Buying a digital camcorder in the States

corm500

Hi

going to L.A in January. I am thinking of getting a camcorder there. Is there any compatability issues between here and the U.S ?. Also is there much of a saving to be made?

Corm500

FX Meister

The saving is pretty big. The only problem is that we use PAL here and they use NTSC in the states. You can buy Pal camcorders there though but they are a little more expensive and less common. You will still save a heap though. Where about in the states are you going?

corm500

Thanks for the info

going to L.A & Las Vegas. Know any good stores in that area?

Corm500

mycroft

It all depends on what you want to use the camera for?

You'll be able to record fine, and most editing systems will let you set up PAL and NTSC projects.

However,

Your tapes won't play back on another camera, and if you wanted to transfer onto vhs you'd have problems.

FX Meister

A program will let you set up a pal or ntsc project but a pal project will only accept pal footage and vice versa. It's just better off with a pal camera. You can convert it with programs but the result isn't great. I use a universal scaler to convert and stuff I need to but these are about €10,000 so not really an option for yourself.

McGintyMcGoo

When you get to the states, order your PAL camcorder online and have it delivered within 48hours to where you are staying. A lot of the online store require you to enter a zip code. The camcorder still works out much cheaper than here if you spend $80 on overnight delivery. Make sure you buy a PAL camcorder though, as it's not worth the hassle of trying to convert from NTSC each time.

Most of the Sony camcorders in the US have the letter "E" at the end of the model number to signify that they are European cameras (i.e. PAL)

corm500

Thanks for the info guys

Corm500