FTII People

Hey guys, Um a direction student...Planning to buy a 3CCD video camera since long. Well now finally I would be buying it. I need it to shoot, (I mean thats the basic necessity) to shoot whatever comes to my mind, to shoot short films, to shoot during recce, to shoot everything basically. My budget is maximum 40K. I have seen my friends using Panasonic GS300. It has been relaunched, wanted to know if people know about this camera or any better camera. Have heard Panasonic camera gives better features than Sony within same or lesser price.

Yup forgot to tell you if this 40 grands amount includes tripod, it would be nice. I do not expect HD quality but a basic video quality on which if we shoot the film can be shown even in festivals or also can be used professionally.

Also tell me how about this Panasonic GS150, have heard the world's smallest camera but as good as Sony's PD.
Thanks for taking out your time and giving opinions.

hi deepti, one possible solution could be the Canon HV40 HDV (i many be mistaken with the model number). kaevan has bought one, you may ask him for suggestion. When i saw it, it had a good lens for a consumer format (Canon is known for good lenses), plus shoots HDV as well as MiniDV.

I would suggest buying a camcorder with Tape. The ones that record on chips mean you will be forced to carry a laptop and an external high capacity hard disk with you whereever you shoot.

a detailed review of the Panasonic GS300 (which I think is a three year old model)

you can try this one:

Canon VIXIA HF-10 AVCHD 16GB Dual Flash Memory/SDHC Memory 'PAL' Camcorder

3.3Mp 1/3.2" Full HD CMOS Sensor Canon 12x HD Video Zoom Lens12x Optical Zoom SuperRange Optical Image StabilizerMini HDMI Connection 24p RecordingDIGIC DVII Image Processor Microphone Input SD/SDHC Flash Memory Slot 16GB Internal Flash Memory

WHY: Shoots HDV, 24p recording, 12 X optical Zoom Lens, Shoots on Memory Card, Mic In slot

(for me these few features : good zoom range, mic in, are two very important considerations for making docus and short films. generally buy any camera which has these. this should also be under 40k)

Ok thanks...ummm can we shoot in Mini DV mode also in this canon HD model...

good questiion, Deepti. Most of these camcorders ALSO support MiniDV but I cant say for sure about this one. But it DOES work very well with FCP as in this review here