[Paul B]

I've got a sony one and the only problem I have with it is the fact that its touch screen which means it gets bloody filthy when your training/climbing/filming so maybe avoid that kind?. Night shot and super night shot and other functions are cool but not really that much use unless you want to reinact the blair witch project, I guess just get an affordable one with a good lens?Oh its also got a remote which is damn useful, you can set it up on a tripod and turn it on/off etc without taking your boots off or stepping off the mat

(monolith: I've got some dws footage including the last speed comp with what I 'd managed to capture before it was nicked, I can try put that on if your interested? its not thrilling like, 10 people doing freeborn man and it was the first stuff i (or i should say we, nat did a load 2) had edited, i'll cut all the shit off the start but its still something like 8 mins?)
 

[Mike Tyson]

Cheers Paul.

I guess just surf the old web, find some reviews and try and grab a bargain. The remote sounds like a cool idea though, good idea sir.

[Monolith]

Paul: Yeah it's always cool to see other peoples efforts. If you feel like linking to anything, I'd happily peruse over it. Always nice to see some fresh footage.

Golt: That's pretty much the deal. Remotes tend to come as standard with most Mini DV cams now and can be useful in various instances. If you can buy second hand and are able to establish that your seller is a good one, then maybe do it. However, the lure of a new camera with a sound warranty may be too great to resist. There's a million and one sites out there reviewing Mini DV's so have a browse for an hour or two and get the one that best suits your requirements. If I spot any useful links, I'll be sure to post them up. Best of luck in the hunt!

[Paul B]

will stick something up tomorrow, I rendered it but at too low res and it uploaded really badly.

About the time I bought mine, my freinds bought JVC's and I remember being really impressed with what you got for your money. Just had a quick flick through the argos catalogue and there seems to be a few good ones in there.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I've been bidding and been outbid on most HD camcorders on ebay, there going for too much. So I think Mini DV is the way, so the next question posed is any recommendations for which on? There is obviously a heck of a lot out there and as before, I have no knowledge in this area at all.

The usual applies, you seriously get what you pay for. Go for a big name Sony, Canon, Panasonic etc. 3CCD or HighDef if you can afford it. I normally recommend Canon without reserve however we currently have a batch that all died after around 18 months with a CCD fault. This is not really a criticism of Canon's in general, however it is a reminder there is a lot to go wrong with these so maybe think about extended guarantee's if there are not too much of a rip off.

In terms of shops I wouldn't bother with Ebay because it is harder to return them if there is a problem (and definitely avoid 2nd hand for the same reason) stick with ebuyer, pixmania, or even Jessops who will price match most web prices as long as the item is in stock.

Definitely avoid 'straight to DVD' ones, an Image stabilizer is very useful. I would like to see if the image quality of hard-drive/solid-state/tapeless cameras match MiniDV, if it does it may be the way to go.

[Paul B]

Don't know if you have yet bought your video camera but theres been a canon Mini-dv camcorder advertised on the Tv, half price at curry's I believe.