MiniDV's around £300? What should I buy or avoid

[dockerslund]

I'm about to buy my first MiniDV Camcorder.
I don't want to spend too much.
Around £300 maybe.
What brands/models should I look at, and which ones should I avoid.
I realise that I won't get the best camcorder in the world for around £300, but I still hope that some of you experts can give me a bit of advice.

One final thing. I'm going on holiday in October, and will stop over in Qatar for a few hours. Is it generally cheaper to buy camcorders in the Gulf?

Hope you can help me a bit, as I don't really know anything about camcorders.

[TommyVecetti]

My honest advice is to go into a newsagents or WHS and buy a copy or what camcorder or camcorder user. That way you can read all the reviews and see what you might be getting for your money.

And I would buiy the camcorder here in the UK. I don't know what system they use in the gulf, it might be incompatible.

Hope that helps

[dockerslund]

Ok, thanks Tommy.
On my way to the newsagent.

One last question:
Which one is the better one?
JVC GR-D20 or the Samsung VPD-80?

[TommyVecetti]

I'd buy a JVC model over a Samsung any day!

[dockerslund]

Ok, Tommy.
Will have that in my mind.
Must admit that I fancied the Samsung VPD-31, which I saw yesterday.

[TommyVecetti]

I reckon from past experience of owning a samsung model and two JVCs that JVC seemed to have the edge with regards to picture quality.

As for the spec, the JVC is better, neither however have DV input which I consider important for putting your edited footage back to tape. You can buy a device that enables DV in for about £40 I understand.

[dockerslund]

I must admit that I thought the JVC GR-D20 looked really cheap and not very nice, compared to the Samsung VPD-31, when I looked at both at a Jessops yesterday. And the Samsung is only £50 extra. But if the picture quality is better on a JVC, then I can see your point.
I'm not going to buy a camcorder, before mid-September, so I'll just have to check the internet from time to time.