In article <321FC7B3.5C5@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu>, Gmehl@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu says...

>This is actually an urgent request for some help on a Sony TR3000 video >camera. I am a still photographer, and if you have to know use a Nikon F3.
>I hope this fact alone dispells any hostility the photogroup might have to
>this simple question. I have posted one simple question in the Video group >and have not gotten a response in one week. Not one.
>I am going to Sri Lanka as an anthropologist for about a year and while
>doing field work intend on shooting some video footage (in addition to the >still photographs). My question is this
>.... Has anyone has any experience with the TR3000 videocam, and is it
>rugged enough to last for 18 months in a hot, humid, dusty climate. Any >horrible things about the camera that I should know before purchasing one?
>I am also looking at the Canon ES5000. The resemblance of the manual
>controls on the Sony to that of my Nikon is comforting.

I have tried a few Sony Hi-8 camcorders (though not the TR-3000), and a
few Canons. So far, all have many nice features, and a few misses - none
has everything done just right, alas. (BTW, I seemed to have more drop-out problems with the Sonys....) Hi-8 cameras are not well-protected against humidity and dust, and are very sensitive to them - this may cause problems for you. I just bought an ES-5000, and I am fairly well pleased with it
(I use manual exposure with it, since it has no auto exposure compensation
[my Canon UCS-3 does, though it has no exposure lock, darn! {the ES-5000
does have exposure lock...}]). I would buy some (Sunpak, or for the ES-5000, Canon BP924) no-memory high-capacity batteries so that you can recharge when you have the chance (not just when the batteries are depleted, as is usually necessary with NiCads). Since no Hi-8 camcorder has anything resembling a wide-angle (well, the Canon L1 5-15mm I had was sorta wide [but not really]),
I would suggest buying the Raynox Pro .5X front converter and a metal X-to-49mm step-up ring to fit it to your camcorder lens thread (it is not wonderfully sharp at the short end of the ES-5000 zoom range [unlike on
other camcorders, where it is fairly good], but it is good enough).
Hope This Helps