JVC or Sony?

B

Ben Mex

Guest
I am finally trying to decide which camcorder to buy . My budget is 500 and not a penny more. I have narrowed it down to the JVC GRDV700EK and the Sony TRV33 - I can find both of them for less than my budget, which means I can also buy a spare battery or something! I had the Canon MV6IMC in there as well because of its connectivity but after reading some reviews I have more or less decided against it. I have read with interest what people say about the Sony in this forum and it appears to me everybody is in favour of it. Consequently, I have almost decided to go for it – mind you, it seems to me the only make people in this forum buy is Sony! However, the reason I have the JVC still there is because of its faster lens and because I AM interested in digital stills (I haven’t got a digital camera and I am not planning to get one in the foreseeable future because a have a very good 35mm SLR) and the JVC gives you more options when it comes to digital stills. I know they are not going to be as good as the ones taken with a digital camera but they don’t have to be! They just have to be decent ones, which I can send to friends by e-mail and sometimes print. Any advice will be most welcome!
 
Hi Ben and welcome to the mad house :hiya:

The thing to think about with a camcorder is, is it comfortable to hold? The only way to find out is to go to a local shop and hold it (I always recommend Jessops as they will pricematch the internet if you have details of the cheapest site). This should be the first thing to help make your mind up about which of the 2 cams to go for. Many people tend to go with Sony cams as they are very good quality and have great features, but if another make does what you require then go for it. I personally have owned 3 Sony camcorders and love my current TRV-900e. I don't tend to buy much Sony gear, but I do think their cams are just about the best in the consumer market.

I hope my above ramblings have been of at least some help. Once you get out there and start to play with the cam let us know how you get on, or keep the questions coming if you have any more. Once you do have the cam I'm sure you'll be back here often to get advise on editing on a PC/Mac etc as that is where the fun really does start :devil: .

Mark.
 
Thanks, Mark, for the advice, and for the pointer about Jessops :smashin: - I'll pay them a visit as soon as I get a moment.

As I said, I have more or less decided to go for the TRV33 because it seems to be a good camcorder. However, maybe I should re-phrase my question: what camcorder should I go for if I also wanted decent stills, bearing in mind I only have 500 to spend :(?

Anyhow, I'll let you know how I get on!
 
The stills for the TRV33 are not bad at all, nowhere near 35mm or high res digital still quality, but still pretty usable for emails and web sites.

Look OK as A4!
 

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