Yesterday, The New York Times reported that the video that first showed Saddam Hussein in U.S. custody was shot with a Sony PD150. The DSR-PD150 is a professional-quality mini DV camcorder that retails for about $3,900. According to the article:
Sony PD 150’s are the same cameras many photojournalists use, but some combat camera operators, like the one who shot Mr. Hussein’s medical exam, still manage to give their video a raw, low-fi look. Perhaps that’s because they are often in the dark about what to shoot until the last minute.
“They’ll say, `We got a mission; you need to be there in half an hour,’ ” {Staff Sgt. Wesley Wooten, a combat cameraman} said.
I’m not sure anyone is going to want to pick up one of these just because it’s the military documentarian’s tool-of-choice, but, I thought I’d point it out. [ registration required for the New York Times site, via Lost Remote ]