Posted by Peabody on 06/03/07 15:32

I have an old Sony CCD-FX630 Video8 camcorder, which as I recall has
a better than average image sensor for that time (but I can't find
that spec anywhere now).

I'm now faced with the choice of either buying a good capture device
(a Canopus or something similar) or buying a new miniDV camcorder
such as the Canon ZR850, for roughly the same price.

[I also have Pinnacle Studio 7 and the DC10+ MJEG capture card left
over from my 98SE computer. I'll post separately about the
possibility of using the DC10+ under XP, but that doesn't look
likely.]

My question is - how much better picture would a new miniDV camera
like the Canon give me versus the old Sony? If the resolution is
significantly better, then maybe this decision is a no-brainer. If
not, well, the Sony works pretty well, and even has SteadyShot.

If it matters, what I'll be doing is editing the videos in my
computer, and burning them to standard DVDR disks for mailing to
family, etc. I want the video quality to be as high as reasonably
possible for my budget.

Thanks for any suggestions.

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