One of the perks of running my own small business is being able to use any profits to buy new toys without touching the primary family budget. I’ve purchased recording audio equipment, dvd recorder, new guitar, computer equipment, etc…
My latest purchase is a new MiniDV camcorder to replace the aging Sony Hi8 camcorder we bought before Christian was born in the late ’90’s. Standard definition MiniDV technology is actually on its way out the door and is being replaced by DVD, Hard Drive and HDV camcorders. The problem with DVD technology is that you can only record 18 minutes at the highest resolution and High Definition camcorders are just out of my spending budget right now. I primarily chose to go with the MiniDV format as it was cheapest digital technology available today.
The data rate of DV is a fixed 25Mbps, versus a variable rate of 8.5Mbps for the MPEG-2 compression commonly found in DVD, memory card, and HDD-based camcorders. The higher data rate delivers relatively crisp lines and true colors with less noise and artifacts than standard definition MPEG-2. If quality and editability in a standard definition format are your primary concerns, DV is the way to go.
Since I have a good Canon digital still camera, units with picture taking capabilities were not even considered. I looked at 4 models, the Sony DCR-HC36, Canon ZR800, Panasonic PV-GS320 and Panasonic PV-GS80.
Sony DCR-HC36
Pros: Top loading tape bay, AC plugin external, 0 Lux ability, Connections all external
Cons: Digital Image Stabilization, Picture Quality, 20x Optical Zoom, Touch Screen controls.
Canon ZR800
Pros: External Mic Input, power connection external, Picture Quality, 35x Optical Zoom, Built-in Lens Cap
Cons: Digital Image Stabilization, Bottom loading tape bay (Can’t change tapes on tripod), Internal mic picks up tape motor noise.
Panasonic PV-GS320
Pros: 3 CCDs, Best Image Quality, Optical Image Stabilization, Leica Lens, Top loading tape bay
Cons: Higher cost, 10x Optical Zoom, Firewire and power connection behind battery
Panasonic PV-GS80
Pros: Good Image Quality, Optical Image Stabilization, 32x Optical Zoom, Top loading tape bay, Price
Cons: Firewire and power connection behind battery, Lens Cap External
I ended up picking up the Pansonic PV-GS80. It came down to price, Image Quality and Optical Image Stabilization. The Sony’s picture quality was just not on par with the others, but had the best connection layout. The Canon lost on the bottom loading tape bay and internal mic picking up the tape motor noise. Even though the Panasonic had the worst Firewire location, dc power location and battery charger (Can only power the camcorder or charge, not both at the same time), the OIS was the winning factor.
I’ve only had it for a couple days, but its been performing great so far. Will be using it this weekend for the Grace Lutheran Vodcast. Stay tuned…