Something on topic for us.

My Sony DCR-PC9 has a fault, and I may or may not be getting it
repaired, depending on a number of variables.

So I pondered about what I could replace it with, and tried to have a
look at the market. It's amazing the number of sites that list out of
production models and the like.

I want:-
* very good picture quality - maybe even a 3CCD model.
* reasonable audio - doesn't have to be brilliant. External mic
capability would be useful to improve on it though.
* DV in/out
* I guess it would be nice if I could use my Sony FM50 battery, but it's
not the end of the world.
* Good auto-focusing, but with manual override.
* Good auto-white balance, but again with manual override.
* Size - I know all the arguments about size etc, but I need something
that I can hold in one hand. I do a lot of filming in the mountains at
very high altitudes, so I need something I can put in my pocket, and
hold with one hand. I felt the PC9 was good in that regard. Small
enough, but it wasn't tiny. Smaller I think would be a pain.

If I rob a bank or so, I might be able to acquire £750 for such an item,
maybe a little more.

I'm decidely put off by the PC120 or whatever it was, with pop up flash
and bluetooth nonsense. I have a digital still camera, so I don't care
about stills capability, and I have no intention of hooking it up to the
PC in any way other than 1394 for the video.

Someone here's probably been in a similar position more recently than I,
and maybe knows the market better. What's out there?

"Dave R" wrote in message
...
Something on topic for us.


I'm decidely put off by the PC120 or whatever it was, with pop up flash
and bluetooth nonsense. I have a digital still camera, so I don't care
about stills capability, and I have no intention of hooking it up to the
PC in any way other than 1394 for the video.

I have a PC120 and it's a good camera. Its Bluetooth capability is a waste
of space and time, and its stills quality is dubious, but I only paid £875
for it about 8 months ago. If you shop around you could probably get one
for a good price. You can always ignore the gimmicks - I do.

Jake

"Dave R" wrote in message
...
Something on topic for us.

Sorry, is this group called uk.rec.video.digital or uk.rec.video.camcorders
?...

If the theory behind what makes DV work is not on topic what is this group
about !

snip

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 17:05:38 GMT, "Jerry."
allegedly wrote:

If the theory behind what makes DV work is not on topic what is this
group about !

I think it's veered off in places. Just trying to lighten the mood a
little with something less heavy.

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 17:05:38 GMT, "Jerry."
allegedly wrote:

uk.rec.video.camcorders

I just checked, there is no camcorder group... in any hierarchy that my
news server carries. :-P

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 14:19:45 GMT, "Jake"
allegedly wrote:

I have a PC120 and it's a good camera.

Where is the inbuilt microphone? It looks like the pop-up flash is where
it used to be.

You can always ignore the gimmicks - I do.

True, but I'd rather pay for better bits that I want than lots of bits
that I don't. (Back to quality vs quantity again :-)

"Dave R" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 14:19:45 GMT, "Jake"
allegedly wrote:

I have a PC120 and it's a good camera.

Where is the inbuilt microphone? It looks like the pop-up flash is where
it used to be.

It's behind the pop-up flash.

You can always ignore the gimmicks - I do.

True, but I'd rather pay for better bits that I want than lots of bits
that I don't. (Back to quality vs quantity again :-)

Totally agree, but it depends on whether you can get another Sony cam that
trades off better bits for fewer gimmicks in the chassis configuration
(upright PC version) that you like.

I don't think I did enough research when I bought my cam, OTOH I had a
Pentium II 300MHz when I bought it, so desktop editing was not on my list,
and in-camera features seemed attractive!

Jake

"Jerry." wrote in message
...

"Dave R" wrote in message
...
Something on topic for us.

Sorry, is this group called uk.rec.video.digital or
uk.rec.video.camcorders
?...

If the theory behind what makes DV work is not on topic what is this group
about !

snip

If you're referring to the ongoing thread I think you're referring to ("What
is so bad about Digital-8?") then I would think that got off topic long ago,
with all the discussion about professional kit and broadcasting standards.
Is this NG called uk.rec.video.digital or uk.pro.video.digital? No
criticism, as I'm finding the thread quite interesting, just an observation.

Jake

In message , Dave R
writes
On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 17:05:38 GMT, "Jerry."
allegedly wrote:

uk.rec.video.camcorders

I just checked, there is no camcorder group... in any hierarchy that my
news server carries. :-P

It isn't listed at: http://www.usenet.org.uk/ either.
--
Tony Morgan
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice,
there is." - Yogi Berra
http://www.camcord.info
http://www.rhylonline.com

In message 40347fdc.0@entanet, Jake writes
"Dave R" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 14:19:45 GMT, "Jake"
allegedly wrote:

I have a PC120 and it's a good camera.

Where is the inbuilt microphone? It looks like the pop-up flash is where
it used to be.

It's behind the pop-up flash.

You can always ignore the gimmicks - I do.

True, but I'd rather pay for better bits that I want than lots of bits
that I don't. (Back to quality vs quantity again :-)

Totally agree, but it depends on whether you can get another Sony cam that
trades off better bits for fewer gimmicks in the chassis configuration
(upright PC version) that you like.

I don't think I did enough research when I bought my cam, OTOH I had a
Pentium II 300MHz when I bought it, so desktop editing was not on my list,
and in-camera features seemed attractive!

Your comments Jake, seem to raise a number of issues.

I would imagine that more than 95% of camcorder purchasers are of the
"video snapper" category, interested in shooting family/friends and
perhaps holidays. Much like the "instamatics" of the pre-video days.
Camcorder manufactures are obviously well aware of this, so seek to
increase their sales/market share by adding (and publicising) "gismo
features".

Maybe 20% of these camcorder buyers start (or seriously consider) video
editing, since a lot of folk who can afford a camcorder will have a
computer capable of video editing. However, I would think that the
proportion who get serious about video is much smaller - maybe less than
5% of camcorder buyers..

No doubt the camcorder manufactures are well aware of this, and invest
more in developing camcorders for the masses, rather than the
enthusiasts.

As a result, the top end of the consumer camcorder product lines are
still laden with features that the serious enthusiasts quickly learn are
not really needed (and in some cases can reduce the end-quality of
finished movies).

So at the end of the day, Jake, I think that we're going to have to live
with the gizmos :-)
--
Tony Morgan
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice,
there is." - Yogi Berra
http://www.camcord.info
http://www.rhylonline.com