HDV??

Anybody using a new HDV camcorder? How do you like it? I am looking at market right now.

HDV

I'm using the Cannon HV10. Records onto DV cassette tapes which isn'nt as vulnerable to in flight vibrations as ones that record onto disc. The video in High Definition is awsome.

It also has a feature to record regular video onto the tape. This is a great feature as I have a Tail Cam which I feed into the HV10 in flight. That video isn't High Def, but it works great. The video from the Tail Cam is only as good as the output of that camera and is in 4x3 format rather than the 16x9 format of High Def Video.

Cannon has the newer version the HV20 out now. Some new features, but I'm not sure what they are.

Bought my HV10 FactoryRefurbished from Tiger Direct for $449.95 which is a little over half the price of buying from Best Buy,etc.

You can google Tiger Direct and look up their products.

Mannan,

Thanks for the reply. I am leaning in the direction of Canon and most likely the 20. That is good information on Tiger Direct. I use Canon products in my still images and really like their engineering. I have thought about going up to the XH model to get cleaner video with less compression artifacts, but realize it has too much mass for RAM mount stability. Does the 10 produce fairly clean video when there is a lot of motion in the picture?

If you plan to use it in the plane you will definetly want one with an external mic input. Without this you will get a roar from the engine and no usable audio from the flight. With the input you just run a wire with a mini stereo jack at both ends that you can get from Radio Shack from the camera mic input to the access. jack on your headset volume control. (Lightspeed) This cuts out all of the engine noise and records everything you say over intercom as well as all radio audio. When I looked the Canon didn't have an external mic, but maybe they do now. ???

Bryan

HD Video

The HV series had an external video-audio input via a cord with a plug that goes into the front of the camera on one end with the standard yellow (video) red and white (L & R) audio RCA plugs on the other.

I've been out of the business for over 20 years so I'm not totally up to date on the latest bells and whistles, but the Tail Cam is rock steady. the only thing that I don't like is the strobing of the prop but that seems to be present on all the video I've seen. Haven't tried the High Definition mode in the cockpit yet but on the ground it is awsome.

I need to get myself in gear and get a video editing program on my computer so I can upload some of the video

Oh yeah; the HV 10 is a 3.1 Megapixel still camera too.