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<DIV>We have bought so many video cameras over the years. We have a fairly large range of different brands and differing qualities. </DIV>
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<DIV>I have a couple similar to what Rachelle has just bought and they are great. The high definition footage is brilliant but I really only use these cameras for school events or senior student projects. The reason being is that they are quite expensive (we paid $1200 each for ours) and the students only have a limited amount of drive space at school anyway. </DIV>
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<DIV>I have some that take memory cards and I find they are cheaper and easy to use with students. I bought a couple of sonys this year for around $450 that take a memory card and have 4gig internal memory. They usually last 2 hours of recording. It really depends on how long you need to use it for and how far away you are from a point in which you can download the footage. The best thing about memory cards is that they can be taken out and swapped so that more footage can be taken or the camera lent out to another group of students. These cameras are really good to use with middle school students. We also have a hybrid cam that takes mini dvd and mem card. Although the mini dvd is probably usable, we just stick to the cards because they are so easy and I can't really say much about the mini dvd option.</DIV>
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<DIV>I'd definitely advise you to go with the memory cards or internal drives - say no to tapes! (apart from being annoying, the cameras that take DV tape have too many moving parts which can be damaged quite easily and they are not worth fixing when they are damaged) Also make sure they have a good rechargeable battery (2 per camera is ideal) and they feel good in your hand. If they feel awkward then it is more likely that students may drop them. We have a range of brands and they are all good. I'm generally pleased with all of them however I do believe the sony I mentioned above is the most impressive simply due to all the connections (usb etc) being in logical places and it feels really good to hold. I'm not at school so I can't give the exact model number. I'll look at it tomorrow for you and let you know. </DIV>
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<DIV>We've also bought from lots of places but around Ballarat I find that JB Hi Fi are indeed the cheapest by far. They were really easy to set up a school account with too and we use them all the time for purchasing cameras, vids, speakers, mp3 players and other audio equipment. Oh, and I buy all of our camera bags from cheap places like the reject shop or the warehouse. We've only ever had a clip break on one and they have had their fair share of use over the years! Don't forget to budget for some tripods too - a must for film making. Invest in sturdy ones as they do get carted all over the place.</DIV>
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<DIV>Hope all this is helpful.</DIV>
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<DIV>Jeanean</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Calisto MT">Jeanean Pritchard</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Calisto MT">Media/Music/Arts</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Calisto MT">Highview College</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Calisto MT">Maryborough Vic</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Calisto MT"><A href="mailto:jpritchard@highview.vic.edu.au">jpritchard@highview.vic.edu.au</A></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><BR>>>> "Mclean, Rachelle L" <Mclean.Rachelle.L@edumail.vic.gov.au> 18/08/2009 8:23 am >>><BR>We just bought 6 new digital video cams. Sony HDR-XR100. 80gig hard drive. Up to 33 hrs recording. 1920x1080 high def recording. 4.0 mega pixel still images. They are great. No more tapes. yay!! Bought them from Lanmark computers. Got them to throw in some camera bags.<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR><BR>Rachelle McLean<BR>Hallam Senior College<BR><BR>________________________________<BR><BR>From: vet-mm-bounces@edulists.com.au on behalf of rob@netspace.net.au<BR>Sent: Mon 17/08/2009 8:41 PM<BR>To: VET Multimedia Teachers' Mailing List<BR>Subject: [vet-mm] Video Cameras<BR><BR><BR><BR>At Thomastown we want to buy some Video Cameras for use in the new Media course<BR>next year and in other areas of the curriculum. I am was wondering if anyone on<BR>this list could provide tips on what cameras are best for this purpose and the<BR>best place to buy them. I am s
ure many of you will already have answered this<BR>questions.<BR>Thanks<BR>Rob Byrne<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------<BR>This email was sent from Netspace Webmail: <A href="http://www.netspace.net.au/">http://www.netspace.net.au</A> <<A href="http://www.netspace.net.au/">http://www.netspace.net.au/</A>><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR><A href="http://www.edulists.com.au/">http://www.edulists.com.au</A> <<A href="http://www.edulists.com.au/">http://www.edulists.com.au/</A>> - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe<BR>VET Multimedia Mailing List kindly supported by<BR><A href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vet/programs/multimedia/multimedia.html">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vet/programs/multimedia/multimedia.html</A> - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and<BR><A href="http://www.pixeled.org.au/">http://www.pixeled.org.au</A> <<A href="http://www.pixeled.org.au/">http://www.pix
eled.org.au/</A>> - PixelEd Multimedia Teachers Association<BR><BR><BR><BR>Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.<BR>_______________________________________________<BR><A href="http://www.edulists.com.au/">http://www.edulists.com.au</A> - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe<BR>VET Multimedia Mailing List kindly supported by<BR><A href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vet/programs/multimedia/multimedia.html">h
ttp://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vet/programs/multimedia/multimedia.html</A> - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and<BR><A href="http://www.pixeled.org.au/">http://www.pixeled.org.au</A> - PixelEd Multimedia Teachers Association</DIV><BR>
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