Best 3 CCD Camcorder under 1500?

Answer 1

I got a used GL2 on ebay for $1500. Perfect condition, with charger, UV filter, remote, etc. Go for that, or a pv-gs400, around $700 on ebay used. It all depends on what you want. If you go for a GL2, you will get better quality (in general), but you will have less money for mics, filters, etc. If you get a gs400, you will have less quality (in general as well), but more money for mics, filters, etc.

Plusses of the GL2:
Better low light than gs400, manual audio controls, good built in mic, advanced accessory shoe for attaching mics without wires, 20x provides 35mm (literally, not exaggerating) DOF when used with aperture wide open, larger cam helps reduce shake along with optical stabilizer, top loading

Plusses of the gs400:
cheap, native 16:9 chips as opposed to the GL2's 4:3 chips which use stretch to create a widescreen effect, smaller and more discrete, optical stabilizer, focus/zoom/iris/shutter RING as opposed to GL2's focus ring and exposure dial, 4MP stills if you plan on using your camera for stills occasionally, hot shoe but has limitations compared to the AAS on GL2, mic inputs and headphone outputs (considering its called a consumer cam, but a prosumer for its features), top loading

Cons of the GL2:
big and heavy, expensive compared to the gs400, no true 16:9 recording, jog dial takes some time to master compared to a ring, lens cap sometimes leaves marks (not scratches) on my filter although I think its okay if I take the filter off and put the cap on the lens itself

Cons of the gs400:
not great in low light, smaller 12x zoom (sort of a con, but its not really that big of a deal if you dont need the full 12x range, or shallow DOF), small size makes it more suspectible to shake, no audio controls

So theres that. Those were all the plusses and cons I could think of right now. If theres more I'll add them later. There are other choices besides the gs400 or GL2, but in that price range, they probably offer the best manual functions and quality. Hope this helps!