Digital Video Cameras..?

[occasus]

I'm confused. Like 6 months ago I went to buy a video camera. And I asked for a digital one because of course it would be easier just to copy the video files to my computer. And there would be no quality loss in the capturing process. But the guy in the store was like "ummm I don't know what you're talking about, there is no such thing as a digital video camera. There are digital cameras which have lousy movie functions, but there are no digital video cameras." And now there seems to be these "DV cameras" everywhere which seem to be exactly what I'm looking for. Or..?

Sorry for the stupid questions.

[belovedmonster]

i think you spoke to the local village idiot. Bar a very small selection of cameras everything is digital these days in the world of video. Prices start at ?400 and to go to ?3000.

[miker]

sounds to me like he thought you were talking about digital stills camera, lol

[Littlerich]

Haha! Sounds like you got the "1st day on the job" kinda idiot! I get them a lot!

It's not a stupid question (Ok... it is!) You were on about a DV (Digital Video) camcorder, and yeah, there are now literally hundereds available, whereas 6 months ago, they were relativly new (actually, it was more like about 2 years ago they started coming out at consumer level)...
Go into any (decent) camera shop and ask someone. With any luck, you'll get someone who knows what they're talking about.

Oh, and some pointers:
1. There is a difference between DVCAM (big tapes) and MINI DV (little ones, obviously). There is also D8, which is like a digital version of 8MM tapes. Aparantly, some D8 Camcorders can play the old 8MM and HI-8 tapes (check with the actual camcorder itself).

2. If a camcorder boasts "800X Digital zoom" or some stupid large figure, IGNORE IT! Look out for the cam's OPTICAL ZOOM as this is what really matters. When you start going zigital zoom, it just ends up pixellated, especially the more you zoom in!

3. Depending on your budget, try to get a cam that has DV In/Out (Firewire in and out). This means you can send the footage digitally to the edit machine, edit then send it back digitally to camera, without losing quality. If it's not got DV IN (nearly all have DV Out) this means when you go to dupe off your edited film, you'll have to either use something like a (S)VHS deck or a seperate deck to master to. Obviously, this loses quality...

I hope this helps you more than "temp-guy" at the shop!

[Gwailofilms]

Can I just recommend the Canon MV600i (must be the "i" version)?

A cracking little cam with DV & analogue in and out & an AV-DV through convertor (capture analogue video direct to your computer without having to record it to a DV tape first).

I paid ?400 including delivery for mine from a website I can't remember the name of right now. If I remember/find the receipt, I'll edit this & post a link [img]biggrin.gif[/img] .

[assyrix]

Lidl and Aldi sometimes do camera specials where you get a bells-and-whistles in/out DV camera including PC software for (usually) around ?300- ?400. Keep an eye on their websites for upcoming specials.

http://www.aldi.co.uk
http://www.lidl.co.uk

P.S.: The camera on offer at Aldi at the moment is for photos - ignore the "movie mode", crap for serious filming.