Camcorder Recommendations?

[downindm]

I'm looking for 2 camcorders for use in our church for running video of the services, and I'm trying to do it on a tight budget. Mainly what I am looking for is something that will provide me with an S-Video output that I can connect to our video mixer, has a decent optical zoom, standard tripod mount, won't power off when not recording as I simply want to use it as a video feed, and has a decent picture quality. I'd prefer something that does both 16:9 (preferable) and 4:3. HD would be nice, but not really needed as our video mixer (a Videonics MX-1) only has RCA and S-Video inputs.

I'm trying to keep it under $300 for both cameras - and don't mind going used or refurbished. My main concern is that both cameras are of the same make & model so when switching between them there is no real discernible change in video quality.

Any suggestions?

PS: These forums are a true blessing! Thanks in advance for any help.

[MustangNazMedia]

I would go with The canon GL2, but for one it is anywhere from 600 to 1200 for 1.

But the Canon GL1 is a lower price and does okay.

Or some older 3ccd chip cameras like the old News VHS cameras. I have seen them on ebay 2 for $375. Great picture if using line out but not so much if using the tape.

[downindm]

Actually, I was looking at the JVC GR-D850 MiniDV camcorder. It doesn't have the S-Video (composite only it looks like), but at $100 each they seem to fit the bill for everything else. I looked at the Canon GL1 and they still seem to run about $300 or more per camera. I was looking to get 2 cameras for about $300.

[MustangNazMedia]

Another option would be this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Palmcorder-P...#ht_500wt_1180

jvc & panasonic make some pretty good 3ccd chip cameras
the only down side is they do not have a remote port like the canons or sony.

Go to ebay search 3ccd panasonic

One of my favorite cameras is the hc30 from sony. It has a mic & lanc(remote port) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-Handyca...#ht_500wt_1413

This little camera we have used it for a long time in live production.
downside it is not a 3 ccd camera, but works well.

[explosive0]

If you're still interested, we have 2 Canon GL1's that we might be letting go of as we're planning to upgrade to HD. Feel free to PM me

[downindm]

Thanks to everyone for all the input... I went ahead and picked up the Panasonic PV-GS70 based on the recommendations of 3CCD cameras here and the various reviews of it I found elsewhere. I'm basically setting up our video out of my own pocket and donating it to the church - thus the reason for the budget.

I should have looked closer on the E-Bay description though, the camera came yesterday and I have had a chance to play with it at home some - but for anyone else looking, it didn't come with the AC adapter cord (which is is standard round plug that going into the battery charger and has a "fake" battery on the other end). Oh well, I found a kit for it at B&H - but it was $50 (as it had the charger as well).

I haven't gotten a chance to play with it at church to see how it does with our lighting, so the verdict on that is still out - but the one other thing that took me a while to figure out is how to disable the auto standby feature. The manual doesn't really make note of how to do it - but I found someone else mention that if you don't have a tape in, it doesn't go into pause mode (and thus, doesn't go in to standby).

[JeffReckart]

those pana GS-xxx models that have a mic in jack, also support a wired remote, similar but not compatible with the Cannon LANC remotes. Google magic wired remote and you will find it. There also is a schematic for DIY'ers to build their own remote. this may for $10 in parts and a little soldering get you some more uses fullnes out of your cams. I built one to control my GS-300 while it was on my camera crane.

just FYI

JR

[downindm]

Thanks for the info about the wired remote. I'm an electronics tech by trade, so I'm fairly handy with an iron. I'll have to look that up. Thanks again!