Best image quality for consumer mini dv?

[evolvnyc]

Want to know what everyone's favorite mini dv consumer cam is. I have a few hundred to spend on a second cam to use as a deck, but may also use it when desperate to supplement the dvx for cutaways etc... Obviously nothing comes close, but it would be cool to know some of the 'best for the money' in the under $800 category...?

 

[Jeremy Ordan]

Under $800 is either a used GL1, used VX2000, or a GS400.

Matching to a DVX would be hard and it wont have many features, but any 3CCD camera will do 'decent' as a second camera

 

[Chris Stearns]

I use my $300 Samsung consumer cam mainly for capture, but I shoot B-roll with it sometimes. Obviously, a single, 1/6th inch ccd isn't going match anything the DVX can do, but I've found that if I shoot handheld with the Samsung, deinterlace and convert to 24p in post, with some Magic Bullet deartifacting and looks applied, I can get some interesting cutaways. Also, a general rule, if I shoot anything with a 1 ccd camera, the final output will almost always be black & white (or sepia), because a tiny 1ccd chip can't handle all that color information. Hope this helps. -Chris

 

[Barry_Green]

Can you get a used VX2000 for under $800? If so, that would be killer for $800.

 

[Filmjunkie677]

Yeah, that is real good. I've only seen VX1000's going for under a grand. But, not a VX2000. wow.

 

[Bigb]

I would go with a used GL1.