Alludo USER to USER Web Board

I have 2 quick questions - For reasons I won't bore you with I bought VS 11.5 months ago and haven't installed it yet and have never done any video editing - Should I just go ahead and buy the upgrade to X2 now and start using X2 right off the bat?

I haven't bought a camcorder yet - I want to keep it very simple and do not consider High Def necessary for my needs - I've been told by more than a few people to buy a Sony ZR930 - Is there anything now available for less than $300.00 that is much better than the ZR930 that I should consider? I realize there could be many opiions but I'm mainly looking for a simple yes or no so as not to waste the valuable time of the people who contribute to this forum - Thanks very much - DBrooker

Sony doesn't make that model number -- that's a Canon. And for its price, I think it is quite OK for what you are after. I happen to have its predecessor -- a Canon MV930i -- and have been very pleased with it, though I think one or two of the extras on mine don't appear on this ZR930 (like an SD slot and even, I understand, a mini USB port -- though it does, of course, have a mini Firewire port, since that is the kind of camera it is). It has good zoom, and if Canon used the same stability control in it as in my model, then I would say also it has excellent stability control. It also comes with an LCD light on the front which can help light up dark places at night.

As for upgrading, it's of course up to you. But if you already have VS11.5+ and don't intend doing any high definition work, the extra expense to upgrade is not in my opinion worth it. You would be better spending that extra money and getting a slightly better video camera instead...

Ken - Yeah, Canon ZR930 - Thanks for your comments - I'll save my money and forego the X2 upgrade - So in your opinion what would be the best camera to buy in the $300.00 plus range? I would greatly appreciate your comment on that as well - DB

Have a look at the ZR930's older brother the ZR950...

Ken - Again, thanks much for your help - Just one more question - In your opinion would the Canon DC330 be even better, same or worse than the ZR930? In comparing the two on the Canon the website the features are bascially indentical, the only difference I could see was the recording media itself - DB

Well, I can't say I have any first hand experience with that Canon DC330... For what it is worth, though, my own tendency has always been to steer clear of mini DVD cameras. But it really depends on how much mucking around with editing your want to do. I personally prefer the mini DV tape cameras as they produce extremely high quality (though large) DV/AVI files which are easily edited, and which, after editing, can be converted to high quality mpeg-2 for burning to DVD.

The mini DVD cameras, of course, start out with high quality mpeg-2, so you are one step closer to the final goal of a standard size DVD -- or if your 'finish' the disc in the camera, as many owners do, you can simply put the mini DVD itself into your DVD player without editing.

The downside -- apart from 'finishing' or 'finalising' the disc -- is that mpeg-2 is not as easy to edit as DV/AVI -- or rather, the editing steps are the same, but more things can go wrong. One not uncommon problem is out of sync audio and video. Mpeg-2 is also inherently a lossy format, meaning each time you render, you lose some quality. This doesn't happen with DV/AVI.

Apart from that, though, you still get about the same amount of video on a mini DVD disc as you do on a mini DV tape, and I guess that both can be bought fairly easily...

Ken - Thanks - that's what I wanted to know - I think I'll stay with the ZR950 - Best regards - DB