Looking for a good < $500 camcorder

There's a guy in the Marketplace section of this site selling a Panasonic GS120 3CCD camera for $400. That's a pretty nice camera for the price.
 
Thanks for the plug, but some guy??? Yeah, I'm selling a GS120 right now. It's a cool little 3CCD camcorder. Very lightly used and I'm throwing in an additional high capacity battery and camcorder bag. I am going to get some pictures posted tonight for it.

If you are interested in other good 3CCD camcorders (I would only recommend something with 3CCD's otherwise you're throwing money away) you're going to have to stick with Panasonic. There is also the GS200, GS400, and I think a GS150. Each model you go up you're going to see additional price. I think the GS200 is now right in the ballpark of $500-$800, I can't remember (and am too lazy to look it up). They are all nice, small, and very good to learn on.

If you're interested though, I am unloading that one.
 
I still plan on getting a dvx at some point but just for now I want to get out and shoot anything I can. When the time comes, will I be able to use the Panasonic gs120 or 150 as a deck instead of using the dvx? Any drawbacks? Thanks again.
 
That's actually a really good plan. I use a cheaper cam as my deck. It really saves on the wear and tear on the DVX.
 
I personally use a GS9 as a deck because it is the lowest end mini DV camcorder. You would be able to use this as a deck though. It is a 3CCD camera though, so it would function better as a second unit camera for non 24p projects. I posted this: http://www.stffilms.com/Movies/GS120.wmv
It's just me filming the GS120 with my DVX...
Wait... one panasonic filming another, kinda kinky, eh?
 
I recently picked up a GS150 for $650 (not a great price by any means, but not terrible). Overall I like the camera. It fits in the palm....a fine vacation camera.

Note that I switched from a 1CCD GS31 to the 3CCD GS150. Definitely get a 3CCD camera, else your results will be unsatisfying. The improvement in quality from the GS31 to the GS150 was dramatic.
 
A 1CCD can be a good starter cam, but 3CCD definitely better. More important than 1ccd/3ccd IMHO is having good control of the focus, iris, and white balance. Preference for rings instead of touch-screens. Make sure it has a mic input and a headphone jack.
 
I certainly agree that when you are talking about a 100% consumer grade camcorder that the 1/3 CCD aspect is very important. The difference in the image is noticable immediately.

If anyone would like I would be willing to set up the GS9 (1CCD), GS120 (3CCD), and DVX100A (we all know) next to each other and film the same thing and post a clip of the image all next to each other. The difference is dramatic when you look at the difference. I could even set the DVX to shoot in 60i to show them all under similar circumstances.

Let me know, sounds like a fun activity.
 
<<< film the same thing and post a clip of the image all next to each other>>>

I think that's a cool idea. What do you think you might film? I could do the same thing with my GS150 and DVX.

With regard to the 3CCD, if one could treat the footage in post with Magic Bullet (perhaps the 24p conversion) you would probably end up with a pretty respectable look. I'm going to try doing this with my recent vacation footage. The point being that the 3CCD is definitely worth a little extra cash...you won't regret spending a little extra for it.
 
I'm not really sure what I am going to want to film. I want to get all three set up in a row and just record something funky and then dump them into Vegas and do a three way split with the images. Not sure what to film though... Let me think about it, but this sounds like fun.

Panasonic v. Panasonic v. Panasonic.
 
I would also be interested in pitting DVX 24p versus the GS150 & Magic Bullet 24p conversion.

In other words, we could shoot something with a DVX, then shoot the same thing with a 3CCD consumer Panasonic and convert the results to 24p via Magic Bullet.

In Jarred's recent test, he had great results with Magic Bullet. Alas, my copy is the Editor's version, and lacks the 24p conversion stuff.
 
I'm actually in the same boat, I only have the magic bullet that came with the DVX. I think that's why it's best to do the comparison, if this is for comparison between a consumer grade 1ccd camera, a consumer grade 3ccd camera, and a prosumer 3ccd camera all at the 60i.

I know the difference already between the GS9 & GS120. They are pretty stagering, but sometimes its a very nice result, this muted home, generic, soccer game look. The 3ccd image on the other hand reminds me a lot of the news. The DVX, I have never shot in 60i, so I cannot begin to assume.

We're filming a documentary tomorrow, so this will be on my list of things to do this week. What I might do is put someone in bright colors and have them talk. I only have two tripods since I busted the bogen, so I'll have to figure out how to do the set up. This sounds like fun though.
 
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