On Sat, 09 Jun 2001 21:13:24 GMT, "Ron McKinney" wrote:

>Hi. A friend is in Germany getting ready to purchase a
>mini-DV camcorder. He's looking at the MX300 for $2,245
>at the current exchange rate.
>Is this a good camcorder for the price, and is the price
>about right? I'll be researching the latter but I'd
>still like to hear from you on this.
>How's the audio on this camcorder? How is it in low-light
>situations?
>We'll be using this camcorder to shoot scenes to be used
>in a video we'll be distributing for sale to tourists in
>Germany, particularly those taking the Night Watchman tour
>in Rothenburg, Germany.

I have not tried this camera, but there is a good
Japanese web site that has comparative frame grabs
shot with the MX3000 and several other camcorders.
From these, it appears the image is not as sharp
as some others, has a strong red bias, and shows
noticeable oversharpening artifacts. For a similar
price, the Sony VX-2000 appears to be a better buy
for most purposes (the picture and sound quality
are excellent on this one, and it is unsurpassed
for low-light "reach" in a compact camera). The
URL is: http://www4.big.or.jp/~a_haru/index.html
My comparative reviews are at:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm
Another excellent camcorder to consider is the
Sony TRV-900, and it is noticeably cheaper than
either of the other choices...