AG-DVC80 or AG-DVC30

[eyesoulsmart]

I have the option to buy a DVC80 used with 61 hours on the heads or a DVC30 Stock at first i was going to get the DVC30 then i thought about the DVC60 then i found out there was a 80 and i start researching and found one for a reasonable price... im hearing that the DVC80 is similar to the dvx100 and thats what i really want. so what would be the better buy. im a film student so it would mainly be used for shorts documentarys and music videos. Right now im shooting in a canon Gl1 and its just not working for me

[NGC]

I own two 80's and one 30. Number one reason is the superior quality of the picture from the 80 because of the 1\3 inch chips vs. 1\4 inch in the 30. The 30 is nice for night shots and has a longer zoom but you just can't beat the wide angle standard lens of the 80.

[magichristopher]

I would get the dvc80 if the price is right, but if you can find the dvc30 for a few hundred cheaper I would buy it and accessories. I used to have the dvc30 and I loved it, no complaints other than the nd filter and sound controls.

I would highly suggest both, but you can even find the original dvx100's for cheap now to. I have seen them go for $1750 on ebay, cheaper than the dvc80's, which seem to hold value more.

You can get dvc30's for probably 1,200-1400 on ebay.

Hope this helps your decision.

[adoyle]

I relaly don't think DVC80's are worth it at all. A major benefit of DVX's is the 24p, and a DVX without 24p would basically be a DVC30. If you're going to spend the extra money on a DVC80, you might aswell go the extra step forward, and get a used DVX100 for similar price, or take the small step back and get the DVC30, with XLR adaptor for much cheaper.

[AllAroundFilmLV]

A major benefit of DVX's is the 24p, and a DVX without 24p would basically be a DVC30.

Actually, a DVX100 w/ no 24p capability is what the DVC80 is. not the DVC30 as you specified

[adoyle]

Well, I obviously knew that, that's why i put "basically" because of the small differences between the DVC30 and DVC80. I believe the only differences would be CCD size, what the camera looks like, and mic. There are probably other small upgrades from 30 - 80, but they musn't be big enough to make a major difference.

[AllAroundFilmLV]

no but they are about the same price for a new DVC30 vs a used DVC80 w/ low hours. The only reason I would get a DVC30 is for the night shot feature.

[adoyle]

Yeah the night shot is really good. For anyone with a dvc30, make sure you take off the lens shade, or else it gets in the way and blocks some of the IR rays.