egafd.com

I'm looking to buy a camcorder to make some amateur porn which would be for my own viewing - I have no intention of trying to sell them to distributors. I like the look of the Sony TRV50 (Sony's top of the range single chip cam) but I was wondering if the TRV950 - a 3 chip cam would give significantly better picture quality? I'm not too bothered by sound quality as I would probably use an additional mic. I don't mind spending the extra ??? to get a better picture. I read on http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ that the picture quality of the TRV50 was as good as the TRV950....Can anyone advise me please?

Thanks,
James

We use the Canon GL1 which is a fantastic camera!!

I cant quite afford that yet. I use it's baby brother the Canon XM1, which is also 3CCD. Picture quality is superb, probably uses the same circuitry as the GL1 and XL1, but has less audio options than those more expensive models. By that I mean it has a 3.5mm jack socket for mic input rather than the industry standard XLR sockets, but a breakout box can easily be added to the XM1 which mounts in the tripod scre holw and has another screw hole in the bottom of it for the tripod to go on to, so its fine enough for me.
Its in a similar class as the Sony VX1000, but has the benefits of a side mounted LCD colour screen, and better quality when used in low light situations. Not to mention its a quieter mechanism than the VX1000, as VX1000 users will tell you, the built in mic on them is a non starter due to noise from the tape mechanism vibrating through the camera body and getting recorded.

In my oponion if you are just going to use these videos for personal use in your home and dont intend to do any editing with them you cant go wrong with a Hi8 camera. They are cheaper than digital now, as everyone thinks you must go digital these days when in fact Hi8 is still superior to the lower end digital cameras.
The only reason professonals need such top quality is due to the sheer number of processes the video has to go through (where quality is lost at every step of the way) before arriving on the viewers screen. This is especially true if it is getting broadcast over satellite or terrestrial networks. If you just plan to shoot it and tape it to vhs or play it from the camera direct to your TV, then Hi8 will be more than adequate.
If you are not even that bothered, an old 1980 Ferguson VHS-C will do, it depends on how good you want it.
Remember older cameras will respond worse in low light conditions though, so if you dont have or plan to have any studio lighting when you are filming then you better get something more up to date, possibly with a camera mounted light which we see ben Dover using a lot.

Most pros use Sony as do just about every tv and film company in the world. Must say something.

On the contrary, I think Sony is starting to lose some of its market share. Before digital in the time when professionals had to use Betacam and U-Matic, Sony just about had the market stitched up. At that time semi professionals would most likely use full size Panasonic S-VHS cameras. I'm not certain but I think Marcus Allen probably used Panasonic. Ben Dover may have been using a Sony Hi8 camera.
I think since Sony was the leader back then a lot of people are just staying loyal to them, or arent adventurous enough to try anything different. Now we are in the digital age, many other firms are producing top quality gear. JVC, Sony, Panasonic, Canon will be found in many studios now and ITV are using a lot of Thomson equipment these days.

Just Brought the new Canon DM XM2 which you can find on the net for just over ?1400 all I can say is stunning.
This is the slightly updated version of what Mike from TM Video so rightly recommends, in my honest opinion for the money this cannot be rivaled.

Cheers Cornish Chris.

Thanks for the tips guys. It sounds as if a good single chip camcorder might be good enough for my own viewing...Although I've read a lot of good things about that new Canon XM2. Worth an extra ?500 though?