I need advice on buying a mini-DV camera.

I'll be tranferring this upcoming summer to MTSU in Murfresboro, TN where they have one of the top Mass Communication programs in the nation. I'll be doing their Electronic Media Production(TV Production) major. They are requiring all students to buy there own video cameras for some of the production classes and highly suggest the mini-DV.

I had intended on getting a mini-DV at some point and was looking at getting a Canon GL2 or a VX-2000 but both are way out of my price range.

I was at Wal-Mart and they had a couple of mini-DV cameras(JVC,Panasonic,SHARP) priced between $350 and $500. I know these are low end and my concern is that I eventually want to do some FanFilms and some independent shorts and documentaries outside of school obligations. Can these cheaper cameras do well? Can anyone tell me the best low end mini-DV to buy and what accessories I'll need? I'm also planning to get some editing software. I have a PC so I don't think I can use Final Cut Pro. I'm guessing I'll be able to use Premiere? If so, how much is that?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

I wouldn't buy any cameras from Wal-Mart but I would go to Best Buy and look, just make sure of the connection to the PC like if it's firewire which is faster than regular UBS or UBS 2.0. Premiere cost around $200 but it can connect to your camera and record within the program.

 

Uh...it doesn't matter WHERE you buy the camera. There's no decrease in quality if you buy the same camera at Wal-Mart instead of Best Buy. Anyways, the two most trusted camera brands are Canon and Sony. There are a few good panasonics. A lot of people will beg you to stay away from JVC and I've heard bad things about them as well. You should repost this in the FanFilms forum where you will be able to get more help.

 

Firewire is not faster than USB2. Firewire's max is 100MB/sec. USB2 is 400 MB/sec. Most programs that import video are designed for firewire connections though.