DVcam video quality - JVC vs Panasonics vs sharp vs sony....

[SingSing]

Hi,

I was not that happy about the video quality from my DVcam. So I went to store and do a private head to head test by dropping a minDV tape into different brands of DVcam on display, and than view the tape at home.

The low one has to be Panasonics. These few to me look middle of the road to me : JVC and Sharp. I could not do this test on canon and sony ( single and 3 CCD ), because their tape door cannot be access when they are mounted on the store camera holders.

Is there a site or this site should support test video from various DVCam ?

[SingSing]

Is there a DV cam review web site out there ?

[vhelp]

SingSing,

* have you made any progress since this morning on this ??

* do you have any sample clips you've ben racking your brains
out on that I can check out (and compare to mine)

* note, I've done what you have too several days ago, except,
I bought just one. I bought one of their top models for like
around $900+ and did a quick test of caps with it (couple of
hours is all I needed) and then returned the unit. Forgot
the exact model, but if i go back to store, maybe i'll try
and remember model. But, heck, for the amount of money i spent
on the Sony... Good thing i was able to return it (I know a
friend who looks out for me)
I did some tests with the Sony, ie, use my Canon ZR-10's miniDV
tapes I taped to, and played it in the Sony, and also captured
to my hd via fireware, and basically, the results were the same!!
Not surprising to me though. I kind of figure it would be the
same! Again, I don't care much for the "passthrough" feature.
I usuasually don't have the time to use this feature anyways.
And taping to miniDV tapes is my best option, as I'm always in the
middle of surfing, or encoding or both, ect. So, taping to a
miniDV is best for me.
I've also tried taping to miniDV tapes from the higher end Sony
too. But the quality was the same.
So, that pretty much settled my hunch. It's not the unit itself, ie
lens, as someone mention from another thread. Rubbish!

I believe that it's the Codec driver, or a software issue somewheres.
It's just a matter of finding exactly where it is. But, I think
that some filters CAN fix some of the quality, and on some of the
captures, but not all.

Ok, maybe this doesn't affect the "color space" issue when you use
the "passthrough". I don't know, cause I don't seem to have this
feature. So, I'll assume you and I don't have this feature, and
also, I'll assume that the "passthrough" feature is not effected.
Only when you tape to a miniDV tape. I could be wrong. Need more
tests.

So, let me know if you have any short samples to d/l, like VCDs is ok.

[b]* R U making VCDs or SVCDs??[b]

Well, I'm in the middle of d/l'ing, and encoding, and doing all sorts
of things with my DV cam... ...my quest to finding the answer.
My whole problem could just be the simple fact that I have windows 98
and I'm not using the right driver, etc. but I don't think that should
effect the "color space" problem. Still sounds like a driver issue to me.

Somebody must know what is causing the "color space" (color wash) problem
with ALL these DV cam's capture to hardrive.

-vhelp

[SingSing]

On this web site, we can see a lot of people are getting into DVcam. They are more expensive, but are they better in their primary function : video capturing ?

Quite a few of brand/models are real dogs. We should help to filter them out. Just like we figure out what are the good DVD player, and what are the pains ( like sony and panasonics and ... ).

In general, i think dv are more convience, especially if you shoot a lot, or want to use CD as storage media. But I still looking at some Hi-8 camcorder video which is much crisper and brilliant than any DVcam.

Sigh....

[sumibas]

hi,

i have a Sony Digital-8 Model TCRTRV320 NTSC. I have compared it with hi-8 (sony , cannon) and digital8 from cannon i would say sony hi-8 and digital 8 are the best out of this. but i never had a chance to go into campare DVcam. but digital8 is a good one.

[resnullius]

in theory highend minidv are a good deal better than the other ones lower end however are the same as digital 8.
There is labdv.com that i think has a large amount of dv cam users unfortunatly it's a pay site now. cnet.com accepts user input, and i usually ind it's a very good site for such things...

[MegaBit]

I use a JVC GR-DV2000. It's a single CCD unit but has progressive scan and 2 megapixel sensor for still frame capture to an SD/MMC card.

It works great for typical use but the low light sensitivity is a bit lacking. Audio is superior and the still frame capture is okay (nothing like a real 2 MP still camera).

I think a 3-CCD unit is the best way to go, especially after spending $2K on this model early last summer.

[SkinnyDog]

Try these sites for some camcorder reviews, but there really don't seem to be a lot of good sites out there.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/
http://www.ecoustics.com/Home/Home_Video/Camcorders/Camcorder_Reviews/

[FredThompson]

in theory highend minidv are a good deal better than the other ones lower end however are the same as digital 8.
There is labdv.com that i think has a large amount of dv cam users unfortunatly it's a pay site now. cnet.com accepts user input, and i usually ind it's a very good site for such things...

labdv never had a lot fo good dv stuff. There were a few short articles (shooting under water, etc.) but that was about it. If you poke around epinions you'll find there are DV reviews by at least one pro videographer. I bought the Canon ZR25MC after reading how low he ranked Sony's models. Canon has a new batch out that include passthru. (1.5 months after I bought mine, sigh.)

[SingSing]

http://www.dvspot.com/features/ has review and short video on Canon, Panasonic and Sony Dv and Digital-8. These video show the Most of the DVcams are just so and so. Before I bought one, I think belive it, now I do.

Out of the bunch, the clearer video did came from Sony Digital-8 TRV130. But I did not get a digital-8 because of their size.

Most of these DVcam problems are capturing in low light condition, and it have to be the size/quality of the CCD.

I still think DVcam is generally smaller and easier for digital transfer. they are not better.