Question about Mini DV Camcorders

wrote in message
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Why is it that my old VHS-C Camcorder (which cost about $700 in 2001)
and still costs about $200 (at Walmart) today records well in low
light?

It has a larger sensor (probably much larger) than the current crop of
consumer camcorders.


Its just strange why a older one can do better.

I guess the small size is not always better.

Definitely not in this case.



John


PTravel wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a old hunker JVC VHS-C Camcorder. It does the job, however its
bulky, and cannot plug into my computers without a Video Capture
device, which can be hard to find these days.

I played with some of the newer Mini DV and DVD-RAM (Sony and Panasonic
under $1000) camcorders, and was impressed with the size, however was
not impressed with the writing speed of the DVD-RAM Camcorders, and was
not impressed with the camcorders ability to record in low light
conditions. It seemed to me, that when the light was on, my hand
movement got slow. Why is this? The Salesguy at Fry's said that this is
just a issue with digital camcorders. I told him that my old honker
VHS-C camcorder does not have this problem. Recording with the light on
is fine, and things dono not slow down.

Maybe one day I might get a new camcorder that will work with my ibook,
and uses Mini DV tapes (as I was not impressed with this DVD-RAM
format). DVD-RAM Camcorders take too long to write to the discs.

Anyone have any recommendations?


The newer digital cameras in the consumer range has small, densely-packed
sensors. This is done to cut down on weight and size, and to facilitate
still imaging. However, it has a very detrimental effect on low-light
sensitivity. Look for a camcorder with at least 1/4" sensors, and 1/3"
sensors are better. To get really good low-light response, you'll have
to
buy a prosumer model, which costs twice your budget.

Though video quality is as much a function of lens and electronics
quality
as it is digital format, all things being equal, a miniDV camcorder will
produce noticeably better video than a DVD camcorder.



Thanks,


John

"David Matthew Wood" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
wrote:

I have a old hunker JVC VHS-C Camcorder. It does the job, however its
bulky, and cannot plug into my computers without a Video Capture
device, which can be hard to find these days.

Video capture cards and external analog to DV converters which plug into
the firewire port are not hard to find at all! In fact, with more and
more people wanting to preserve their video tape collection, they are
only becoming more and more available.

There are several ways to go using such a camera. I think I'll have
www.geeks.com send me one for $99.99.
http://www.geeks.com:80/details.asp?...ARENDCLEARmain

I've had pretty good luck with their refurbished items.

Think I'll use it mostly to do some green screen work or
model table work. That assumes it can be set to run
without taping, and output to my capture card(s).

It has some pretty useful features (including manual WB),
for a $100 camera. I might try setting one up as a surveillance
camera, as well. On a powered pan and scan mount and with
its 20x optical zoom, you could have performance that exceeds
many professional surveillance camera setups costing several
thousands of dollars.

Is this model anything like your's? GR-AXM17US

Luck;
Ken

wrote:
I have a old hunker JVC VHS-C Camcorder. It does the job, however its
bulky, and cannot plug into my computers without a Video Capture
device, which can be hard to find these days.

I played with some of the newer Mini DV and DVD-RAM (Sony and Panasonic
under $1000) camcorders, and was impressed with the size, however was
not impressed with the writing speed of the DVD-RAM Camcorders, and was
not impressed with the camcorders ability to record in low light
conditions. It seemed to me, that when the light was on, my hand
movement got slow. Why is this? The Salesguy at Fry's said that this is
just a issue with digital camcorders. I told him that my old honker
VHS-C camcorder does not have this problem. Recording with the light on
is fine, and things do not slow down.

Maybe one day I might get a new camcorder that will work with my ibook,
and uses Mini DV tapes (as I was not impressed with this DVD-RAM
format). DVD-RAM Camcorders take too long to write to the discs.

Anyone have any recommendations?


Thanks,


John

Depends on the make and model of the MiniDV camera. We have several.
A couple are better than any VHS camcorder we have, others are not. We
have one MiniDV that indeed is not a very good low light level camera,
but has other features we like.

As others have pointed out, CCD size is an issue, as is the aperture
diameter of the lens (bigger is better - in other words, the low f/#).
Generally more expensive cameras have better lenses and larger sensors,
but not always. You need to use a lot of resources to really be a wise
shopper/purchaser. Read all the reviews you can find.