MiniDV: on the way out?

Question

This article http://www.camcorderinfo.com/d/Reviews&level_b=Camcorder&level_c=MiniDV.htm says that MiniDV "is quickly being ushered out, despite many adherents." It's the cheapest medium with the greatest recording time (right?), and the format doesn't require heavy PC specs for editing (right?). Will I still be safe to get a MiniDV camcorder? Or will I find myself wishing I had waited for the next-gen (or spent the extra cash for it)?

I have noticed that many of CNET's recommended picks are being sold by refurb outlets. Few, if any, are available from the big box stores, which I take as an indication of the situation.

If you've bought any camcorder in the past 3-6 months, tell me which model and how your experience has been. If you can, please recommend a camcorder with decent low-light performance.

Thanks.

Answer 1

This is a case where technology is not necessarily improving on the past. Some newer formats to miniDV are DVDs and hard drive cams, and the controversial HDV. The first two were made for ease of use, and the last one was made for a cheap means of getting HD recording out there, although with recent advances, it is possible to edit it quite smoothly with a fast computer. The thing about all these three formats is that they use Mpeg-2 compression. In the case of HDV, it's not so bad, because it's HD and you have a lot of picture information and can be downsized, but with SD DVDs and hard drive cams, compression does take a noticeable toll. Let's forget HDV and talk about DVDs and HDD cams now. While they are made for ease of use, and allow you to find any scene instantaneously without searching through scenes like MiniDV, they are limited, one, by the above mentioned Mpeg-2 compression which reduces quality. Mpeg-2 looks great if shoot a talking head; unfortunately, most home videos are as shaky as a magnitude 9 earthquake, and even if it's not, chances are people are going to be moving about in the videos, which Mpeg-2 doesn't handle very well. Also, on the editing side, mpeg-2 is not a great format. DVDs, because they are DVDs, can't be edited unless you get a program to rip the video files out and convert them to avi's. HDD cams are better because you can transfer your files to a computer, but it is still hard to edit unless you convert to avi first or have a computer and software that can handle mpeg-2 editing. Basically, miniDV didn't fail us. We failed it. When it first came out, people talked about finally being able to get pro-quality video at a consumer price. Now, people have thrown away that mindset in pursuit of user-friendly, no-work-involved products. That's the next-gen. Many people are getting an HDV cam but for what? To show the world in HD how good they are at putting their mind into neutral and not even thinking and having a piece of plastic and glass shoot your kid's birthday party? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying HD is bad or that everyone sucks at making videos/films, but basically, the "next-gen" is not going to replace miniDV for it's true value anytime soon. Hope this helps!

-----EDIT-------
So I guess basically what I'm trying to say is that standard definition MiniDV is dead, for the average consumer. HDV will probably still last longer, at least in the consumer markets. But as for professionals (definition: one who sells services for money) or low-budget filmmakers, MiniDV will still be around for quite a while. And while HDV is a good, cheap format, as prices come down and storage increases, camera's such as panasonic's HVX200 recording in DVCPRO HD on P2 cards will dominate.

Answer 2

Mini-DV has already had its day. It requires far too many moving parts and is very tempermental mechanically. My sister just had to trash a 3 year old $500 Sony because someone pushed at the wrong place on the loading transport mechanism. Even when Mini-DV works, you have sliding parts that need to grab the tape out of the cartridge and wrap it around the spinning heads and then return it to the cartridge. It's always an accident waiting to happen.

Answer 3

I doubt it. There are Mini DV HD camcorders.

Professional news units use DV-CAM which is the larger, faster size of Mini DV and most can take Mini-DV-C tapes and play them.

I doubt they are going to be replacing this format for the next few years.

Eveyrone is having problems editing Mini DVD disks and transferring from Hard Drive cameras.

Seems like the easiest way into a computer is Mini DV.

Answer 4

That is interesting, I was planning to buy a Panasonic DVX100 later in the summer, based on advice (a bit dated though) from camcorder info. I'll be interested in seeing what kind of answers you get.