Re: bargain digital camera
 

Some of the sony range, though I think they are all last years could playback Hi8 on their DV8 machines, useful if your Hi8 is on its way out to pasture.

If its not a feature you feel you need then the Cannon 630 I mentioned does all you need, true widescreen, analogue to DV conversion, DVin/out, certainly portable enough for my needs.

http://www.nomatica.com/index.asp?de...gue=EN&pays=UK

www.Nomatica.co.uk £555 (allow for â‚ ¬ conversion fluctuation) with spare battery (the big one), case, 3 tapes and 3 year wwty. £377 without the extras.

Re: bargain digital camera
 

The Canon does indeed look good. Has everything I need in a camcorder really. Would you happen to know the difference between DV and mini DV and whether one format is superior ?

With regards to that camera, can get it for £315 at Dixons believe it or not, which is fecking good. The Dixons web offer is £350 but if you use the voucher code from shop4camcorders.co.uk you get an extra 10% off :)

Re: bargain digital camera
 

DV/MiniDv - AFAIK its the same, just the tape is smaller, possibly shorter record time, and no extended record time options (availible on the 650). Mini DV is used more in the next range up, the MVX10 shaped ones, but I think the MVX10 is still DV. It allows a smaller form factor for the camera. If you have not seen one you'll be amazed at the size of a DV tape though. About 40x smaller than VHS and stores more lines of image.

The only thing I would warn about on the 6n0 range is that some motor noise can be picked up by the onboard microphone, can be fixed by buying an add on one from jessops for about £25. Probably cheaper ones elsewhere. I think this is a problem with many small form camcorders anyway.

Re: bargain digital camera
 

Just a couple of links that may be helpful for camcorders.
http://www.simplydv.co.uk/reviews.html

http://www.reviewcentre.com/products58.html

I bought a JVC GRD25 at Xmas from Jessops. I had seen the same cam online at a couple of place for about £130 cheaper. I knew that Jessops would try to match the price and they managed to get within £15, but also threw in a 5 pack of DV tapes which made up for it.
For spare batteries, I bought a generic double capacity one on Ebay from a UK supplier with about 100% positive feedback. I paid about £18 "buy it now" inc p+p. I saw the same on Saturday in Dixons for £69.99! Not a bad saving. I will find the name of the seller if anyone wants it.
Oh I nearly forgot, whilst looking into the one I bought I too found many people mentioning motor noise on Canons. My analogue Canon, only about 18 months old has the same.

Re: bargain digital camera
 

Thanks SMHarman. Wish I'd got the canon yesterday. Dixons put the price back upto £400 today :) Can still get it for £360 but £45 more then yesterday. My main concern with the Canon as you say was the tape transport noise, I had wondered if it was possible to fit an external mic and solve it. Does it extend out far out of interest ? I think my folks want it to be kinda small, not sure they want this massive boom extending out the front :D

Re: bargain digital camera
 

Great link that vaiolator (the reviewcentre one). Thanks.

Re: bargain digital camera
 

Just an update on the original topic:

Amazon seem to have exhausted their supply of the A60. They do occasionally list a few second hand items but it looks like this model has more-or-less gone for good.

Keen viewers will have noticed that there is a new model in the range - the 3.2 megapixel A75. This is very similar to the A70 which, I guess, is soon for the chop. So eyes peeled for some more bargain prices on this one!

At the moment Argos has the A70 for £179.99 and, according to our latest freebie flop-out, it should be on offer from 27th to 31st May for £149.99 .

### cut 'n paste from another post ###

For a rediculously large amount of information on CF cards look here:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/mul...e.asp?cid=6007

For a good charger you could try one of these:
http://www.gpbatteries.com.hk/html/p...k_premium.html
At only 36 minutes for up to four 2100mAh NiMh AAs, the U-Smart claims to be the worlds fastest charger. It's available (inc 4 x 2100mAh) for £35.42 + vat from CPC.

For some non-rechargables you could try these:
http://www.energizer-eu.com/en/e2_lithium/default.htm
At 2900mAh, they claim to be the worlds longest lasting AAs. They work well in the cold - ideal for trips to the Himalayas - and they have a very long shelf life so they're ideal as a backup set. Expensive mind, at about £5 a pair!

Re: bargain digital camera
 

Missed this when i read the thread back then...

When taking a photo. take a deep breath, hold, press the shutter, then exhale.

Removes the shakes no end. I can hand hold a 30th (obviously not on full zoom) like this.

On the subject of Cannon cameras, I was getting upset at my EOS10 last week as the LCD screen is starting to delaminate and black bits are appearing on it. Still works fine and is readable though. Then I realised that the camera is 15 years old. Cannons are built to last.

Re: bargain digital camera
 

Or p'raps Bifta should have gone for the PowerShot S1is instead - 3 megapix, 10x optical zoom with optical image stabilization. ;)

My photos suffer from this quite often. I try to stay steady but sometimes it's not convenient to hang around! I'm sure I used to be better at this in my youth when I wielded a trusty Zenith-B. I think that the shutter delay of digitals doesn't help. I often seem to take the camera away from my eye too quickly - I'll try to remember that big breath trick.