I have been holding off for sometime on getting one. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Sony? Canon? Panasonic?? :confused

I am looking for one that is great for the $$. Good stability in track conditions and great quality shots. TIA!!

Chad

the canon zr65 is a pretty good DV and has excellent zoom capability

I suspect that any modern camcorder will do well with a good mount. I bought a Panasonic PV-DV53D for under $200 new and the film looks very good and has no stability issues. I use the I/O port mount although I suspect you could piece something together a little cheaper if you wanted to. Occasionally, I have seen defects when jumping berms (the sort that bend my wheels, too) but otherwise I haven't had a single complaint. Of course, I've never used it outside of the car so I couldn't tell you how it works otherwise...

i have a small panasonic and a sony trv-900 which is a larger 3ccd cam, imo the smaller the better, less vibration

Be SURE to get a wide angle lens for whatever cam you buy... it makes a huge difference. $35 for a good one on ebay.

I used my Sony TVR17 and it worked out well on a chasecam mount. Definately get a wide angle lens. I did not and when I saw the tape an instructor made in his car with a wide angle the difference was huge. I'm ordering a wide angle before my next event.

I've got a Canon ZR90. So far I've used it in my car (not at a trackday) with a chasecam headrest mount, and on my bike with a mantis tank mount. Both setups gave great quality. The reason I went with this camera, is it has S-Video inputs and outputs, for remote bullet cams. I'm going to buy a bullet cam and mount it on my fork, swingarm, etc, and maybe outside the car aiming at a wheel. It also comes with a wide angle lens from the factory, and a remote. A worthy camera, which can be had online for a good price.

Larry

Buy a second hand DV cam and plu in a bullet cam with a mic. Much better pix and heaps easier to mount than a bulky DV cam itself.

Make sure you get one with an external audio input so you can use a remote microphone. The microphones that come with the cameras just get wind noise at high speeds with the windows open. A Mic right near your header sounds nice...

I just got the Panasonic PVGS120 it is 3ccd for $500. So far it has been a great camera. It seems to be a much better value than anything else $400-800.