Looking for the best camera on the market... help?

[MikeMcCoy]

Hi, everybody!

I'm kinda in a bind... I'm looking to film a concert this Friday at a ballroom, and I need a great quality camera.. so I was thinking, what is the best quality camera available to the general public? AKA: Best Buy, etc stores..

Price is no issue.. just looking for the best video camera, that'll give me the best quality possible that's on the open market.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[sitlet]

IMO, the best camera is either the Canon GL2 or the Canon XL1. both are around 3 grand. both has different features. depends on what you need exactly

[MikeMcCoy]

Hi!

Thanks, I've actually been looking at those..

What I need it to do is film a concert of 50's type rockabilly music in a ballroom with a stage... so it'll be indoor stage show type lighting. They'll have to be able to zoom a bit, as the camera booths are in the corners of the room. somewhere between 50 and 100 feet from the stage.

Thanks a bunch for the help, let me know what you think!

[proxyx99]

I would go with Sony VX 2000/2100 or TRV 900/950 for indoor shooting. Canon low light perf. is not as good.

[Redd]

Love my Sony DCR VX2100. Do a google search or check Yahoo shopping for best prices. I've seen them for as little as $1579

http://expresscameras.com/cart/prodetails.asp?prodid=29442&start=1

[Meteor]

If money really is no object, try the Panasonic AG-DVX100. Its the only DV cam that can shoot 24 fps progressive. Runs about 3 grand.

[CaseyComb]

If money really is no object, try the Panasonic AG-DVX100. Its the only DV cam that can shoot 24 fps progressive. Runs about 3 grand

I've shot with this camera, the footage looks beautiful, even with minimal lighting. It does 60i, 30i, 30p, and 24p. I have to say that the 24p is absolutely gorgeous for a miniDV cam. It also has two XLR inputs for external mics and an onboard stereo mic. You can have one external mic go to one channel and you could have the onboard go to the other. This camera is ready to shoot in any situation. I've been saving to get one of my own. Sheesh...I should be a Panasonic salesman fer chrissakes!!!

To put it bluntly as far as miniDV goes the AG-DVX100 is the way to go.

[offline]

The Panny AG-DVX100 first time, every time.

[proxyx99]

Love my Sony DCR VX2100. Do a google search or check Yahoo shopping for best prices. I've seen them for as little as $1579

http://expresscameras.com/cart/prodetails.asp?prodid=29442&start=1

Respectfully, for 1600 bucks you'd be a fool not to look at VX2100. No better cam below 3k.

[You_Are_Alive]

Wow, that is an awesome price to pay for the VX2100. I can't believe it's that cheap! I was contemplating on upgrading my VX1000 to something newer but not in the near future. But after reading this and following that other link, thanks Redd, I might just get this alot sooner than I anticipated.

Just one thing though, it seems to good to be true. I don't know, has anyone else bought something from that site? Its well below "normal street value" of $2250 from pricewatch. So maybe it just overstock, but damn, that's low. I just don't want to be the first to find out if it's really true.

Any Canon GL2 users here, it would be helpful to here from some real life experiences with this camera as it is a direct competitor to the DCR-VX2000, not sure about the new VX2100 though. I've handled the first GL, and I hated it. It felt cheap, harder to access buttons, especially the manual focus ring. Just didn't like it for some reason and that's compared to my VX1000.

[fuz]

I would check here first.