DV Camcorder Advice

[nadface]

Hey!

I've been toying about with the Movie functions on my Canon Digital Ixus II, and am now wanting something a bit more substantial in the field - primarily to be able to use to take on tour with me with my band for us to be able to film with it.

As far as video quality goes - I'm actually happy with the quality that I can get off my IXUS - any reccomendations?

I'd give you a budget but I'm not exactly sure how much to spend.. preferably as cheap as possible (I am a student ) but I'd be willing to spend a couple of hundred at most.

Cheers!

 

[nadface]

Would a feesable alternative be to buy an Analogue Camcorder and some form of Input box for my computer?

Or would I end up having to spend so much for a decent quality analogue camera?

Cheers!

 

[MarkE19]

OK, a requirement for the camcorder for the use you want is manual focus as low light conditions such as a band without good stage lighting could cause all sorts of problems. I'd advise against the smaller camcorders as you will want a larger lens to let more light in.
If money is tight then I suggest you look at the Panasonic cams, but Sony and perhap Canon are also good. Panasonics do tend to be slightly better in low light as they often have a larger CCD. I'd stick to single CCD rather than 3 as this will also help in low light and only DV if getting a digital camcorder.

An analogue Hi8 camcorder may be a good option if you can find one at a good price. They wont have as good PQ for general use, but in low light they will outperform a budget digital camcorder. But you will then need to spend a bit on a capture device for the PC. If PQ is not too important then a USB2.0 capture device for around £30 may be good enough, but IMO they are fairly poor quality. If you could afford £150+ then I would advise you look for a Canopus ADVC converter that plugs into the firewire port on a PC and has the analogue inputs for connecting a Hi8m camcorder to.

Sorry I can't recommend any specific models, but I've not been looking at what is available for a few years as my camcorder is still going strong.

Mark.

 

[MartinImber]

I have videoed bands with a 35lux tube camera - which gave better results than a newer generation CCD video camera with built in vhs deck

 

[nadface]

Hey!

Cheers for the replies.

To elabourate on what I'm going to use it for - I mean, it'd be nice to be able to film stuff on stage but that isn't going to be it's primary purpose - more for like "home video" type footage of when we go on tour, most probably us just pissing about in the van or wherever really.

Does this open up any more doors for me by uplifting low light conditions?

Cheers!