Looking for a camcorder...but which one?

mgrab915 · Criminal Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 58 City: Richmond

I am trying to find a video camera to make some videos of my friends and i wakeboarding. I am interested in uploading videos onto my computer and editing them, adding music, etc.... My knowlege in this arena is extremely limited and I was hoping someone could give me a few suggestions to make my search easier. I just got done looking at the Panasonic PVGS250, which I saw was recomended on another post. It definately sounds good, but like i said, my knowlege is limited. Any info is greatly appriciated and thanks for your time.

mgrab915 · Criminal Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 58 City: Richmond

And is there much of a difference in the GS250 and the GS150, other than price

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

Sounds like you need some direction. So here it goes, im going to write a friggin essay for you, give you some links, narrow down your search, and hopefully that will help.

If i were willing to spend a good amount of money for a very quality digicam (which im not because my friend already has one), this is what i would do, and i have a fairly good amnt of knowledge on the topic.

I'm narrowing this down to 2 camcorders: the Sony VX-1000, and the Sony VX-2100. There is, of course, the canon GL-1 and GL-2 cameras, but i hate those, they zoom is crappy, and they're just not good enough.

The Sony VX-1000 is older than the 2100, and DOES NOT have an LCD screen (the flip-out screen), it only has a viewfinder. The lens is 3CCD (awesome quality), the focus rules, and they are a bit better for daytime/brighter surroundings than the 2100.

The Sony VX-2100 is newer, a bit more attractive w/its nice silvery sparkly color (whooopee), and has all the features of the 1000 plus a few more. The sound is a bit better, but if your just filming wakeboarding and such thats not really a huge deal because it gets extracted by audio most of the time anyway. It is also better for night-time filming than the 1000, but the 1000 is better for daytime, so you gotta pick and choose.

Neither of the cameras are by any means "bad" for filming in differnent lighting situations, they are both two of the most quality digital video cameras on the market.

Now Im tired of writing, so ill give you some links on the VX 2100 vs. VX 1000!!!

actually ill give you the links tomorow, its almost 1 am here and i need sleep...

als132 · Soul Rider Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 462 City: shoreline

i coudlnt find links dammit, but heres a nice little quote from someone who knows what their talking about:

VX1 is a lot cheaper and of course has the widest death (century mk1) available. And with the mk1 there is almost NO vinegretting unlike in the vx2100. The only drawbacks are that it's almost impossible to find new on ebay and it doesnt perform nearly as well as the vx21 in low light. And for those who like to watch footy on an lcd, it doesnt have one. It doesnt bother me because you dont need an lcd for filming lines, and you cant see the lcd in the sunlight anyways.

VX2100 is great cause it's very new, and has lots of new features and great image quality and does really well in low light when the shutter speed is under 100/150. But the death isnt as wide and has a lot more vinegretting. and has lcd.

>>>> Vx1000 for NICE outside daytime filming. Vx2100 for good night filming.

Levi_S · Newbie Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 21 City: Stanwood

How much do either of those typically go for?

JRock*Girl · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 1340

mgrab915, the vx2100 is a sick camera, but it starts at $3,000, you can get it for over $2,300 on ebay, I wouldn't expect anything less.

If you're not willing to spend $3,000 check out the vx2000, its very similar to the 2100 and the 1000, inbetween the two. It has an LCD screen and I don't belive there are a handful of differences between the 2100 and the 2000 besides some button relocations, color, (anyone know if any others?) at least from what i've read, and I have gone through quite a few reviews...

I would love to have the vx2100 or even the panasonic ag dvx100, but I couldn't afford it. I bid on the 2000 on ebay, the winner of the bid didn't step up and pay so I won it with a second chance at my bid price, $1,025. Sweet deal. It seems like it happens alot because another one that i 'expressed interest' in the winner stepped out and didnt buy and I got a second chance on another one...

Something you might want to check out...

RD · Addict Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 626 City: Discovery Bay

A VX2000 for a grand . . . .nice!

Eastcoast Outlaw · Outlaw Joined: 18 Mar 2004 Posts: 110 City: Charlotte

I def. think that sony or panasonic is the way to go brand wise.

JRock*Girl · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 1340

RD, actually it ended up being a very well planned out scam...Luckily I caught it after doing some research about 30mins after I dropped the money off at the post office. I ran back and got the envelope back....thank god.

But they are going for around $1,400+ on ebay...Im still bidding, just be careful if you do...

RD · Addict Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 626 City: Discovery Bay

JRock*Girl,

Been there, Paypal'd a guy $3400 for a sony DSR40 video deck on Ebay a couple of years ago. When he didn't provide a tracking number that day I got nervous and filed a complaint with Paypal. Luckily his account had just been frozen and I got all my money back. It wasn't even that great of a deal and a lot of people were bidding on it which is actually what threw me off to begin with. A lot of these scams are pretty obvious.