No, I misunderstood. He was referring to the DVC30 that you posted a link for.

This cam is a piece of garbage. The zoom sounds like a coffee grinder and the picture is not as good as the VX2100.

Is it any surprise that Macintosh cult followers also tend to love the Panasonic?

Don't forget all of those dreaded professional videographers (pro, and semipro) using their Panasonic cameras to great effect. Imagine that, pro quality video in the hands of young talented craftsman being produced by a "piece of garbage that sounds like a coffee grinder"?? My sarcastic point is that the Panasonic cameras are excellent, some prefer the Sony, or Canon, others are loyal to the Panasonic. It is certainly competitive, and dismissing it is a mistake of the narrow minded. If, in fact, Macophiles are partial to it, Panasonics' stock goes up (not down) in my books. After all, Macs are the preferred tool of professional graphic artists/video editors, and digital photographers (by far, and for very good reasons).

Here is an answer to your request:
http://www.lafcpug.org/review_dvx_pd150.html

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Lou Bruno
MODERATOR

That is close, but refers to the dvx100, not the DVC80.

Same picture qulaity minus the 24P-that's all.
I think the 80 will be gone shortly anyway.

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Lou Bruno
MODERATOR

That is correct, but understated as 24P is the main selling point (originally) of this model. Another important distinction is the lower cost of the DVC80 versus DVX100.

I own both the Sony dcr-vx2000 and the Panasonic AG-DVC80. I would have to say that I use the the dvc80 more than the sony because of its sturdy-lightweight design. The magnesium alloy casing is a real plus and selling point becasue its it light and tough. I purchased the AG-DVC80 rather than the DVC-100 because there is really not much difference between the two other than the fact that it has 24P. I just didnt see spending $1,000 more for that feature. While nice, it wasnt that appealing to me for that price difference. My opinion is NOT to purchase the vx2000 becasue, for the same money, you can get the 1/3 in. CCD's in the Panasonic rather than the 1/4 in. CCD's in the Sony.

The Leica lens (f-1.6) with optical image stabilization and optical zoom really appealed to me as well.

It is entirely up to you what you choose but, as an owner of both, I find the Panasonic products much more rewarding.








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And lots of people buy American cars every year and think that the quality is as good as Toyota and Honda. Even though it is a blatant fact that Toyota and Honda are much higher quality and are still on the road 15 years later while their American counterparts are either parked outside a mobile home or are in the junkyard.

The Panasonic feels like a Chevy and the Sony feels like Toyota. The zoom on the Sony is super quiet while the Panasonic's zoom is the loudest I have ever heard on a camera.

And if you think the picture of the Panasonic is as good as the Sony then you need to get your eyes checked.

Also, you have zero credibility since you think that the Sony only has 1/4 ccds. I doubt you actually own either camera.

Be careful with the analagies payday. Yes, Toyotas' are more reliable, but they are BORING/have no character, and no performance. Enthusiasts are not enthused with them at all. Likewise, we (on this forum) are enthusiasts, so, if your analagy is correct, we are not excited about the Sony cameras. As an aside, being from the Detroit area, domestic auto sales strongly support our economy (locally, and nationally). So, add character, performance, and contributing to your own quality of life, and I am happy to buy/own my Corvette/Mustang/Camaro/Viper, etc.

Okay, my mistake... The Sony vx2000 does, in fact, have 1/3 inch ccds at 380k picture elements. BUT.... The Panasonic does have 410k picture elements.

I admit the zoom is loud on the Panasonic but it is not as loud as a coffee grinder like you ugly, down in the mouth, critics think. It does not bleed into the recording unless you have a very high power omni-directional microphone. It does not affect it, however, with the optional unidirectional mic. or hundreds or other microphones you can put on it.

I am NOT an employee of Panasonic!!! I am just an enthusiast who has owned many of their products and many of Sony's as well. If you buy the Sony only because of the sound of the zoom you are not a very good consumer.

As for your analogies of the Chevy vs. the Honda and Toyota, I drive a Jeep and find it FAR better than a Chevy suv or a Honda CRV which, in my opinion, is a piece of useless crap sent directly from hell.

Doubt what you will. I dont want to argue with you about the ownership of video equipment.

...by the way, my jeep is a 84', runs great, and is not parked in the front of a mobile home if thats what you think of Americans!...

forgot to tell you...
THERE AINT NOTHING WRONG WITH MY EYES!

That reminds me, my 1971, and 1999 Chevy are running just fine too, thank you very much. Our leased 2002 Toyota also runs fine...of course, it is hard to tell that it is running at all, it is so darn quite.

lol... 1971 thats a pretty darn old car you got there. But lets not forget the subject of this forum which is stated.

Also, I was wondering, does anybody know of a good unidirectional mic. for the dvc80/dvx100 besides the panasonic one that is optional?
thanks

Now I know I would like to have the XLR audio inputs, but for what I am doing immediately that isn't necessary.

My bigger questions arrise with the DVC80 and it's shutter speeds. The Spec sheet list that it can only do 1/60, 1/100, 1/20, 1/250, 1/500, 1/000, 1/2000, while the VX2100 can do 1/4-1/10000. I am not likely to use 1/4, but 1/30 is something that I would shoot with in low lighting conditions. And not having that seems strange to me.

Then the Anamorphic adapter, I would get the Century Optics for the Sony, and would get the Panasonic for the Panasonic, but I haven't seen anything about this lens listed. How is the quality? Is it as good as the Century Optics? It is $100 more (larger filter size would probably account for that), so that knocks $100 off of the price difference right there.

Also the large size battery is about $60 dollars more, for the Panasoic, and yet I see the sony gets much better praise on it's battery life. so that cuts the price difference a bit again.

As for the lens, I am sure I would prefer the wider lens, and the manual focus controls on the Panasonic.

Have there been any good comparisons of these 2 cameras anywhere?

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-Jonah Lee