Mini DV Camera - Get New or Fix Old

Question

I have a Canon ZR-10 that I have had for 4 years. The first one I got had a fault the first week. It was a remove tape fault. I sent it back and got another one. I have had no problems with it since I have owned it the 4 years. Now I have a Please remove tape error and the motor sounds like it is having issues while ejecting the and inserting the tape. I has kind of a stuttering sound that it did not used to have.
I did a search on reviews and found a 2004 reviews on camcorderinfo.com. The JVC (HR-D33 or something) took first place for cameras under $600 (the cheapest mini DV ones made). It was rated the best because of its features and low light performance as well as good picture in good light. Right now I can buy that camera for around $255 on some discount online stores.
This brings me to my next question. Is that cheaper than repairing my old ZR. My fear is after reading some more about these cameras that errors are not uncommon. These things tend to break.
I looked at the newer ZR models and found a lot of the featerues on my old ZR-10 are not available on the newer ZR models such as the zr 200. Features like S-video, Viewfinder that pivots, Mic in. All these are on my ZR-10. So it may be worth it to get the old one fixed then to buy a new ZR. I do not need any still cabability. Mine can take stills but does not have a Card to store them on. This is fine. If I want to take stills I will use my digital still camera.
Another question I have is there a small camera in a little higher price range that will offer me a lot better bang for the buck and be more reliable. I am thinking maybe it has a larger CCD or a 3 CCD. I would like a prosumer camera like a GL-2 or VX2100 but know that is overkill and would probably be a waist of money for my needs. I know my ZR does not do the best in low light. Compatibility with the Mac is a must have.
What to do? Where is a good place to have my old camera looked at?

Answer 1

I don't know where to get your camera looked at, as I'm in the UK and you're probably not.
To get a camcorder taken apart and examined and then repaired may cost at minimum around $140. You may get a guarantee on the particular repair (..e.g; tape transport or loading/unloading..) but that guarantee probably won't extend to anything else which may go wrong (..dead mic, bad connector sockets, etc). The examination and repair may cost half the price of a new, guaranteed, camcorder.
In the 4 years since you got it, most cams have had improvements in the CCDs which are used. Most have higher resolution CCDs than were used 4 years ago ..mainly for taking higher resolution stills, which you won't bother with. However, the extra pixels available on those CCDs mean that although the resolution of DV video has stayed the same, the 'sharpness' and contrast of video which you can shoot this year can appear a little better than similar footage shot with an older camcorder. So a newer camcorder may (a) give less trouble over the next few years, and (b) may give better results than an older cam.
A 3 CCD camcorder generally gives a better quality picture than a single CCD cam. But you may not see the differences unless you're comparing like-for-like alongside each other, and it also depends on what and how you're shooting. If it's detailed, quite static shots - e.g; people looking at pictures indoors at an exhibition - a 3 CCD cam will probably give noticeably better results. But if you're shooting kids playing football outdoors in bright sunshine you may see no difference at all.
"..Compatibility with the Mac is a must have.." ..and the most reliably compatible are probably Sonys, with others - like Panasonic, Canon, etc - a close second, and JVC maybe third, and companies newer to photos and video - like Samsung - fourth or so.
So it'd probably give you more peace of mind and reliability to buy a new, mid-to-low-range Sony, something like this at about $399, than have your Canon repaired.
But that's only my view ..others may differ.
P.S: NOTE that in some countries, that camcorder (above) may have only DV OUT, and may not accept edited video back IN to store on tape. If so, the next higher model in the range will have DV IN as well as OUT.