ccamera

[mwabd1 0]

I am in the market for a new camera, and out of all of the new mini d.v. camcorders I just wanted to know who has tried what and which one's work and which ones to stay away from. Any feedback would be appreciated.

[skyfly 0]

I'm sure you'll find that sony miniDV are an all-around good cameras - depending on your needs - the PC versions for side mounting, or the TRV for top mounting. the MicroDV are much smaller - but are not compatible with other Firewire devices ... so if you get one of those you're pretty much on your own - whereas with a miniDV everyone in the DZ can dub for you, or help you in needs (tapes, etc)

I hear some Canon cameras are doing ok, while others seem to have an issue with the image stabilizer.

STAY AWAY FROM JVC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (did I stress this enough ?!?)

hope this helps.

Be Simple, Be Creative, Bee!
Sharon.

[MichaelBess 0]

I too say "stay away form JVC" for freefall. I know people that have had nothing but problems with Canon's as well.

I am on my 4th Sony and have never been let down.

I even was thrown over the tail of a twin-bo (left three very nice dents) and in the process crushed my new PC-100 (new pilot made a very bad move, long story). Sent the camera to Sony and had it completely rebuilt, I have never had a problem with it.

Sony's rock! The Sony service centers are reliable and can fix most anything we can throw at them.

[TimDave 0]

I totally agree with all that has been said. I have a Sony PC-100 and it has been a perfect performer for over 500 jumps (without a condom or D-box). There a many at our DZ and I have not heard any bad things. On the other hand there are some JVC cameras and I have not heard good things from them. Go with Sony. You will be glad.

[mwabd1 0]

thanks for all of the advice. I think that I will be going with a sony............so now the question turns to what extra's i.e. features on the camera that are good to have.

[masher 1]

Do you want a top mount or side mount? This will probably affect your choice of camera.




From what I've read on this site (quade is a good source), the TRVs are good for top mounting, whilst the PC series are good for side mounts. This isn't exclusive mind you...

--
Arching is overrated - Marlies

[quade 4]

Quote

so now the question turns to what extra's i.e. features on the camera that are good to have.

What will you be using the camera for? Tandems? 4-way? Freefly? Just screwing around?

Makes a pretty big difference in how you want to set things up and what specific feature you need in the camera.

For instance, if you're going to be shooting 4-way, you can get away with a fairly minimalist camera. You don't need -any- effects. You'll probably not need instant access to changing tapes so a bottom loader might not be a big deal.

Going up to a tandem operation, you may, depending on where you're going to work, actually -need- to be able to change tapes fairly quickly. Maybe you can deal with a bottom loader by putting it in a dBox. Maybe a PC style camera side loader in a roll cage would make more sense.

So, what ya doin'?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[mwabd1 0]

For a while it will just be for screwing around but I have been looking and the top loaders are definitly the way to go. I also think that the abilty to hold a memory card for still's is an option that I will go with. Although I am not sure if you can trigger the camera feature via the lanc port or not, Either way you can pull still off of the raw footage. I have a camera jedai at the d.z. who will be getting questions as well.


thanks for all of the feedback, I am going to cruise the pawn shops and see what people have unloaded after x-mas.