My First Semiprofessional Camera please help :-)

I would really appreciate your help in this purchase I'm about to make. I'm looking to buy a camera for business purposes, as will personal documentary dreams :-) but that's definitely secondary. I'm looking at a number of different brands. dvc 30 being one of them as the most expensive one. What worries me a little bit is that it's two years old, and from the reviews I looked at http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php it seems to get a lower rating than some of the cameras released in 2006. I'm actually mainly looking just to take indoor semi-lighted pictures of people for documentaries on the web. So eventually transferring everything to digital. However I would also like to get into simple music videos. I simply can't afford anything more than this camera. The other alternatives I was looking at was that: dvc 20, and the dvc7. I can't seem to find a single review for the 20, and the seven is said to have okayed video quality. I don't know how to compare or what to choose! Please help in anyway you can :-)

Hi

I own a DVC30 and is very pleased with this camcorder. I don't use it proffessionally, only as a video amature. I upgraded to the DVC30 from a MX500, the PAL version of GS953. One of the reasons I bought the DVC30 was the poor low light performace of the MX500. The MX500 is great as long as you are using it outdoors, but indoors it takes a lot of lightning to get a descent picture. It will start to use gainup even in ordinary lighted rooms, giving duller colours and noisy, grainy picture.

The MX500 has three 1/6" CCD:s, the DVC30 has three 1/4" CCD:s, which makes the DVC30 much more light sensitive.
The DVC20 has also three 1/6" CCD:s, but less pixels on each CCD compared to the MX500.

My guess is that the DVC20 will be somewhere inbetween the MX500 and the DVC30 in light performance, but closer to the MX500. If you need low light performance, don't go for the DVC20, go for the DVC30 or perhaps the GS500, or save your money until you can afford one of Sony:s or Canons HD-cams.

Regards,

/Bo