DV cams...decent one for semipro footage
 

Anyone know anything about decent DV cams? I need to get one for work, for filming footage for the web. I'm interested in the prosumer level ones but have less than £1k (ex vat) to spend, preferably no more than £600. Any ideas? Are these new hard drive ones any good? Doesnt have to be tip top quality as it will be reduced for streaming (or some such jiggery pokery).

Look for a secondhand Sony VX2000, later model PD150 or a Canon XL1/2. All are semi pro cameras with decent 3CCD chips in. The early PD150s had truely awful audio sections, later ones were better (think there was a mod for the early ones). Also budget for a decent tripod, it makes the world of difference. If all of these cameras are out of your price range, a secondhand Sony TRV900 is a good bet as well. I would go with tape, it lasts longer and you can have an unlimited number of them.

It should be noted that if you want to do streaming/web content, you actually want a better camera, since the more noise that is introduced during the capture stage, the worse the (heavily compressed) video file will look. Also to note, ALWAYS record at DV SP unless you have no other option (i.e. you can't change the tape after 60 minutes) as LP is rubbish and can very very easily suffer dropouts. DVCAM is identical to DV, but with a higher tape speed so is more durable, at the cost of 1/3 less recording time.

I've done a lot of work with DV, DVCAM and some with HDV (and now working with HDCAM, DigiBeta and BetaSP), contact me if you need any details or help.

MT