Simple question - DVD camcorder or DV tape camcorder ?

[Jim276825]

Hi there everyone

I've been trawling through the previous discussion threads on this forum to try and get to the bottom of this issue which will be a deciding factor in which camera I purchase. I'd appreciate anybody's observations on the following comments.

"DVD camcorders are essentially rubbish, the quality isn't anywhere near as good as DV tape and if you want to edit it, it will be really fiddly and the quality will degrade even more"

And..

"Stick with miniDV as it will give you the best picture quality over all the other formats (hard disc, DVD etc)".

I want to shoot simple, straight forward stuff and then edit on my PC. Am I right in thinking that miniDV is the way to go ?

[Marc Peters]

Yes. Stick with miniDV.

[Ian in Northampton]

What Marc said. If for no other reason than that there's a zillion people who can help you with a miniDV-based system - capturing, editing etc. - and a million applications to choose from. Think 'infrastructure', think 'support'...

[Jim276825]

Thanks, your advice is appreciated !

[Mark W]

DV is the one.

[Mike Thorpe]

TAPE! TAPE! TAPE!

Stick with miniDV tape or the kitten gets it.