3ccd, Mic Input, & Headphones for under $1000

[ccvid]

Is there still such thing at a 3 ccd camera with a mic input and headphone jack for less than $1000? The closest I can find is a Panasonic AG-DVC20 for 1124.99 through pricegrabber.com. I didn’t follow through to see if that price is real though.

From past forums I see the Panasonic PV-GS180 is a good camera. Is there a modern version that is similar with 3ccd, Mic Input, and a Headphone Jack?

Thanks for the help!

Ben

[Anonymous]

I have a similar problem: I’m looking for a camcorder that doesn’t suck in low/moderate lighting conditions and has an external mic input. A Canon ZR900 might work in a pinch, and at ~$250 its certainly affordable (but one chip),but I’d like to get the warm fuzzies about its low-light perfomance before I get it.

[ralck]

I believe the GS-500 ($700 on B&H) is the modern equivalent to the GS-180. It doesn’t have a headphone jack though.

On the other hand, you could consider getting a juicedlink XLR adapter which will give you pro audio inputs and a headphone jack.

[Anonymous]

hey,

did you alredy checked out the canon hv20 or the canon hv30?
they are both great in image quality and they have mic in/headphone out…

hope i helped…

Caio

[ccvid]

Well, should I consider the hv20 since it is a CMOS chip? I was under the impression I needed to go 3ccd.

[Anonymous]

I happened to be in my local Circuit City yesterday and saw they also had an HV30 on display. The ’30 was listed at $1100 but the CC website listed it at $829. The salesdroid agreed to match the web price (such a nice guy) and I was about to pull the trigger when I noticed an HV20 next to the ’30 in the inventory cabinet. I asked about the ’20 and the ‘droid looked it up: $429. Since they’re basically the same and review sites like camcorderinfo rated both units very high, I popped for the ’20. Yes, its a single chip but its larger than other chips in its class. We’ll see….

[Anonymous]

If the camera you’re looking at is great except for the headphone jack there is a work around. If you plug in the A/V out jack and get an RCA two jack to single pin (i found one for 1/8 plug) and then get a female to female adapter you can plug in a set of head phones. The two adapters cost about $10.00. You usually get the A/V cable with the camera then all you need is a good set of headphones.

[ccvid]

Argh! My local Circuit City doesn’t have one! It’s not available online any longer either…

[Anonymous]

A quick follow-up here. I’ve been playing with the HV20 for about a week now and I’ve been *very* impressed with its capabilities! Low light performance is excellent in HD (slightly less so in SD but still very good), using an external mic is easy (including attenuation–if necessary–from an abbreviated menu), battery life is good. I’m very satisfied with my purchase. Based on the ’20 I’d have no reservations suggesting a HV30 for <$1000.

[edit: Oh, forgot to mention: the A/V output connector can be toggled via menu to make it a headphone jack.]

[XTR-91]

From the above posts, I heard that it is possible to connect to A/V output so that it serves as a headphone jack.

Is it possible to use A/V input as a microphone input port while recording video?

[Anonymous]

I’m just getting started in filmography and I need a camera (that doesn’t suck.) Will I be able to connect any mic to the HV20? I know that I eventually want to put a shotgun mic onto my camera, so I don’t want to buy something that needs to be replaced right away.

[Author]

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