Canon XM1 Camcorder
Price £1479 plus VAT

These cameras are MiniDV format and have the essential firewire in and out. A firewire connection is essential to use the camera as the player to digitise a tape into the Apple and as a recorder to record back the edited material on to your tape all via the camera. The firewire lets you control the tape transport on the camera. This allows you to digitise only those bits on your videotape you select. These camera also have a socket for an external microphone and a headphone out socket, essential if you are to get decent sound. There are lots of digital cameras under the £1000 range…too numerous for us to evaluate so if you are buying one in that price range make sure they have all of the above.
You will also need some accessories:
Microphone: Beyerdynamic MCE86S £263.80. with a suitable windjammer, an XLR male to Female Extension lead.
Any tie clip will give a reasonable result such as the Canford Lavalier Mic LEM3 at £20.91. It's a good idea to order extra batteries for cameras and mics.
Tripod: From around £80 upwards

The Sony DSR-PD150 Price: Price: £2350 plus VAT
The DSR-PD150P is a compact DVCAM digital camcorder offering refined picture quality, features and operations suitable for professional use. It is designed for event videography, news acquisition, corporate video, the independent film community and production. Main features include DV/DVCAM recording, new 1/3-inch 3CCD camera system, new 12x optical zoom lens with 58mm filter diameter, 2-channel XLR connectors with +48V power supply, and Memory Stick® media slot, all packaged in a lightweight and robust magnesium die-cast body.
More information from
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/corpcomm/news/bandp/dsrpd150_fs.html

Available from
McMillan UK Phone 02890 90777040