Thanks for all the replies.

My wife kinda made my mind up for me, and we got a MV6i MC from Jessops. I
have to say that my first impressions are NOT GOOD. It won't hold its
focus, it wanders out of focus as you pan the camera and it can't stay in
focus when you zoom. I've switched the digital zoom off and I'm only using
the optical but the screen goes blurred no matter how slowly you zoom in or
out. At max zoom (10X) it will not auto focus on anything.

I'm also concerned about the noise the camera makes - it's VERY loud and all
of the whirring noises get picked up on the tape. I know I said that I
would normally edit our noise, but I don't think that I could disguise this
with out deleting the soundtrack altogether.

Have I got a dud, or are all MC6i's the same?? I can't believe that Canon
would release a camera that you can't use the zoom??

Jessops are brilliant and have said to take it back and exchange it for any
other model that I want - back to square one !!!

We did look at the TRV22 but the cost of spare batteries and the touch
screen kind of put me off a bit.

I might just go back to where I was before and get a 600i or 650i - I would
imagine that they're more or less based on the 300i that I had??

Any thoughts or opinions are most welcome, 'cos at the moment I feel very
down !!!!

Cheers

Geoff

As a newbie (to miniDV) I've had a TRV22 for the last few weeks and whilst I
agree that batteries are expensive, I'm glad I got my large capacity model.
It's stopped me worrying about whether there's enough juice.
AF works well at any zoom setting, and the TRV22 has spot focus as well, if you
need it. The touch screen works better than I expected, (you can close it,
"open" that is, against the side of the camera and use the viewfinder to view
and the screen to control), and it seems relatively unbothered by my finger
grease.

It's taken me some time getting used to all its wide variety of features,
though. I've still got lots to learn, but as a basic (?) miniDV, I'm pleased
with its ease of use and good results.

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm


Geoff wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the replies.

My wife kinda made my mind up for me, and we got a MV6i MC from Jessops. I
have to say that my first impressions are NOT GOOD. It won't hold its
focus, it wanders out of focus as you pan the camera and it can't stay in

Malcolm,

Thanks for the feedback on the trv22 - I had a Sony TR105E 8mm camcorder for
about 8 years before I bought the Canon 300i and it was brill.

I never thought that I would have this much hassle replacing a 3 year old
camera!!

I'm sure I must have got a lemon with this MV6i - but it has put me off
getting another one. Apart from the zoom/focus issue and the motor noise, I
can't get the super night mode to work at all - don't want to lose too much
sleep over that, 'cos I don't think I will have an MV6i this time next week.

Jessops ordered in the MV6i and a TRV22 for me to look at - I decided on the
Canon without really having another good look at the Sony. When I first
looked at it, I was impressed with the steady shot, it seemed better than
anything else I'd seen, but that screen....... I suppose I don't think I'd
use it much - just shoot most things on fully automatic and then edit in
Pinnacle Studio or Premiere - I certainly never used any of the menu items
(effects etc) on the Canon 300i that died on me. My kids do a lot of sports
and I use it mainly for that and holiday stuff, so I shoot nearly everything
on auto and "tart" it up with music etc in Studio.

How much did you pay for the high capacity battery and how much bigger is??
Does it make the camera a lot fatter??

Have you noticed any excessive motor noise on the Sony - the MV6i sounds
like and electric toothbrush as soon as you put a tape in it; it was silent
in the shop, 'cos it didn't have a tape in.

A guy on the Simply DV forum has posted a link to an MP3 of the motor noise
on his canon - an MVX100i:

http://www.marc-hermann.de/Canon_Lau...raeusche_1.mp3

It's in German, but you can clearly hear the motor noise over the top of his
voice - my MV6i is the same. If there are any other MV6i owners out there,
I'd love to hear about your experiences with what "looks" like a really nice
camera.

Cheers

Geoff


"Malcolm Stewart" wrote in
message ...
As a newbie (to miniDV) I've had a TRV22 for the last few weeks and whilst
I
agree that batteries are expensive, I'm glad I got my large capacity
model.
It's stopped me worrying about whether there's enough juice.
AF works well at any zoom setting, and the TRV22 has spot focus as well,
if you
need it. The touch screen works better than I expected, (you can close
it,
"open" that is, against the side of the camera and use the viewfinder to
view
and the screen to control), and it seems relatively unbothered by my
finger
grease.

It's taken me some time getting used to all its wide variety of features,
though. I've still got lots to learn, but as a basic (?) miniDV, I'm
pleased
with its ease of use and good results.

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm


Geoff wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the replies.

My wife kinda made my mind up for me, and we got a MV6i MC from Jessops.
I
have to say that my first impressions are NOT GOOD. It won't hold its
focus, it wanders out of focus as you pan the camera and it can't stay
in

Malcolm,

I have an S45 digital camera and the fact that the MV6i takes the same
battery was a real bonus, however I can't let that be the only reason to
keep the 6i !!

I really like the sound of the TRV22 - I will take a closer look when I go
back to Jessops in the next couple of days.

I suppose if the bigger battery doesn't make the camera too bulky it's worth
getting.


"Malcolm Stewart" wrote in
message ...
Hi Geoff,
The battery I bought is the NP-QM71 and wanting it in a hurry I paid list
price
(£89.50, ouch!). Since then I've seen the newer "D" version (with extra
LEDs
etc.) at £69 from the Wakefield Sony Centre, and clones, presumably
without the
"Info" feature, below £50. On the Sony TRV22 the battery is fitted at the
rear
below the viewfinder. The extra size (485 minutes nominal versus 125
minutes
nominal for the supplied battery, extends the battery depth rear-wards by
about
1cm. so that the extendable viewfinder (need to be out so as to get the
view in
focus anyway) doesn't need to be collapsed.
I've noticed motor noise very rarely - probably worst when I fitted a 3rd.
party
high sensitivity directional microphone to the accessory shoe.
Originally, I
was in favour of buying Canon as I already have a 10D DSLR, and wanted to
reduce
the number of different chargers needed when away from home. However it
was the
reports of high motor noise that caused me to dismiss Canon, and
concentrate on
Sony - despite my aversion to Sony's Memory Stick pricing. (see
www.simplydv.com bulletin board pages for more reviews etc.)
( The TRv22 manual is available on-line as a .pdf file - search above site
for
URL.)
If you mainly use Auto, you won't have much need for the touch-panel.

Basically, I bought the Sony to record a once-in-a-lifetime family event,
and it
didn't let me down. All the modes I've tried have worked, but sometimes
I've
needed to read the manual several times before success with some of the
more way
out facilities.

Now to get my value for money back in kilter, I need some more memorable
events
to record!

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm


Geoff wrote in message
...
Malcolm,

Thanks for the feedback on the trv22 - I had a Sony TR105E 8mm camcorder
for
about 8 years before I bought the Canon 300i and it was brill.

I never thought that I would have this much hassle replacing a 3 year
old
camera!!

I'm sure I must have got a lemon with this MV6i - but it has put me off
getting another one. Apart from the zoom/focus issue and the motor
noise, I
can't get the super night mode to work at all - don't want to lose too
much
sleep over that, 'cos I don't think I will have an MV6i this time next
week.

"Geoff" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the replies.

My wife kinda made my mind up for me, and we got a MV6i MC from Jessops.
I
have to say that my first impressions are NOT GOOD. It won't hold its
focus, it wanders out of focus as you pan the camera and it can't stay in
focus when you zoom. I've switched the digital zoom off and I'm only
using
the optical but the screen goes blurred no matter how slowly you zoom in
or
out. At max zoom (10X) it will not auto focus on anything.

I'm also concerned about the noise the camera makes - it's VERY loud and
all
of the whirring noises get picked up on the tape. I know I said that I
would normally edit our noise, but I don't think that I could disguise
this
with out deleting the soundtrack altogether.

Have I got a dud, or are all MC6i's the same?? I can't believe that Canon
would release a camera that you can't use the zoom??

Jessops are brilliant and have said to take it back and exchange it for
any
other model that I want - back to square one !!!

We did look at the TRV22 but the cost of spare batteries and the touch
screen kind of put me off a bit.

I might just go back to where I was before and get a 600i or 650i - I
would
imagine that they're more or less based on the 300i that I had??

Any thoughts or opinions are most welcome, 'cos at the moment I feel very
down !!!!

Cheers

Geoff

I did tell you to avoid any Canons.
This isnt the first time this has happened and the bloke comes posting back
in the newsgroup saying he wants to take his MV6 back cause its bad with low
light, bad motor noise, etc. Mv600 range is just as bad if not worse.

Did you get Jessops to price match down to the cheapest price you could find
on the net?
Get it replaced for a Sony if you can put up with touch screen, Sony's
batteries last longer and tell you exactly how long is left on the battery
time, Hence why they cost more.
If you cant put up with touch screen, get a panasonic.

E.'

E.,

I know, I know - I really like Canon gear, but I've had my fingers burned
now !!! If it could have managed to focus on anything I might have been
able to live with the motor noise, but the zoom was totally useless and I
couldn't get any of the other feature such as the low light thingy to work
at all. It was probably a dud, but it really put me off - it was my wife's
fault, she said "oh that looks cute, let's have that one". It uses the same
battery as my digital camera and I thought I'd give it a whirl, bad mistake.

Jessops told me that they would only match another store price, not an
internet only price?? I got £150 off Jessops price for the MV6i and I'm
waiting for a call from them tomorrow to tell me how much lower they can go
on the TRV22. I hope that I'll be able to get the camera and a spare
battery for the same sort of money.

I think I will get used to the touch screen, don't know how much use the
screen will get as I'm not really interested in any sort of effects or such
like, I just want decent quality raw footage that I can import and tart up.

Please don't tell me that I can expect a raft of problems connecting the
TRV22 to my PC and capturing, editing and then sending stuff back to the
camera???


"E. Greenbank" wrote in message
...

"Geoff" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the replies.

My wife kinda made my mind up for me, and we got a MV6i MC from Jessops.
I
have to say that my first impressions are NOT GOOD. It won't hold its
focus, it wanders out of focus as you pan the camera and it can't stay
in
focus when you zoom. I've switched the digital zoom off and I'm only
using
the optical but the screen goes blurred no matter how slowly you zoom in
or
out. At max zoom (10X) it will not auto focus on anything.

I'm also concerned about the noise the camera makes - it's VERY loud and
all
of the whirring noises get picked up on the tape. I know I said that I
would normally edit our noise, but I don't think that I could disguise
this
with out deleting the soundtrack altogether.

Have I got a dud, or are all MC6i's the same?? I can't believe that
Canon
would release a camera that you can't use the zoom??

Jessops are brilliant and have said to take it back and exchange it for
any
other model that I want - back to square one !!!

We did look at the TRV22 but the cost of spare batteries and the touch
screen kind of put me off a bit.

I might just go back to where I was before and get a 600i or 650i - I
would
imagine that they're more or less based on the 300i that I had??

Any thoughts or opinions are most welcome, 'cos at the moment I feel
very
down !!!!

Cheers

Geoff

I did tell you to avoid any Canons.
This isnt the first time this has happened and the bloke comes posting
back
in the newsgroup saying he wants to take his MV6 back cause its bad with
low
light, bad motor noise, etc. Mv600 range is just as bad if not worse.

Did you get Jessops to price match down to the cheapest price you could
find
on the net?
Get it replaced for a Sony if you can put up with touch screen, Sony's
batteries last longer and tell you exactly how long is left on the battery
time, Hence why they cost more.
If you cant put up with touch screen, get a panasonic.

E.'

"Geoff" wrote in message
...
E.,

I know, I know - I really like Canon gear, but I've had my fingers burned
now !!! If it could have managed to focus on anything I might have been
able to live with the motor noise, but the zoom was totally useless and I
couldn't get any of the other feature such as the low light thingy to work
at all. It was probably a dud,

I wouldnt be suprised if it was just the actual model.

but it really put me off - it was my wife's
fault, she said "oh that looks cute, let's have that one".

heheh...typical

It uses the same
battery as my digital camera and I thought I'd give it a whirl, bad
mistake.

Jessops told me that they would only match another store price, not an
internet only price??

Well internet only would not be allowed but an actual store with a site for
themselves on the internet, showing prices for the camcorder that is in
stock, and they should match the price for you. If not they'll lower it a
lot and possibly throw in a free memo card or something.
http://www.letsgodigital.co.uk always have cheap prices, sometimes cheapEST,
but theyre definately the most reliable. I ordered a sony off them, £800,
got it the next day (free next day delivery), used it for a month and then
sent it back and got the cheaper panny gx7 cause i didnt like the sony build
quality and the touch screen was annoying me. They put the extra money back
in my account and sent me the new camcorder as soon as they recieved the one
I sent them back. Great service. I bought from these cause I didnt think it
was fair, letting jessops get my purchase from a matched down price, cause
if we all did that, the cheap shops wouldnt last and so we'd all have to pay
jessops rip off prices! Plus jessops wouldve taken 2 weeks to get in the
model I wanted to buy...
Read my reviews for the sony and panny on http://www.simplydv.co.uk .

I got £150 off Jessops price for the MV6i and I'm
waiting for a call from them tomorrow to tell me how much lower they can
go
on the TRV22. I hope that I'll be able to get the camera and a spare
battery for the same sort of money.

Check the price on lets go digital's site and get them to match that.

I think I will get used to the touch screen, don't know how much use the
screen will get as I'm not really interested in any sort of effects or
such
like, I just want decent quality raw footage that I can import and tart
up.

it just gets annoying to use when playing back and going through the menus
etc. You can get used to it but its inconvenience will always **** you off


Please don't tell me that I can expect a raft of problems connecting the
TRV22 to my PC and capturing, editing and then sending stuff back to the
camera???

My sony worked fine for all that. JVC's are normally the only ones people
seem to get pc connection problems with.

HTH

E.'