birthday is coming up and i want to get my own camera. cheaper the better...basically whats my cheapest decent option that is possible to use a 35mm adapter with? cheap is the key word here...


suggestions please!

Not to promote the camera im selling (and ive always said this) Panasonics DVX A's and B's(anywhere from $1100-$3000 new) are great cameras to start with...they have everything you need, and are reliable.

also look at the Canon XL2 ($1500-3200ish new) ...you could look at the xl1, but it doesnt shoot 24p :(

stay away from the cheap camcorders as youll kick yourself later. also you could look into HD, but i dont know a lot about those cameras.

yeah i was looking for like less than half those prices then put the 35mm on there and it would be decent...originally i had planned to get something more expensive than that but i just cant seem to save that kind of dough without something coming up and foiling my saving plans...sick of waiting, want to start filming kind of thing... :(

There are three things that are VERY important when getting a
camera:

Three CCD’s or CMOS
Manual controls for the iris, shutter, focus and white balance.
A microphone input.


The JVC GZ-HD7, the first of the JVC HDD cameras is now a little
over a year old and discontinued, but I’ve seen these on line for
as little as $800. A really nice Fujinon lens makes a huge
difference and full manual controls is important. Three 1/5’ 16:9
progressive scan CCD’s are pretty impressive for a camera in this
price range. It has manual controls, a mic input and an excellent
focus ring which is surprisingly rare on small cameras. It
records directly to a built in 60GB hard drive. The issue here is
the MPEG-2 compression (TOD). It’s not compatible with many NLE’s
so you’ll need to convert the TOD to QuickTime or AVI.

The GZ-HD6 can record 1080/60p through HDMI - pretty impressive.

The GZ-HD40 is a bit of a disappointment. I like that it records
using AVCHD compression which makes it compatible with most NLE’s
but it loses the important focus ring. And it’s so small.

The Panasonic HDC-SD100 uses a 3-CMOS array and records 1920 x
1080 video in the AVCHD format to SD and SDHC memory cards. I
like the ring on the lens that controls zoom, focus, white
balance, shutter speed, and iris and it actually has a viewfinder
in addition to the LCD screen. Very important it has both a mic
and headphone jack. I found it difficult to handle with all the
cables attached (mic, headphones and monitor) but it’s a camera
with all the basics.

The Panasonic HDC-HS300 is a fine camera. I got to use it in
January for a little test run shooting some behind the scenes
footage for a model shoot in Las Vegas. I likes the focus ring -
a great improvement over similar cameras. But I didn’t like the
touch screen controls. On the plus side it has the essentials -
headphone and mic jacks and manual control over all the basics. I
like that it uses the AVCHD format. There is a nice toggle switch
at the front of the lens for switching between the zoom and the
focus. It took just a few tries for me to master it.

Close is the Canon HV20. It’s an excellent camera. It records in
HDV (1080i) and 24p (60i), has a mic input and manual controls of
white balance and focus but it uses one 1/2.7” CMOS sensor rather
than 3 CCD’s. My only reservation is it’s so small the handling
is difficult.

The HV30 adds a 30f (Canon’s “frame mode”) in addition to 24p.


The Sony HDR-SR12 has a mic input and a good sized 120GB HDD. It
uses a 1/3” CMOS chip and like the Canon is really small. Because
of the input placement, the mic cable kept getting in my way. The
HR9 (which records to tape) is also a nice, very small, camera
with the essentials. Again the mic input is just below the lens
which is rather poor placement, in my opinion.

wow, good knowledge, thanks. looking into those right now.

what about the JVC GZ-HD3...? I've found some pretty good deals for that one locally and online...im pretty sure, judging by the picture link below, you can hook up a 35mm adapter to it no problem as well...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/2691544647_02afe7fc3a.jpg?v=0

wow, good knowledge, thanks. looking into those right now.

what about the JVC GZ-HD3...? I've found some pretty good deals for that one locally and online...im pretty sure, judging by the picture link below, you can hook up a 35mm adapter to it no problem as well...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/2691544647_02afe7fc3a.jpg?v=0

I saw the adapters that makes it transform into a "real" cinema cam. About how much more would it cost for those adapters in total? I also wanted to use my Cam for Family time activities.