Mini-DV vs S-VHS

A few years ago, I bought an old Canon XL1 on eBay. Not a wise purchase, but I wanted one. I was like one of those guys who buys an old Camero because he wanted one just like it when was fourteen. I wanted one at one time. I also had the idea that it would impress people. It looks more like a movie camera than the dainty prosumer camcorders they have now. I got an early model so it's not widescreen. They're all standard definition. But I thought the unknowledgeable would be impressed. And they're still selling for a few hundred bucks on there. 

I bought it, tried it out a few times but did nothing with it. It's been sitting on a modestly priced fluid-head tripod in the living room all this time. And it sort of had the desired effect. My sister-in-law wants me to drive a couple of hours the day after Xmas to film her and her band. I tried to talk her out of it. I told her all that stuff about it. But she said she had the same idea I did. Just have it there for looks and it would impress the rubes in the band. 

I'll drive up there. I'll keep my mask on.

I've done that before, filmed bands, filmed, lone singers and an organist doing a pre-Halloween performance. I guess I did okay. My sister-in-law said she'd have other people there filming with cell phones. Maybe my footage can be edited in, maybe it can't. We'll find out.

I gave her plenty of warning.

I also have an old SVHS camcorder. Have some SVHS tapes which haven't been made in years. Maybe I can bring that for back-up.

Years ago, I was filming with it somewhere. A homeless guy started talking talking to the camera. I told him more than once that I wasn't from the media but he wanted me to record his message to the governor.

Can't remember what I paid for it. It was obsolete at the time. Got it from a guy on Craigs List who used it to record services at his church.

Man---they're still selling those things on eBay. They're cheap, too. I should probably buy another one just so my blank tapes don't go to waste.

I read that a guy in Portland filmed a documentary about heroin addiction. He just knew those poor addicts would steal his equipment so he filmed it with two almost worthless VHS camcorders. It turned out the low quality analog video perfectly suited the subject matter.