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Posted by Charlie S. on 03/28/07 02:09
I am fairly new to video. Been borrowing the local cable company's Canon
GL2 most of the time. I also have a small Sony mini-dv handicam.
Looking for feedback about this camera and your opinion as whether buying it
might be a good decision to buy or not.
This is the situation:
Have an opportunity to buy a used JVC GY-DV500U, plus a used and heavy
tripod that goes with it for around $!000. The manufacturing date is
January 2000. From what I hear there was a recall issue on this date, but I
imagine it's been resolved.
The camera looks pretty beat up. The paint on the handle is worn away.
There are numerous ding marks on the body and the lens shield has a jaded
edge from being banged around. I'm guessing from all the wear, it was
probably used by a television news crew at one time. The meter says it has
99 hours of (drum?) use... I'm not sure what that means. Probably was
repaired and the hours reset???
There are a lot of negatives about this camera that just didn't feel right
to me. Besides the beat up appearance, it felt uncomfortable to carry. My
friend said it doesn't have a stabilizing feature. Since it didn't feel
comfortable carrying it, I would most likely have to mount it on a tripod
most of the time.
I also focus with my left eye and the camera eyepiece is on the left side.
I would hope that could be changed to the other side? It comes with a 5"-6"
square monitor piece. Don't know where that would fit on. The camera had a
lot of different switches. Most of which seemed ergonomically challenging
and confusing. Probably somewhat of a steep learning curve getting used to
it.
On the positive side the mini-dv receptacle was impeccably clean, The lens
doesn't have any scratches and is much larger than the standard consumer
lens. (I don't remember the focal ranges. It's a canon lense.). The price
is pretty cheap. I was thinking of offering $700 or so. A new model cost
close to $7,000. Although, I'm sure, with all the newer features, it's a
far better camera. A friend of mind shot some footage on it. He, along
with a video type person, said the footage looked fantastic.
As you might guess I'm leaning against buying this unit. On the other hand,
for a starter camera, it might be a good camera to learn on. I could
always sell it if it didn't work out.
Feel welcome to offer your opinion or experiences with using this camera.
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