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<P>I bought a Panasonic Mini-DV model for around $500 from Best Buy to replace my aging Canon. The new camcorder has 3 CCDs as opposed to 1 and the color is noticeably better.</P>
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<P>Audio is not great but generally acceptable for family videos. It seems most manufacturers are eliminating the external audio input jack on models in this price range. Unfortunate.</P>
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<P>After a lot of research I think Mini-DV is still preferable to DVD in terms of reliability and I'm a little leary of an HDD in a camcorder. I have a DVD player/recorder so I can burn directly to DVD without turning on a computer which is convenient but either way, I'd stick with Mini-DV for now.</P>
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<P>One other thing, the flash memory cards aren't usually included anymore. I haven't found them to be particularly useful anyway.<BR><BR>I was happy with the Canon and I really like the Panasonic.</P>
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<P>Jay</P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">-------------- Original message from "Nathan C. Smith" <nathan.smith@ipmvs.com>: -------------- <BR><BR><BR>> <BR>> > <BR>> > Best Buy has several models that use hard disk or flash media. Also, I <BR>> > don't mind the DV format. Any opinions on models I should consider or <BR>> > avoid? <BR>> > <BR>> > <BR>> <BR>> I've been wondering about those really cheap models from AipTek and the <BR>> like. We have a Sony Hi-8 that I do capture the video from (not very <BR>> convenient) and occasionally do something with it. My gripe is always the <BR>> sound. Can't hear a blessed thing without turning up the sound - usually <BR>> both digitally and during playback. Sound wasn't so important when the kids <BR>> were younger though. <BR>> <BR>> A cheap digital would probably trade convenience for fidelity, but who <BR>> knows? I'm
keenly interested in the experiences of others as well. <BR>> <BR>> -Nate <BR>> _______________________________________________ <BR>> Cialug mailing list <BR>> Cialug@cialug.org <BR>> http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug </BLOCKQUOTE>
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