Anyone gotz the goods on them?? How is the video quality and especially the low light capcity?? I see some with very competitive pricing but dunn wanna buy a dudd..
Gracias 
Yeah, someone needs to give us a good personal opinion on the MiniDV Video Cameras.
I will go out on a limb and say stick with Sony. I know the price difference between a comparable Sony with other brands i.e. Canon, Sharp, Samsung and Panasonic etc.. make it a bit unpalatable...but the results by Sony are always better. A couple of my friends opted for Canon and Samsung because they thought its better bang for the buck, but returned those within a week and got Sony. Low-light results are the key. Sony is head and shoulder above the other brands in low-light results.
So, if Sony is falling out of your price range in MiniDV, then check out Hi-8/Digital 8. Its a bit bulkier but the results are better than most other MiniDV's.
Or if you really insist on going for another brand, make sure you buy it from a brick-and-mortar store (Circuit City, Fry's etc) who do not charge you restocking fee. Then buy the Canon/Samsung/Panasonic and take it home, and try it in low light. If you don't like the results, then return it and get Sony.
Faisal, you work for Sony?!? ;)
I've had Panasonic Camcorder for about 10 years and I think it has given me some very good quality videos, even in low light. When I bought it in 93, it was with either 0.5 lux or 0 lux. Coupled with light, it came out with very decent pictures in low light. Now that the camcorder has fianlly broken down, I want to buy MiniDV so I can transfer it on DVD's. SO Hi8, i.e. analog, is not even being considered.
I know Cannon and Sharp have low light issues but wasn't sure about Samsung. Sometimes, you get surprised by the quality of a not so pricy item. PLus there aren't many good sites which compare ALL or MOST of the MiniDV camcorders. Most cover only SOny, Panasonic and Cannon. So unbias comparisons are hard to find.
p.s. I am kinda leaning towards Panasonic PV-DV203. Anyone got this one?!?
No, I don’t work for Sony, nor will they pay me any commission 
In any case, a relative of mine was visiting from Pak, and took me with him when he was gonna buy the camcorder. Based on value-price proposition, we decided on Panasonic as it was MiniDV, and for the same price ($499) Sony only offered Hi8. Anyway, the gentleman bought the camcorder and was quite pleased with the small size, features and price. Took it to Pakistan and two months later shipped it back to me to get it repaired. Turned out that any movie they’ll make there will somehow have broad white horizontal lines on the screen. I sent it to Panasonic Repair and they fixed the problem (fingers crossed) and charged us $148 for labor (parts were still under maintenance) plus shipping. I have sworn off Panasonic now.
A friend of mine, bought Samsung MiniDV and returned it within 8 days (paid 15% restocking fee - damn those BestBuy guys) and got a Panasonic. Retrurned it again, and settled on a Sony Hi8. Paid 30% more than he should have. Idiot!
Sharp’s MiniDV is the worst of all. Had it repaired already and still the white blocks on the screen re-appear after a few days.
In our kids last PTA, every single parent was sporting a Sony Camcorder. I talked to a bunch of them and most had bought their Sonys after trying other brands. Panasonic seemed to get the worst ratings and most problems followed closely by Sharp’s ViewCam and Canon (poor low light performance).
Personally, I am now off MiniDV. For my next cam, I’d probably get Sony’s cam which writes directly to DV-R/RW. This MiniDV is just rediculously problematic.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Faisal: *
I will go out on a limb and say stick with Sony. I know the price difference between a comparable Sony with other brands i.e. Canon, Sharp, Samsung and Panasonic etc.. make it a bit unpalatable...but the results by Sony are always better. A couple of my friends opted for Canon and Samsung because they thought its better bang for the buck, but returned those within a week and got Sony. Low-light results are the key. Sony is head and shoulder above the other brands in low-light results.
So, if Sony is falling out of your price range in MiniDV, then check out Hi-8/Digital 8. Its a bit bulkier but the results are better than most other MiniDV's.
Or if you really insist on going for another brand, make sure you buy it from a brick-and-mortar store (Circuit City, Fry's etc) who do not charge you restocking fee. Then buy the Canon/Samsung/Panasonic and take it home, and try it in low light. If you don't like the results, then return it and get Sony.
[/QUOTE]
I heard Sony uses lens made by Canon in their top end models. Not sure abt the authencity though.
Sony uses Carl Zeiss lens. Not sure if Canon uses the same in some of their top-end models too. May be. May be not. Lens is just one part of the camera. Although a v. important one.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ghalib: *
Faisal, you work for Sony?!? ;)
I've had Panasonic Camcorder for about 10 years and I think it has given me some very good quality videos, even in low light. When I bought it in 93, it was with either 0.5 lux or 0 lux. Coupled with light, it came out with very decent pictures in low light. Now that the camcorder has fianlly broken down, I want to buy MiniDV so I can transfer it on DVD's. SO Hi8, i.e. analog, is not even being considered.
I know Cannon and Sharp have low light issues but wasn't sure about Samsung. Sometimes, you get surprised by the quality of a not so pricy item. PLus there aren't many good sites which compare ALL or MOST of the MiniDV camcorders. Most cover only SOny, Panasonic and Cannon. So unbias comparisons are hard to find.
p.s. I am kinda leaning towards Panasonic PV-DV203. Anyone got this one?!?
[/QUOTE]
I have the exact same story! My Panasonic just got stuck and doesn't work anymore :(
I'm actually looking at the JVC models. Sony's are a little expensive. The model that I like is the 70v but it comes out to almost US$1200. Just bought one for a friend in Pakistan.
Canon uses it's own lenses.. often these lenses are made by someone and then licensed across with different terms of licensing so you might see the same lens used by a Panasonic, Canon and even a SONY and they'd all be from the same plant but carry different branding.
SONY however has the edge with their partnership with Zeiss.. Panasonic is teaming up with Leica for their digital P&S so maybe we'll see some Leica lenses on their camcorders too..