I'm starting to look into buying a video camcorder, and at the moment, I'm leaning toward a Mini DV. I've had almost zero real experience with Mini DV's though, and I'm just wondering how long the battery life is on average. I'll be going to a concert next month which should last about 90 minutes at least, and I'd like to be able to capture most, if not all of it. I've read in a few places that most tapes hold about an hour, which isn't a problem...I can just bring an extra. I'm just concerned about the battery lasting long enough. Any other opinions would be really helpful. Thanks!
MiniDV is still superior to the mini DVD and hard drive camcorders. You can get batteries that last up to 5 hours or more of continuous use. But, you might want to check into the legalities of taping the concert that you are going to attend.
Thanks! And the concert I'm going to is in a small venue in NYC...it's actually more of a cabaret-ish type show, and from what I've heard people haven't had problems getting video/photos etc. at that venue. Thanks for the concern though. About how much would one of those batteries that you mentioned cost me?
I think the batteries that come with most new camcorders will last 2-3 hours. I bought my Sony 7-9 hour battery for around $100 US. You should be able to get a 4-5 hour battery for a lot less.
Thanks for the info. Right now I'm looking at a bunch of cameras on eBay, so I'm not sure how new many of them are, but at the moment I'm considering the Panasonic PVGS83. Have you (or anyone else) had any experience with this camera? It seems like a good, simple one which is what I'm looking for.
I don't know how good it is. I know that is inexpensive, and I would not buy it off of e-bay. You could do a search on the Internet, for a review of the camcorder.
