second hand setup for first videocamera?

[Big fish63]

i'm looking at getting into this hobby to add a new twist to my diving and like all fun things in this world it looks like it could be rather expensive..

first things first, i know absolutely nothing about videocameras :blush:...

i'm looking at getting a video camera with a underwater housing..what i dont want to do is purchase something cheaper and have to upgrade a year or so later because i have tried to save money. at the same time i dont want to spend thousands as i have never done it before and dont know if its for me.

so i was thinking of perhaps going down the second hand route. not spending thousands of dollars on my first setup but something i can 'grow into'...

ive been looking at the-

light and motion HC1 with Sony HC1E HDR

light and motion mako with Sony PC 350E Handycam

both are around a £1000.

any feedback appreciated, thanks.

 

[diversteve]

Fundamentally the biggest difference is that the HC1 shoots HDV (Hi-Def), the PC350 only MiniDV or "Standard Def". On an HDTV there is a big difference in the output quality. The HC1 is at least one generation newer technology.

The HC1 housing is also a newer model than the PC350 housing. What model is it? a Stingray or a Bluefin?

The flipside is that the HC1 will require a dual-core PC or Mac equivalent to edit video in HD. And you can also create Blu-Ray DVD's affordably now. Or output your footage to regular DVD. A media player can also be used to view HD footage on an HDTV stored on fixed/removable media.

SD footage can't really be unconverted. And the HC1 can also output SD if needed. (like for quick edits on a laptop on a trip etc.)

For the same money, I'd go with the HC1 in a second.