Are these cameras content-worthy with their quality?

the handycam is not, the nikon is

i'd say the opposite...

I agree. We used the Nikon 5700 for the first year, and it dod fine as long as you have good lighting. Only downside is the flash recharge time and it has a small buffer, so I think it will only burst a few pics at a time.

The handycam is not by what standards?

And newbreed, BB had another camera for the same price that was a Canon rather than a Nikon... I actually meant to show the Canon first.

I read AaronM say in another thread that's what he was shooting these beautiful pics with, so I looked into that brand.

Only thing is, you'd think buying a camera for that much money that is digital, then lighting really should'nt be an issue...

AaronM shoots with a much higher end Canon than the one in the class of that Nikon. I think the picture you posted was the 8700. I shot with the 5700 for over a year, it's the one before the 8700, and was only 5Mp as opposed to 8. It took great pictures, but it took me a while but eventually I got to the point where it took great pictures. Now, that being said, we now shoot with a Nikon D70, and sometimes I wish I was still using the 5700.

When you say "that much money", the 5700 same out at $1200.00 at CompUSA, which is where we got ours. Now, two years later, you can get the 8700 for $800.00 almost anywhere, and that's a steal for that camera. It's very easy to use, and will be more than enough camera for you to shoot some basic stuff and produce some really good content.

My comment about lighting was made because if I knew then what I know now about how important lighting really is, I could have gotten even better results with my 5700.

The D70 we have was over $1,300.00, and the Canon that Aaron is using is closer to $2,000.00 plus the lenses he has (which I can imagine are another few thousand in total).

AaronM shoots with one of these I'm pretty sure...
http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/con...9&modelid=8772

The canon you probably saw was a digital rebel. I can't speak for it at all, I personally don't like them, but it's a personal thing more than anything (this applies only to the Digital Rebel, not the 10D or 20D.

If you want a digital rebel, they just released a new one this week, so don't look at the silver body one....lol

Thank you very much for that man, I appreciate it.

When I said "that much money" I was referring to actually just a month ago when I saw those two cameras for $1300 each, I don't know quite what's up with the cost reduction, and I am thinking I may have been looking at a different camera in the store now.

You've gone and confused me lol.

Anyway, the stills I am not very concerned about, as I have always had an inclination for photography, it's the video that concerns me. I don't have much experience with it tbh, and I heard you say you agree that that cam is not good enough... please tell me why that is. Last question I ask, I promise.

If you were in the $1,300.00 range, you were looking at the Digital Rebal. Canon released it to compete with the D70 (basically the same quality and idea, but the Rebel was much cheaper), and thus the pricing on it and the D70 are similar or the same in most cases. In fact Nikon was doing a rebate offer last month up to $200.00 off the camera and body to get the D70 down to the price of the Rebel.

Now onto the video...

For the last few months we used a single-chip Sony camcorder, I don't know the model off the top of my head... Since you are probably shooting for the web, and assuming you don't expext HD type quality, the camcorder you choose is fine...

BUT...

From a usability point of view, the newer Sony consumer cameras have gone too techy. For example, the manual focus is now touch-screen on the LCD panel, no more focus wheel. And if you are shooting close, or through something sheer, or there is whatever sceene that the auto-focus gets all crazy, it's a pain in the ass to manually focus the camera.

That's just one of many pet peeves I have about the new Sony's. If you want something in that price range, look at the newer Panasonic stuff. They have a 3-chip camcorder for under $700.00 right now, I would go with that one.

Let me also add this... I love Sony, always have, always will. I have shot 1,000's of hours of video on Sony camcorders, and NEVER had a problem with them. It is only now that they are making all these changes that I am losing faith in the consumer and some of the pro-sumer models.

Thanks a lot for the info man, I appreciate it.

that nikon is junk.. get an SLR camera, with an interchangeable real lense... the handy cam is alright.... for web you can shoot with almost any dv cam, but IMO camera makes a big difference

What are you shooting with again Al?

And I agree, go for a digital SLR, even if it is the Rebel.

For me it was like motorcycle, you buy something you will grow into rather than grow out of.

Im found of sony digicams, right now you can get the sony dsc-f828 for $650 + tax shipped direct from sony. Not a bad deal at all.

I'll strongly second the comments on the new vs old Sony consumer level: Never had a problem, but too much 'techy'. I'm a techy at heart, but focus via lcd touch screen isn't cool. I have both a miniDVDCR-HC20 and a D8 DCR-TRV310. The TRV is much easier to use in any manual focus realm.

its very important to go with SLR (single lense reflex) cuz the view finder is exactly what will be captured in the shot... none of that amateur bullshit of shooting by staring at the little screen...

don't waste your time looking for highest megapixel camera either...unless you're shooting for print or really really need a huge file (still useless IMO)... either way the average eye won't see the difference after a certain point

Shit man, I still have a TRV-72...lol One of my workhorse cameras, made me a lot of money back in the day.

The 8700 has a real viewfinder, as does the 5700. You can also use the LCD, but it gets old quick and as Al said, it is not as accurate as far as the frame. Don't let that be the deciding factor though, buy the best you can afford right now.

Thanks a lot for the info guys, certainly things I can't ask the best buy salespeople.

best site to help someone:

http://www.dpreview.com

they do THE best comparisons and what to look for and much much more..

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews
(make sure you scroll down and click 'next page'.. most reviews are 10-20 pages long)

just try your camera and you will learn things about the camera you have or are gonna get that you never knew...

gonna bump this cuz its such a good freakin site... i highly recommend you guys go through it... even if you have a camera, you'll learn many new things about it

Yep