Hi-end DV vs Low end HD: price wars

[daredawg3583]

Hello everyone!

I'm considering buying a camera (as most people here are), and for a long time I've been looking at the Panasonic DVX100b. Everywhere I go I see nothing but good reviews, except for its inability to shoot at 16:9. However, there seems to be quite a few HD cameras that sell for about the same price, and I'm wondering if it would be a waste of money to buy the DVX when for a few more bucks you can get HD.

But I'm not too knowledgeable about HD cameras. The quality is amazing, but to view your product you need an HD TV, correct? So anything you make will have an extremely limited audience. Am I wrong?

What is your opinion? DVX100b, Low-end HD, or even a Canon XL2? Does anyone know where to find good deals?

 

[MarkG]

Difficult to say.

IMHO, despite the lack of real 16:9 the DVX100 produces the best-looking footage of any of the semi-pro DV cameras, so if you're only ever going to release your movies on DVD then you're probably better off with it.

If you're actually going to release them in HD eventually, then the low-end HDV cameras (I presume you're talking Sony HC3 and similar) may be a better choice.