Please help me make the right choice?

[Monaco]

I stated making music videos last week (Believe it of not, I've been shooting with my MacBook Pro's iSight webcam and editing in iMovie.) The editing part is working out alright because I'm a veteran to Pro Tools, but the video quality is very "pixelated" and I'd like to kick it up another notch.

Technology has become so advanced, that even my phone has a decent video camera, so I'm wondering if I could buy a good camera used of eBay. The only problem is, I don't know what I'm looking for!. I'm willing to spend say $200 on the camera, and another $150 for accessories.

Can this realistically be done? I know I need a light and one of those reflective deals, (what are they called?) and probably a couple cables.

Please help me. I'm a quick learner.

[Dom87SS]

i dont know what your going to find, or what your really looking for. You can get a High 8mm for under that price but then you have to buy the software and box to convert the analog signal to digital to edit it. unless you can find a 8mm camera that comes with its own software and cables. The other cheap option would be to get a mini-dv or dvd camera which is about the same. the quality isnt HD on any of those but isnt really that bad. i shot with 8mm for the last 6 years or so (drag racing mainly) and have had good results.

the next step up is hard drive and high def cameras. you will start spending more here but they can still come rather cheap. personally, i currently shoot with a sony 30gb hard drive camera and love it. id like it to be actually a little bigger, but other wise picture and sound are awesome. For the company i work with we have high def canons which rock but are pricey.

I prefer Sony or canon for all my camera stuff s im a little biased. I have shot with everything from a old vhs i had to throw over my shoulder to a $6,000 HD camera. each are good and will do what you want. its just that as you move toward the higher end stuff the better image and sound you will get. Its all in what you can afford. but like i siad i like sony and canon and the hard drive or tape stuff.