High End DV vs Consumer Grade HD

[Chris Sokol]

Looking to purchase a good video camera for use both in chasing and in our business. The question I have is this; Just how important is HD in the overall scheme of things? I have been looking at a few refurbished DV Camcorders: JVC Digital S DY-700
JVC GY-DV500U
JVC GY-DV5000U
Sony DSR-300A
Sony DSR-500WSL
The Panasonic Supercam

I even looked at the analog Panasonic WV-F700 as they are dirt cheap nowdays, but I would prefer to stick with the mini-dv or digital Beta units. I also have looked at the Canon XL1S. So my question...considering the price of one of these last gen DV cams is about the same as a good medium to high end consumer HD camcorder, am I just totally insane for wanting to go with the DV cam vs HD?

Chris

 

[Walt VanRheen]

In short, YES. Buy HD. If you think about it, would you buy an hold VHS player. No you would not. Look forward. not back.
Have fun and stay safe.
Word of advise as well, the more OPTICAL zoom the better.

 

[Matt Tottle]

I'm not a fan of any tape based media, even if its digital. Tapes get eaten, the mechanisms get dirty, and they transfer to the computer in real time (a 1 hour tape = 1 hour to transfer to the computer). Not only that but DV is limited to 60 (sp) or 90 (lp) minutes per tape, so you always have to keep an eye on what you've used. Plus its just more crap you have to carry around and store, and unless you're a rapid recycler, they're relatively expensive to boot compared to hard storage.

HDD or SSD is the only way to go nowadays. SSD is the best because it isn't vulnerable to movement or shock like a hard drive is.

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