so, why is it lower quality? Is there really much difference?

Thanks,

Jon

[redsox_mark]

It's sort of true, but a vast oversimplification.

The details are slightly different depending on if you are talking about standard definition or high definition, but the main factors are:

- The tape based formats (DV and HDV) use less compression than the HDD formats.

- The tape transport is cheaper to produce

So what happens is that a specific price point, you'll generally get better quality with a tape based cam. E.g. a £300 DV model will be better than a £300 HDD model. But a £400 HDD model could be as good as a £300 DV model.....

So in general you will need to trade off either some quality and pay the same price; or trade off price to get similar quality.

As long as you have thought this out and know why you want HDD and are willing to pay the "price", then that's fine.