Buying a High End Video Camera Online

hmmmmmmmm good info to know, I can’t recommend anyone I’ve never owned any video equipment only cheap disposable cameras.

Very revealing investigative work Marina. Hope some young & old alike, take it to heart & investigate those deals that are out there, that are too good to be true… they are.
Side note, I got a nice HDD Cam from panasonic on my airmiles, so no money paid, but the software sucks & is so slow it almost kills my laptop, sometimes having to reboot.
I didn’t investigate deep enough into it. Says the software won’t load on a Mac either, so borrowing my wife’s new unit is probably out of the question, just have to wait until I can afford to upgrade my hardware before I can be happy using my new cam. Oh Well, whats the hurry anyways eh.

Very good Marina. I have found out like that too. They all suck. The best battery…the best…

What Marina wrote is true, but I don’t recommend you buy it directly of Amazon either. There are many stores with good prices, that have an online virtual shop, and you should browse long and hard before deciding to buy.

I bought my phone from a website of a mobile phones shop, that was right below my apartment and had to wait 2 days for delivery, but I did it in order to benefit from the 5% discount they offered if you placed your order on their website.
Even without the 5% they had the best price on the market. Today I still have the phone, after almost 4 years. Mind you it took a plunge on the sidewalk, and on new years, it swam in a puddle. It’s intact, and works just like it did when it was new.

The moral, if you’re going to spend your money, do it wisely! :-)

Nice to know for future reference… if I ever could afford a camera like that. Damn those scammers!

Hey I just your New Calender link above, and with that “Click Here Order Now” that flashes at the side….. it kind of looks like you are sponsoring McDonald’s. :lol: :mrgreen:

Or buy a zi6 which was £100 and better than your shitty camera :lol:

Your camera rocks Marina!

She just loves those burgers! :D

Nicely written article Marina.

While I was in LA last month at an expo, there was an independent film maker who was setting up his HVR-V1U camera and showed me some of the features. Very nice camera. I still have an old Sony TRV21 (’96) that I’m kicking around that works great, but of course it can’t even compare to today’s quality videos.

I’ve only used Amazon since many of my friends have been burned by other online or fly-by-nite retailers. Other scam techniques to watch out for is where the retailer;
1. sells something as new when it fact it is returned goods.
2. sells outdated/recalled serial numbered equipment.
3. sells equipment not warranted in the US as Marina mentioned.
4. sells a different model number at a marked up price.
In other words, bait and switch. Lets say you want model Z1A-2, but you don’t know that a prior outdated model Z1A-1 is $100 cheaper. The retailer will sell you the outdated Z1A-1 and will mark it up to the new model’s price.

That’s funny Marina, as I posted the above comment, I scrolled up and saw the Ads below the menus. One of the Ads above is Ritz Camera which I had originally planned on mentioning, but thought, otherwise. I’ve always visited their stores in person as there are several in my area.

Hear this…Iron Butterfly – Unconscious Power…

Cameras brings the past summer back, as winter lingers. I feel with my fingers…how do you feel today?

:???: :smile: I see you :!: :razz:

ps…what flavor is that guitar pick?

Quote
“We didn’t lose the game, we just ran out of time.” – Vince Lombardi

I only shop at B&H Photo or Glazers Camera. Mostly from Glazers. http://www.glazerscamera.com I don’t even shop at Amazon. No way! Glazers has more I need and you can also rent if need be. I like buying local for they need the money too. They cost a bit more but the service is unbelievable. My friend got his camera fixed there at no charge. Same day in about an hour. Other places they would ship it out and you would not see it for weeks.

B&H Photo is a long time great company that has been around for many years. I bought some of my first 35mm gear from them. Great company for online photo gear. But I try not to buy from them for lack of local support.

I don’t buy anything that might be need of repair from online companies. Unless its dirt cheap, disposable and I can buy a new one for the price of a repair.

Of all the cameras Glazerss sell they recommended to me the Cannon HV-30. I’ve talked to other people and they say the same thing. In some cases it can out preform a 3CCD chips which it the top technology. Last time I check on the price it was around $600 online and $800 in stores. They say the cmos chips are really good for the price per performance. The only down side to the camera is there are no interchangeable lenses. For that you have to step up to the pro equipment. Most YTers are not going to be needing that. It’s over kill. If depth of field is a factor then get the pro equipment or many Hv-30 users have adapted DOF components to the Hv-30′s with great success. They also recommended a better microphone which with any camera you buy you should always buy a better mic. Get the mic off the camera! Or at least have it mounted off the camera body. Wireless mics work great if you can put it on your subject. If your shooting outdoors you going to have to go with some sort of shotgun mic. The idea is if you want to get the background noise out of your videos you have to get the mic as close to your subject as possible.

Oh I can go on forever but I have said enough and Im tired. :cool:

I don’t know about cameras, but I have bought probably 30 books from amazon. The service is great, and I have always received what was advertised. Most books arrive in way less than a week. I have no idea how good their complaint response is though; I have never had to make a complaint.

Hot for consumer protection :cool:

I’ve heard similar stories with regular cameras and other items.

Once while selling a woodworking machine a guy showed up with a print out of the “same machine” from some online dealer. He was trying to convince me to sell my machine based on this advertised price.
I told him the model numbers were different so the machine were not equal. Then I told him the early manufactured models are made with higher grade parts.
He didn’t want to listen to my reason, so I didn’t sell him the machine.
Somehow I think he ended up paying full price one way or another.

A friend of mine who works worked at Circuit City told me that early model electronics always weight more than later production models.
This had something to do with the quality the parts.

Caveat emptor – let the buyer beware!
Advice as old as Rome, itself…
Alas! I do not have the “shopping” gene :mrgreen:
Never been to [Amazon]. Advertising never lives up to the promises it makes. Couple that with personalities as depicted in the movie Confessions of a [Shoppaholic], and it’s a recipe for chronic disappointment.
I haven’t invested much time or money in cameras or video equipment since the change from the film format.
I still have my trusty Canon AE-1 SLR, 35mm – which is top of the line, but sadly outdated in this digital age.
For those who have never used film cameras, imagine taking a photo and not knowing if it’s a good or bad shot, until the film is developed! Even with one hour film processing, it is not the instantaneous process one has come to expect with new cameras allowing you to see the result, even before you take your finger off the shutter button.
When Polaroid introduced the Land camera, it was breakthrough technology. An episode of The Flintstones portrayed the stone age version with a little bird, in the camera, chiseling the image onto a rock slab!
What is next might be equipment allowing you to record video streaming, in real time, directly from visual areas of the brain; complete with digital anti-jitter and “blink” removal processing! Very Sci-Fi, at the moment.

Hey leonard, Great old band, ‘Iron Butterfly’, great selection.

Hello…Ides of March – Vehicle…rock history for HotForWords…low end :smile:

It is always worth checking the feedback at http://www.resellerratings.com if you have any reservations or concerns about a company.

Sincerely

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
http://www.adoramacamera.com

$1399 + $1000 + 800 = $3199 so you’re already over the Amazon price. :sad:

Sorry, my day job is an accountant. :wink:

I don’t buy video camera’s my school’s communications Dept. rents them out for students to use in projects.

Marina, was that On Time Digital you were talking about? They are crooks. Here is a little more on them if anybody is interested…

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/on-time-digital-c147598.html

If anybody has been shafted by them, and can’t get through on their toll free number anymore, here is their business address along with their normal phone number.

1585 McDonald Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11230
(718) 998-9320

If a phone or any electronic device “goes for a swim in a puddle,” get the battery out immediately. Then, after shaking out as much water as possible, get it open so that it can dry out. If you can’t (or it would be too expensive to pay someone to open it), set it on a plate over a warm (not hot) source, such as a small light bulb for a day or so until you are absolutely sure it is bone dry inside.

The battery provides power to chemically chew up the innards. Without that, fairly clean water for a short time won’t hurt anything; it’s water left for many days that will cause corrosion.

“And when we ship it to you, do you want a box? That’s $100.” :roll:

If you look at the history of video recorders, the weight thing is true. The original Ampex unit was the size of a hope chest and had a thick, cast aluminum chassis on which the moving parts were mounted (this from the maker of studio units the size of two washing machines stacked on each other).

When they got down to the size of the VCR, there still was a cast aluminum base to provide a stable platform for the tape-moving components. Eventually, the eensiest-tinsiest little casting possible was used, verything else being mounted on stamped steel (less stable). Eventually, even that disappeared as they learned how to live with stamped steel or plastic. Now can you say that the product was improved over all that? It certainly got lighter and cheaper—from over $1000 to less than $50. Imagine how much better the product would have been if the expertise gained and new design techniques learned had been applied to improving performance instead of lowering the price.

So they didn’t ask you if you wanted these charged-for extras:

1. A cover on both front and back?
2. Page numbers?
3. Black ink (vs. white ink)?
4. All the pages assembled in order?
5. In the English language?
6. Punctuation marks included?
7. All the pages printed with the top in the same place?
8. All of the pages, not just the evens or odds?
9. Assembled so that the spine is on the left, not the right?
9. Free of urine stains?

Well, then, you got a bargain. :lol:

Wow, Google produces the above text when searching “video camera removable lens” on the same day it came out. Does Google do anything special for partners to get this fast response?

I made a comment on a word last week and then Bob Goggled that word and my comment was the #1 spot of the goggle search, this was in just about an hour time.

The best cameras are free. :cool:

Just a word about Amazon. I’ve been a customer since they started, when they were only a book store. I’ve purchased hundreds of items, mostly books. Everything I’ve purchased has been as advertised. On one occasion when I had an issue with one of their “partners” Amazon refunded my money.
I would encourage Marina to link from this site to Amazon. Especially since, the last time I checked, Amazon was taking pre-release orders for her book.

The main thing is: “No matter how long and hard you stare the print never leaves the page!”

thats practically my back yard :shock:
:lol: B.B. :mrgreen:

To bad you’re not going to China anytime soon, you could pick one up for $478.00 …maybe less. :neutral:

:mad: bubblewrap is another $15- ka chingo :!:

China is cheap. the currency exchange is 1: 3 so $1000 over here (in USA) is like $3000 over there (in China)

From my experience at wally world, most electronic components are getting smaller and lighter weight because the individual pieces are continually getting more efficient. They do more stuff with less. The old adage still holds true: stay away from first runs. Let the manufacturer work the bugs out. As for the weight thing, a marked exception is with speakers. Weight is good. The size of the magnet and coil are crucial. Odds are, a twenty pound speaker will give you much more than a two pounder – unless, of course, they put rocks in your box.

I do a lot of my shopping on the net. Marina is right when she uses Amazon as her reference. I like to check out stuff with Amazon, esp. when I shop at eBay, since Amazon gives a fairly
competitive price with most goods and frequently beats the prices at eBay. I like to check out Sierra Trading Post also, but it’s best with that outfit to stick with name brands that you already are familiar with like Carharts and New Balance. I check out the “hot deals” at Campmor and the clearance sales at Cabelas. Amazon is a great place to buy used books, too. If your feet are non-standard size or shape, check out these 2 custom shoe makers, Hersey (for athletic style shoes) and Grundman’s (for well made work boots and other kinds of shoes). Go here for the best deal in a quality mechanical pencil…I like the 0.9mm leads. And dig their pencil clips…I’m addicted to them now.
I’m getting that same rush that Vince from Shamwow gets…call now because you know we can’t do this all day.

Don’t lose that film camera, as long as you can still get good film & prossessing. Digital, no matter how you break it down, is still just a bunch of dots. Good photogrphers prefer film for it’s clarity. Seems the best ones can bring life to Black & White pics. I use my Canon SLR with Yashica lenses very rarely, as I’m cheep & can’t afford the prossessing of film. (not really a “good” photographer myself anyways)
Eyeborg, more sci-fi

You got something in your eye. :grin:

Be causious of any online dealer who insists upon having your telephone number. I promise you that you will get a call just as Marina described.

Adorama is an outstanding camera company to do business with as is B&H.

Very honest and very fast to deliver!

Her book is coming out??? I didn’t know. Thanks for info.

Thanks for watch’n our backside Marina!

:twisted: que onda uerita , .. well I am still using the canon, yep the xl, got it from the site years ago, 3k the full kit; case-battery-charger-lens … it may be old , I still get chingon ass results …. orale pues, as usual have fun & C_YE ! ! !! ! ! !!!!!