Digit 2005-04 - Clevernotions.com

uyers guide
DIGIT BEST BUY RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSUMER CAMCORDERS
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Canon MVX25i
There’s virtually nothing to fault the MVX25i,
with its 1/1.4-inch CCD, great colour fidelity,
and stacks of manual controls
Canon MVX3i
If 3CCD models are out of your reach, this is the
next best thing, with excellent picture quality and
ease of use, plus manual and pro features
Panasonic NVGS200B
With a three-CCD imaging system, the NVGS200B
offers superior colour fidelity, a proper focus ring,
and good audio and accessory options
Samsung VP-D590i
Vertical DV camera; 800,000 pixel CCD; 10x
optical zoom lens; digital image stabilization;
Night eye; 355g; 2.5-inch viewfinder
Sony DCR-PC109E
This upright palmcorder’s touch-screen is unique,
and makes the unit really easy to use. The output
is great, with vibrant colours and good detail
buying advice: DVD drives
Unlike CD-RW, recordable and rewritable DVD drives and
media are split between three incompatible formats –
though recent efforts have brought them closer together.
DVD-R and DVD-RW, writable and rewritable versions
of the same format, were created by the DVD Forum, the
original inventors of the DVD format. DVD+R and DVD+RW
were developed by the DVD+RW Alliance. DVD-RAM was
also invented by the DVD Forum. It differs from DVD-RW
and DVD+RW in that it has a disc layout that doesn’t require
linear writing, as with conventional CD-RW, DVD-RW or
DVD+RW discs. This allows it to be used like a hard drive,
with drag-&-drop adding and deleting of files.
The main difference between DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW,
apart from the basic incompatibility, is the lack of support
for DVD+RW on the Mac. DVD-R and DVD+R both have current
top speeds of 4x, with DVD+RW’s 2.4x top speed beating
DVD-RW’s 2x. Though these speeds seem slow when compared
to CD burners, you actually get a lot more from each
speed with DVD. A 4x DVD-R burner creates an entire 4.7GB
disc in the same time as it took an old 4x CD-R drive to build
a 700MB disc. DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW speeds are likely
to grow at the same rate as CD-R/RW did, if not faster.
Manufacturers say they’re unlikely to get as fast as
current CD-R/RW speeds – though they also said that
about CD-R/RW in the past.
Product name Price Company and contact details Platform Reviewed Digit rating
DSR-PD70P £2,200 Sony, www.sonybiz.net, 0870 6060 456 M | W Dec 04 3.5
Sony’s workhorse pro-level DV camcorder has a loyal following who swear by it. With controls to match the competition this would be a top model
GR-D93EK £510 JVC, www.jvc.co.uk, 0870 330 5000 M | W Aug 04 3.5
Top of JVC’s budget prosumer range, the GR-D93EK lacks some key features – such as a microphone input, headphone output, and accessory shoe
GR-DVP9EK £765 JVC, www.jvc.co.uk, 0870 330 5000 M | W Aug 04 3.0
As small as a dictaphone, the GR-DVP9EK is stylish, light, and compact. It features a decently-sized 1/4-inch CCD, and plenty of manual funtions
GY-DV5000E £2,900 JVC, www.jvcpro.co.uk, 020 8896 6000 M | W Dec 04 4.0
This stalwart of the scene is intuitive for those used to conventional broadcast cameras, offering good manual control and excellent auto
HDR-FX1E £2,150 Sony, www.sony.co.uk, 08705 111 999 M | W Mar 05 3.5
This HDV camcorder offers exceptional output quality at 1080i resolution, but it suffers because it doesn’t have XLR audio inputs
JY-HD10E £2,650 JVC, www.jvcpro.co.uk, 020 8896 6000 M | W Dec 04 2.5
Very popular because for a year it was the only HDV camcorder available. But lacks manual control, is American format and has been superceded
MV750i £375 Canon, www.canon.co.uk, 08705 143 723 M | W Aug 04 3.0
A very cheap prosumer camcorder, the MV750i’s performance is unfortunately reflected in the price. The picture is OK, but image-stabilization is poor
MVX25i £765 Canon, www.canon.co.uk, 08705 143 723 M | W Aug 04 5.0
The MVX25i is worth the money – there’s virtually nothing to fault this prosumer model. The 1/3.4-inch CCD stands out
MVX250i £529 Canon, www.canon.co.uk, 08705 143 723 M | W Aug 04 3.0
A 1/4.5-inch CCD is large for a camcorder at this price, and this model makes several premium features more affordable
NVGS200B £850 Panasonic, www.panasonic.co.uk, 0870 906 8357 M | W Aug 04 5.0
The NVGS200B’s three-CCD imaging system delivers vibrant, well-defined colour. Every manual feature you’d need is catered for and easy to use
NVGS400 £900 Panasonic, www.panasonic.co.uk, 0870 906 8357 M | W Dec 04 4.0
The NGS400 isn’t a true professional-level DV camera, but it does offer some pro applications. Three CCDs, and clean footage with accurate colours
NVGS55B £510 Panasonic, www.panasonic.co.uk, 0870 906 8357 M | W Aug 04 4.0
The NVGS55B packs a lot into a small package, including an accessory shoe and microphone input. There is a healthy selection of manual controls, too
PDX10P £1,400 Sony, www.sonybiz.net, 0870 6060 456 M | W Dec 04 4.0
This is Sony’s attempt to combine the best from the pro and consumer worlds and it works well. Top of its class in compact and mobile DV cams
XL2 £3,000 Canon, www.canon.co.uk, 08705 143 723 M | W Dec 04 4.5
Digit’s Best Buy and the best indie-film DV camera in the market. It’s £500 more than the DVX100A but is a better component-based system
XM2 £1,350 Canon, www.canon.co.uk, 08705 143 723 M | W Mar 04 2.5
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Canon’s XM2 – it has a great lens, and many pro-level features. However, it’s now old and out of date
Input devices
Intuos3 from £129 Wacom, wacom-europe.com @ CU, 020 8358 5857 M | W Dec 04 4.0
A smart new design and an improved pen make the Intuos3 a great graphics tablet. The mouse is a bit unbalanced, but overall a decent buy
MX700 £51 Logitech, www.logitech.com, 020 7309 0127 M | W Jan 03 4.5
The best cordless mouse on the market: flexible, rechargeable, and offering the level of precision a designer requires – at a price
SpaceBall from £375 3Dconnexion, www.3dconnexion.com, 01952 243 629 Windows Sep 04 3.5
Two-handed input devices that potentially prevent RSI, but they’re unlikely to change the way you work, as there’s no real benefit in terms of speed
Storage devices
Bravo II Disc Publisher £1,395 Primera Technology, primera.com @ Microboards, 0845 230 7800 M | W Digit 76 3.5
A pricey convenience, the Bravo II Disc Publisher nonetheless offers good duplicating and printing facilities if you need to produce small runs of CDs
FlashTrax from £260 SmartDisk, www.smartdisk.com, 01252 530 960 M | W May 04 4.0
The FlashTrax is an inexpensive way to avoid taking a mountain of costly media cards out when photographing – if you can take your eyes off the iPod
MediaBank HS-R £299 Miglia, www.miglia.com, 0870 747 2988 M | W Mar 04 4.0
If speed and security are high on your priority list for external storage – and cost per MB isn’t – the FireWire 800-enabled MediaBank HS-R is great
REV £249 Iomega, www.iomega.co.uk, 00 353 1213 3754 Windows Jul 04 3.0
Cartridge-based storage system. Low-cost cartridges makes the REV a real rival to tape and DVD archiving systems. Sadly, it doesn’t support Macs
Monitors
Cinema Display £851 Apple, www.apple.com/uk, 0800 783 4846 M | W Oct 04 4.5
Stunning picture quality for under £1,000. The design looks great next to a G5, but it only has a single input and no picture modes
Cinema Display HD £1,360 Apple, www.apple.com/uk, 0800 783 4846 Mac Digit 76 3.5
More manual controls needed, but at almost half its original price this 23-inch LCD with huge resolution now offers excellent value for money
ColorEdge CG21 £1,279 Eizo, www.eizo.co.uk, 01483 719 500 M | W Digit 76 4.5
It’s been overtaken by Barco’s Coloris Calibrator for the best LCD crown, but this 21.3-inch model is far more realistically priced