Sony DCR-VX2000 Opinions and Recommendations

[iroczinoz]

I am in the market for a digital video camera and I have looked around a bit at what is available. But I still have some questions I want to ask.

I basically want a very good camera that will have excellent video quality that I can then edit and make my own DVD's. I live in Australia and the Sony VX2000 costs about $5000 new so I was thinking of buying the same camera second hand from the USA for about $1000 AUD or slightly over. I have read reviews on this camera and it is rated very well.

Does anyone have this camera on this board and made their own DVD's with the footage taken was it good quality?

I also have the dilema if I buy this camera from the USA, the video format witll be NTSC. In Australia the standard format is PAL and I am not sure which one is better or if there is any real big issues I should be worried about if the get the NTSC version??

NTSC is pretty much wide screen format correct? Or am I mistaken here? That's basically my biggest dilema if I buy the NTSC version will it still work on a PAL TV when I play it back well?

Can anyone offer me some advice if I am looking at a good camera for what I am wanting to do? The Canon GL2 is roughly in the same price range and so far what I have read they are pretty much on level playing fields.

What kind of media does the VX 2000 sue to store video? Are they just the normal digital tapes?

Would I need a capture card to transfer the video to my computer for editing? Or does it come with a capture card already. If not any recommendations on what capture card to get?


Amazon have some brand new Canon XL1S for $990 USD. Or the GL2 for the same price. Have not really looked into the canon range, so not really sure which is better of the 2. MIght have to look into it.

Thanks,
Mike

[Skyman]

NTSC is substantially lower quality than PAL in terms of colour. the NTSC format will work on many tv's but not all, and when capturing, editing and burning video to dvd having a standard that is not the norm for the region can create its own problems. not only that but the DV PAL format will shortly become a bit redundant in terms of broadcast cameras as Australia takes up Hi Defitninition tv that is why panasonic has releasaed the GS120 and the GS400 so cheap. i would be going the canon over the sony though, as it records widescreen. at the most basic level any mini dv (the tape format) will give you good quality dvds. all you need is a medium pc, a firewire port and a dvd burner. since you are in melbourne you should check out http://www.videocraft.com.au/ they are one of the leaders in pro video in australia, and i know they have a melbourne store.

[iroczinoz]

Skyman: So you think I am better off to go with PAL yeah? Or did I missunderstood what you were saying? Is Hi Definition totally something different yet again, sorry for the stupid question


If you were in my shoes and say you had a budget between $1000 and $1500 AUD what kind of camera would you be getting. Or maybe even up to $2000. See I am not sure about the image quality of these pocket size video cameras? The ones that fit easily in your hand. I have been reading reviews etc on video quality and the VX 2000 gets thumbs up, as well as the canon range XL1.

I want to get something decent and not something I will be unhappy with once I have burnt to DVD.

What do you advise me to get?

[iroczinoz]

So I am best with a camera that can shoot 16:9?

I looked at the canon XL2 and that has 16:9 recording. Now the only thing that I am wondering if I buy this camera from the USA it will be NTSC version. Will this have any effect if I record in widescreen mode on image quality once played back here in Australia on HDTV? I guess most of the movies made are from the USA and they look pretty good here in OZ. I just don't want to make a mistake.

I rang up that place you gave me the link to. They told me that they only sell the PD170 and the PDX10. They are a bit out of my budget though.

These Mini DV tapes that are used to record are they erasable over and over again?

[Skyman]

Go the Pal model, what are you going to be videoing ? mini dv tapes are re usable a number of times (i have never tested how many) but each time you use them the front of the tape stretches till it becomes unusable, so they cannot be used indefinately. in fact if given the choice i would by a much cheaper camera, like the panasonic gs120 and only use tapes once or twice but again this comes back to what you are filming and why.

[iroczinoz]

Cool, I mainly want it for personal videos. When I go on trips to video scenery, home video etc.. Mainly just for personal use. I'll have a look into the panasonic one you mentioned. But I guess you are sacraficing quality? and also do not have the true 16:9 option. I know some stretch the footage to make it into widescreen but apparently this is not very good, or so I have read.

The main thing that is very important to me is when I edit my footage the final result will be a very nice DVD to watch. I will not be storing on VHS anymore and would like to have great DVD quality.

I had a look at the GS120 but I read that it has analogue DV input or output.

You think I am better off waiting a while and waiting for the HDTV video cameras to come out. How long will that be any idea?

[Skyman]

Hmm no HDTV cameras will not be a consumer item (less than 10,000) in the near future. as for sacrificing quality. it is still broadcast quality which is still more than you need. as for the 16:9 thing, i am not sure if it stretches or it is true 16:9 but from a pratical point of view unless you have a large widescreen tv i would challenge you to pick the difference. Feel free to buy the more expensive physically larger camera, but i don't think that there is any apreciable difference in quality, in fact the panasonic has a substantially better lens and more natural colour reproduction. Also for the stuff you describe one of the biggest factors is size, and in this area the panasonic wins.

[iroczinoz]

Skyman : I really appreciate your information as you can probably tell I am pretty new to all the video cameras etc... I do have a normal analogue video camera and when I tried to edit and put all my footage onto a DVD it looked like crap. Pixelated images etc...

I think you may be right in what you say and I might be better off with the panasonic. I actually looked at the GS400 and that looks like a real nice camera. I think by what you say they do have a good lens on them.

So looks like I'll be getting one of these soon. Thanks for your help you probably saved me plenty of $$$.