please advise: panasonic sdr-s26 or the sdr-s7?

[jeniseaaron]

i am a camcorder novice and will only need to use it for like home videos, etc. i was considering buying the panasonic sdr-s7 but then i saw the panasonic sdr-s26. now i am a student so my budget is somewhat limited. is the sdr-s26 such a vast improvement that you think i should save up towards it or will the sdr-s7 suit me fine?

thanks for your advice.

ps- i am nto looking to do any fancy editing and i understand the problems that will occur in low light/night. thanks.

[bonehead]

have had as look at both but have several friends who have panasonic video cameras and they dont come close to a sony that has a carl ziess lens,But in your price range they are still selling sony DV cameras for near or less the same price, But budget wise yu need to ask the need and the want on the panasonic ,hope this helps

[Camcorder Guru]

Forget the Panasonics and even forget the Sony's. The best value for money has to be the JVC's. I'm talking specs for $$$. If you are in the market for a standard def cam the JVC's use the largest CCD's, 1/6" while Sonys and Panas only have the smaller 1/8". The larger the CCD the better the picture quality, especially when indoors which is what you were concerned about.

A true Carl Zeiss lens costs thousands of dollars. These Carl Zeiss lens use are manufactured under license and probably made in China.