JVC HDV Videocameras

(bbking) · (bbking) **Join Date: Dec 2006** 05-06-2007, 7:08 PM

first off, is HDV a good format? is jvc good? am i that retarded for buying off of ebay?
i hate the cameras we have had, they've been a huge pain in the a, so is this going to be similar? i'll be using my mac to edit, mostly for wakeboarding/lake, and dirtbiking

http://cgi.ebay.com/JVC-Everio-GZ-MG37u-Good-Condition_W0QQitemZ160112748127QQihZ006QQcategoryZ 122611QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

^^^these people are 15miles away from me, on the lake i wakeboard at so i like this one, but there is one with , the same camera at 82$ on ebay i'm bidding for w/ 2 days left

(caskimmer) · (caskimmer) **Join Date: Apr 2006** 05-06-2007, 8:06 PM

That's not HDV it's regular Mini DV with an internal hard drive (but I've grown to love HDV)

(richd) · (richd) **Join Date: Oct 2003** 05-06-2007, 8:46 PM

I don't believe there are any HDV format camcorders which record to an internal HDD. The HD models are using a different compression which isn't supported yet by the MAC (at least FCP)

(bbking) · (bbking) **Join Date: Dec 2006** 05-07-2007, 5:42 PM

thanks, it said its supported by mac in a diff. listing i think

but is it worth it? thanks

(richd) · (richd) **Join Date: Oct 2003** 05-07-2007, 6:39 PM

Do you want HD or SD? HDV is an HD format only.

This is an SD unit that records using mpeg2 compression. I'm not sure you can edit it unless you copy the files off the HDD and then transcode them to DV or another codec. You're going to take a quality hit either way and when they say it has Mac support they're talking about file mgt not editing. Stick with a miniDV - tape based unit.

(bbking) · (bbking) **Join Date: Dec 2006** 05-07-2007, 7:04 PM

do you recommend a certain camera for me? i just want something that will look good, fits in my hand like a normal video camera

and can get for $200 or less used-long video time too

we had a handycam that used minidiscs but they only would go 30min and were expensive!

(richd) · (richd) **Join Date: Oct 2003** 05-08-2007, 6:28 AM

Right now mini discs and HDDs are more of a gimmick then a workable solution if you are into serious editing / FX IMHO, none of them are DV.

DV is still the best consumer format and most units can go up to 80 minutes on a $4 tape. Just get one with a firewire interface and the biggest sensor and most manual controls you can find. Ususally Sony will be the best bet at this level followed by Panasonic and JVC. check the unit's review on cnet or camcorderinfo.com.

(bbking) · (bbking) **Join Date: Dec 2006** 05-08-2007, 3:20 PM

i'll check it out- the guy at the apple store, i was asking him about macs and everything

he said minidv (where you can record onto something) is my best bet
i'm getting some video formatting thing called Studio Cut express or something that as he said "is a watered down version of the final cut (which costs $1300) and i get it for $150 after a student discount

so that should be pretty good for me!