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Rating: 
Summary: AG DVC80
Review: I am a television video producer, I deal with professional video equipment every day and knowing what good video looks like is part of my job. I have been using the AG-DVC80 as my personal video camera for about half a year now. I am 100% satisfied with it. I use my video camera almost every day to take video of the same events in my life that everyone else with a home video camera takes. I use it for birthdays, weddings, parties and so on. I will occasionally use my AG-DVC80 for video production, when a full sized ENG camera is not needed or available. To the majority of the population, the quality of the video and audio that this camera produces can not be distinguished from the video and audio of the DVC-PRO cameras we use for production. I occasionally see this model and the DVC100 being used in TV shows. Trading Spaces, Wild Boys and MTV Cribs are a few of the shows that I have noticed these cameras being used.
My best friend uses the Cannon XL1 (not the XL1 S) and we personally do not see much of a difference in video quality between the camera images. The AG-DVC80 cost less than half the price of his XL and it is smaller and lighter. His XL1 does not have an LCD monitor, great for above head shots.The Good:
3 CCD, a must for professional video
2 XLR plugs with easy to use volume controls
LCD monitor (not found on the Cannon XL1)
Half the price of a Cannon XL1
Solid constructions
Optical stabilizer
Good looking and intuitive design
Small and light weight The Bad:
Built in microphone is fragile
Plastic guards for plugs are cheap
Strange joystick for VCR control
Rating:
Summary: Great camera for the budget filmmaker
Review: The Panasonic AG-DVC80 is kind of a little brother to the fantastic, 24p-shooting DVX100. Most of us who aren't planning to convert video to film probably don't need 24p, and the DVC80 offers just about all the same features as the DVX100 for a thousand dollars less. The only thing I miss (so far) from the DVX100 is the ability to shoot time-lapse images. The DVC80 delivers great video, has a fine Leica lens that goes wider than most without an adaptor, and has a vast array of image control features. The manual is a little thin on the use of the various image controls -- this is not a beginner's camera. Yet it is a great camera for documentary filmmakers, commercial users, and the like. I'm shooting several independent film projects (docs, shorts), and so far this camera offers everything I need.
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