Used Pro TV videographers cameras?

[Pete Bruno]

Hey Guy's,
Where can I get a list of used television stations video cameras, like the news videographer guy's old professional one's? I'm in my last semester and will have my Comm. degree and would love to buy one for practice and just because I think that is the type of video camera I want. Please e-mail ASAP
pbruno@twcny.rr.com
Thanks, Pete Bruno

[Nate Weaver]

Well, there's a large range of formats and quality levels out there, even amongst the category of "has-been" ENG cameras.

I myself, if I was in your shoes, would probably not get anything older than a BetaSP camcorder, a Sony BVW-300 or 400. This was a $30 or $30k camera in it's day (late 90's), but I've seen them as low as $4000 now. At that price you can be certain it will have a lot of miles on it. For even less, you can pick up a UVW-100, which was the 1/2" chip industrial version of the 300 and 400.

It will be a good camera to learn the basics of broadcast cameras, and plenty of people still work in BetaSP, so you might be able to pick up some work with it.

Ebay is a great place to look for this stuff. There are specialized brokers for broadcast gear, but some of them quote inflated prices on older gear that have nothing to do with prices this stuff usually goes for on the free market, so beware.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Nate Weaver

Well, there's a large range of formats and quality levels out there, even amongst the category of "has-been" ENG cameras.

I myself, if I was in your shoes, would probably not get anything older than a BetaSP camcorder, a Sony BVW-300 or 400. This was a $30 or $30k camera in it's day (late 90's), but I've seen them as low as $4000 now. At that price you can be certain it will have a lot of miles on it. For even less, you can pick up a UVW-100, which was the 1/2" chip industrial version of the 300 and 400.

It will be a good camera to learn the basics of broadcast cameras, and plenty of people still work in BetaSP, so you might be able to pick up some work with it.

Ebay is a great place to look for this stuff. There are specialized brokers for broadcast gear, but some of them quote inflated prices on older gear that have nothing to do with prices this stuff usually goes for on the free market, so beware.

Yeah Nate, BetaSP is still the #1 format for ENG. Some are using BetaSX and DigiBeta, but the vast majority are BetaSP. Of course, you also have the DVCPRO users but in much smaller numbers.

Good advice on suggesting a BetaSP setup.

-gb-