"Entry level" HD Videocamera
 

Hello everyone,
in the effort to always improve ourselves, we are considering to get an HD videocamera.
But, as money is a big issue in these crisis-days, we would like to start with a good "entry level" one that could give our videos a big quality improvement and, at the same time, don't "kill" our saves.
Consider that the quality improvement will be obvious, as at the moment we are using a really cheap miniDv camera.

Do you have any brand/model to suggest?

There is now a good alternative to update your DSLR and make small movies in a great quality ...the Nikon D5000....I was really bluffed by the D300s, and wanted to see the result with a lower level...which is nice !
The fact is you have all the advantages of a DSLR ( so you can change lenses, ...you couldn't make it with a videocamera ) ...and have a serious nice Bokeh , really nice definition ...
Here is a link by Dpreviews ...http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond5000/

Nick ( Somona's Hubby )

What is your budget and do you intend doing a lot of post film editing? Most review sites/forums still recommend HDV cams if you want to do a lot of post production.

Don't know the price of a Nikon D5000 as I am a Canon man myself. Their recent D7 is fantastic but is going to set you back €2500 +. You will get a great HD vidcam for half that price!

thanks for the answer!
Actually we are thinking to get the Canon Vixia HF200 / Legria HF200
we think it has a reasonable price compared to its features...

My advice.....never shoot with an entry level camera. Entry level is for home videos, not for business. You will regret it down the road. In five years when you want to recycle your footage and your stuff looks old, you will lose more than you spent on a good camera to begin with. Suck it up and buy a mid range video camera and shoot high quality. Also,make sure there is enough money in your budget for proper lighting.

Yes, that's something to take in consideration. But we have a very low budget and we really need to keep it low for the moment... i think the improvement from a really crap digital videocamera to an entry level HD videocamera is still a good step forward for us :)

If you ask me, better invest into a high quality SD cam than. Ebay has a lot to offer. There are a lot of features you will need on a semi pro shooting than doing your holiday clips... just my 2 cents...

Good luck to you. Here is a great source of cameras etc.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

Canon HV30 rocks my socks!