Panasonic AG-DVC7

Alexander McCoy

Alexander McCoy

New member
I'm looking for a cheap first camera and i found a Panasonic AG-DVC7 for under $1000:thumbup: . has anyone used it or know any good or bad things about. or are there any good cheap cameras people would recommend for a first one? Thanks
 
The DVC7 has about two advantages over the average consumer cam: the shoulder-mounted form factor, and a mic input (even if it is only a mini stereo rather than an XLR). Other than that, I don't see much of a difference--and, quite frankly, I've always considered it overpriced. You can get the PV-GS500 for less money, and that's a 3-CCD unit...
 
yeah I agree with Captain, I'd go with the GS500. It's gonna give you a better image than the DVC7 hands down. The 500 also has a mini stereo mic input I believe. You can get the GS500 for about $800 I think. If you want to go cheaper, take a look at the GS300, it's about $600 and is a 3 chip. The chips are smaller than the ones in the 500, but it will still give you a better look than the DVC7.
 
If you can still find one--looks like Panasonic Consumer is starting their yearly complete revamp of their entire product lineup. Not seeing anything equivalent to the 500 in there--just an updated 300, the PV-GS320, which will probably be as limited on manual controls as the 300 was.

I know they have to look like they're coming out with new things even if they're not really, but jeez, could these consumer divisions slow it the heck down?!? I got screwed out of a mic input (even a cheezy mini-stereo) when Canon discontinued the Elura 100 back in January and didn't replace it, forcing me to a ZR series cam, and now Panasonic's doing the same. Suppose I'd better be expecting some new JVC literature and pricing soon at work... ;)
 
Depends on what you want to do with it. Heck, if you're going to be doing a lot of mobile stuff, you might decide that the DVC7 being designed for shoulder-mounted use is going to be better than trying to work with a hand-held cam. Conversely, if you're tripod-mounted and don't need a lot of manual control, the GS500 (or whatever its replacement is) or even something like the new Canon HV20 (if you're into HD) could be fine for you. None of these, of course, gives you anything like the manual control or audio input flexibility that the DVX does. It's all a matter of what compromises you can live with to fit your budget...
 
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