hd mini-dv or mini-dv camcorder

[gomez1]

I want to spend around $1,500 for a camcorder. Should I buy a hd mini-dv or mini-dv camcorder?

Why not hd?

Thanks in advance

[erayboul]

In the consumer/prosumer digital video world there are two main formats HDV and MiniDV. I went to B&H Photo's website (www.bhphotovideo.com). There is only one HDV (high definition) that's around your price range. It is actually slighty over at $1549. This model is the Sony HDR-HC1. I do not know anything about it other than I know that it is a 1-CCD design. As far as MiniDV is concerned, using B&H's Camcorder Guidester feature (get to it by choosing Video - Consumer and then Camcorders) there are 5 camcorders in your price range that I would consider, all 3-CCD designs. The camcorder that I use is a Sony VX2000. It has been discontinued and replaced with the VX2100. I paid about $2400 for mine, but the 3-CCD design of the VX2000 was the most important consideration. The colors are so much better and the camcorder does so well in low light. I'm not sure if the 3-CCD design plays a real big part in low-light capabilities, however. The main reasons that I haven't made the jump to HD yet are that I don't have a HDTV, and there are no high-definition video disc formats out on the market yet such as Blu-Ray or HD DVD. You can encode HDV video to a format such as Windows Media Video High Definition though, but you have to play that on a computer. BTW, there is a pretty good website out there for doing camcorder research: www.camcorderinfo.com .

[gomez1]

Thanks for your reply, now I understand why not to get a HD-camera.
I don't know if this makes sense, but do you think in the future that we will be able to transfer for example already recorded dvd to a blue-ray or hd-dvd and watch the movie in a HDTV.

This camera looks nice, great reviews.

[VideoTechMan]

I would stick to MiniDV for now, because besides the lack of media, there are also limited options to edit HD since alot of the current software packages doesnt support it, although Premeire Pro has an HDV plugin for the Panasonic camcorders.

Im hoping to save for the Sony PD-170....lots of good reviews for that cam, though its about twice the cost though (almost $3K).