North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

thinking of buying a video cam,mainly for fishing,boat shots,but with mini DV,DVD,HD,HDDand HYBRID options confusing me,
any info,preference or advice greatly appreciated.cheers.

It depends what you want the camera for and how much you want to spend.

Even a cheap standard definition DV camera will give excellent results.

DV editing software is now cheap and easy to use.

The HD DV format is the way of the future and the footage is brilliant. HD cameras can be used now even if you don't have HD TV or HD editing software because the footage can easily be reduced down to standard definition.

If you spend extra to get an HD camera your valuable shots will be in HD format for future use.

I would be tempted to buy a cheapish camera and a separate mike - why spend a fortune on a camera that is going to be used around water?
The separate mike is important as many cameras have unnacceptable hum on the built-in mike, and you can get a separate mike that is better quality than the camera mike. Good sound is important.

A tripod with a fluid head is worth its wait in gold - there's nothing like steady footage and smooth panning, but hand shooting works if you concentrate on being steady.

When you shoot use zoom and any other movement sparingly - there's nothing worse than a scene going all over the place and zooming in and out, like a bad 1960s Cream music clip.

Biggest problem is that the fish seem to know when the camera is on board

thanks Matt,was looking at jvc hdd with dock station@$850,but maybe cheaper dvd for filming fishing,camping,boats,cars, don`t need much zoom,would be the go leaving change for accessories.
the dock station appealed to me, i am used to that with my camera.cheers.