Great little camera for the money
Pros:
INCREDIBLE camera for the low cost.
Cons:
None really, perform superbly in all situations once you get the hang of it.
The Bottom Line:
If this is in your price range, buy it. Don't buy less than this for an entry level camera or you'll regret the quality.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I bought this camera around 3 months ago when I got the urge to produce a video for Youtube. The links below point to only the videos produced with this camera.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CHUyhXpzgqc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Irl7RH-jqpg
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zCsrSqgZjpM
http://youtube.com/secondhandmoe
Don't let the quality of the videos on Youtube scare you, video quality is lost during the Youtube conversion process.
This unit is small, lightweight, and VERY EASY to operate. The settings I used in the videos above were pretty much using the AUTO settings. As long as you have plenty of existing light ( not necessarily sunlight ) you can use the AUTO setting. Only use the many, many other features when you have lowlight situations, there is also an example of a video I shot in lowlight above as well with the settings at AUTO.
Just an FYI: It is better to not shoot in direct sunlight anyway, for lighting reasons as well as other reasons.. If you shoot into direct sunlight you chance ruining the CCD ( Charged Coupled Device ), so if you must shoot in the direction of the sun, make sure you have something shading the lens.
I had taken this to Cape Cod for my nieces sunset wedding on W. Dennis beach. It was a cloudy, misty, day and it was very near sundown. The weather didn't cooperate for her wedding but the camera took absolutely superb quality videos in that kind of lighting.
This unit uses DV tapes, they are cheap, Walmart sells a 4 pack for $17.99 which gives you 4 hours of recording time which can actually be used over and over again. I personally use the FireWire connection on the camera to connect to my computer and record them to my hard drive which can later be put on DVD or CD depending on the size. Or you can connect to a VCR/TV via the DVA cable to record onto VHS tape. Then I put the DV tapes back into the camera, rewind them and simply re-record over them
This camera has a smart battery feature where you press the DATA button and it will tell you how much power and time is left in the battery. It comes with a 1 hour battery but you can buy up to a 4 hour battery. The long life batteries are relatively expensive
( 89.95 ) but worth it in the long run.
Sound quality is awesome as you will hear when you play the videos on Youtube. It comes with a stereo mic built in to the front of the camera. I have actually taken this camera to my band's rehearsals without recording video. I have just used it to record the sound. http://tomsmidis.com/SecondHandMoe/SecondHandMoe_files/Page340.htm
I could write much much more on this unit but I'll end here by saying. This is an INCREDIBLE camera for the money. VERY worth the purchase.
Enjoy
Tom
