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The Hunt For The Great Mini-DV Under $500 |
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 Last Thursday, iKen came over to use my iMac so he could take his iMovie and make it into a DVD with iDVD. Well, I was amazed with iKen’s movie. He really did a great job with it, but what I really paid the most attention to was the quality of his Mini-DV. Of course I was jealous, so the following weekend I went on the hunt for the great Mini-DV camcorder.
I looked at the expensive $1000-3000 camcorders all the way down to the $150-300 camcorders. The biggest difference seems to be the lenses, and how they react to light and color. Well, needless to say, I didn’t have $1000–3000 to spend on the camcorder, so in the $300-800 dollar range, the Samsung Mini-DV SCD23 is what I found to be the best one for the money.
The Samsung Mini-DV SCD23, priced at $399.99, not only has a great lens, but it's also been threaded to add a specialized lens for the making home movies. This camcorder also has the capability to use night vision … night vision - how cool is that? You can also press a button and use slow shutter and make those drunken movies. On top of that, this camera has a million-and-one other features that I have no idea what they are or how to use.
So if you're looking for a Mini-DV camcorder and don’t want to spend a lot of money, this is a great camera. The only problem that I have with it is the eye viewer is in black and white. The battery life is four hours which isn’t bad, but you'd better buy an extra battery to make sure you don’t miss any of the action!
Samsung Mini-DV SCD23
$399.99
Product page
Pros:
Unheard of features and quality of video for a camcorder under $400.
iMovie compatible and fast video transfers via FireWire.
Large side LCD color display.
Cons:
Black and white eye viewer
4 hour battery life
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October 21 2003, 11:22 AM EDT, by |
Comments:
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| iKen |
10/21/03, 12:19 PM EDT |
The camera I got is black and white in the view finder also... I don't mind it because it helps with the battery life.
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| Andy Baird |
10/21/03, 2:58 PM EDT |
My recommendation: Canon's ZR series. All the features of the Samsung and more--including a full-color viewfinder (plus the usual LCD panel)--for even less money: $389 for a ZR-60 from J&R (a thoroughly reliable dealer), last time I looked. I've been using a ZR-10 for years and it's a sweet little camera that nestles in your palm, yet takes really good video and is loaded with features. Yes, you can add accessory lenses too--I often use Canon's wideangle. I don't want to say "you got taken"...but...if you can return that Samsung, I'd highly recommend exchanging it for a ZR-60.
Speaking of digital video, check out dvSpot. It's a good source of information and reviews of digital camcorders. The guy who runs the site, Jeff Keller, is a Mac devotee who also has a digital still camera site, the Digital Camera Resource Page.
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| snrcamacho |
10/21/03, 3:09 PM EDT |
I have an older Samsung camcorder, but OSX doesn't import the movie into iMovie--but I can do it in OS 9. Is there any importing problems with the SCD23 and OSX. (Also, does anyone know of any drivers that'll let me import from my old camera into OSX?)
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| Jonahan |
10/21/03, 3:25 PM EDT |
Oooo awesome! A good DV cam for under $500? Man, I'm salivating!
Too bad I had to sell my iMac with SuperDrive :( Ah well, I'll have a nice DV editing setup at some point in the future!
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| macconvert |
10/23/03, 1:39 AM EDT |
I have to agree. I purchased the Canon ZR65 and it is indeed a sweet camera!
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| killjoy |
10/26/03, 8:46 PM EDT |
I bought a zr-60 off of Dell for 427 bucks.
It is really cool and works on my ibook just like in the center isle commercial.
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I am totally fascinated by the movie Planet Of The Apes. The epic portrayal of this ape land is very intriguing. The only criticism I have of the film are the terrible looking costumes they used for the humans. I mean come on, the getup for Charleton Heston looked like a children's Halloween costume. I think I even saw a zipper!
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