Bullet cams...not so easy

[mannanj]

I bought a Factory Refurbished Cannon HV 10 for $450 about 4 months ago. It's an earlier version of the HV 20. The only downside for some, it uses a firewire to output to your computer. I had to buy a firewire board that came with the cable ($25) to retrofit my older desktop. It uses the Mini DV Cassette Tapes and seems impervious to G loads.

It's an absolutely awsome camera especially when you record on Hi-Def and play back to a Hi-Def TV. Of course your bullet camera is going to limit the quality of your recording. It's a 3.1 MP still camera too with a 10X optical zoom. If you plan to use the video camera to record the kids or grandkids, this might be the way to go.

PM me if you would like to know how I hooked the whole mess up.

Try Tiger Direct dot com and do a search for H10.

[frankh]

Actually an awesome deal.

I just plunked down 665 on a new HV20 that comes complete with a USB port that will plug directly into my company supplied laptop.

The cheapest I came up with was $560 but a quick search online revealed the company to be less than desirable to work with.

The 665 number was from a companny that had "mixed" reviews but no-one said they never got their items and Cannon has a 1 year warranty so I may be in for some hassle but it should work out OK.

Hopefully I should be showin off my invert system in a a couple of weeks.

Cheers

Frank

[mannanj]

Frank:

Where did you find these deals?

[RV7Factory]

Frank, it sounds like you are all set so this may be moot. I checked and the Elura 100 does require Firewire to transfer videos. It also has USB, but I think that is just for transferring still images.

$400 used?!?!?!? I paid $350 new only a year ago. Hmmm... maybe I'll eBay mine and upgrade to HD.

[frankh]

Originally Posted by mannanj

Frank:

Where did you find these deals?

The $560 price is from www.thecameraprofessionals.com

As I said if you Google the name you'll get all kinds of "Interesting" feedback.

The $664 price came from www.us1camera.com
Feedbck was still mixed...Have to call them about a "Problem" with your online order where they try to strongarm you into a bunch of over priced accessories...At least thats what most of the poor feedback said...But didn't see anyone who did not get their stuff as advertised.

Frank

[frankh]

OK, so the HV-20 will not transfer video via the USB port...only by the Firewire port....Grrrr!

Anyway there is a card that looks a little like a credit card that slips into what appears to be a spare slot on my laptop and provide 3 firewire ports.

The one made by "Adaptec" lists for $10 on Amazon...or $21 complete with interface cable plus shipping.

Finally I think I'm down to the last of the technical issues...I hope!

Frank

[craigvince]

Originally Posted by frankh

The $560 price is from www.thecameraprofessionals.com

I had personal experience with several online vendors, including this one, BroadwayPhoto, and a couple others I can't remember right now. They all sell the camera for cost, but make you buy extra batteries, warranties, etc at huge markups. When I say they make you buy, I mean they won't ship your camera if you don't. When you go online to order it, it says it's in stock. Then you get an email saying you have to call their order dept to confirm the order. That's when they strongarm you into buying the extras. When I called, I was told again that the camera was in stock. Then I was told that the JVC camcorder I ordered only came with a 'demo' battery which would only last 15 minutes, and that the warranty was only a 30 day warranty. When I declined the extras, they said they would ship the camera within 48 hours. An hour later, I got an email saying the camcorder was on backordered and I would be notified when it was in stock, but if it wasn't instock within 2 weeks, the order would be automatically cancelled and I would have to re-order. I got this same experience with all 3 vendors. I finally did some Google searching on vendors and found out that there are several of these so-called discount vendors all in New Jersey, all run by the same crooks.

Do your homework very carefully before buying camera equipment online. If the price seems to low, there's always a reason.

(sorry about the rant).

[asav8tor]

There are several east coast online camera dealers that advertise prices below distributor cost. Before you fork over your CC number, save yourself a big headache and google search the name of the online retailer you think is offering a great deal with the word problems in the search box.

Burned and it took over a month to resolve. Never again.

[Kyle Boatright]

If you're buying camera gear online, there are vast differences between the different shops. Some will sell you the camera at a great cost, but (as pointed out by others) you'll find out that the price only included the camera - not all the accessories that are packaged with the camera. You know, useful things like lens caps, batteries, shoulder straps, etc.

One vendor I've always had good experiences with is:

www.bhphotovideo.com

They have good prices, good policies, and a good reputation with professional photographers.

I don't think you'd go wrong buying from B&H if they have the product you want.

[frankh]

THis vandor also has the HV-20 for $689....Another $30 but could be well worth it if you've had good experience.

Cheers

Frank