Sony VX1000

A staple in the skateboard filming community, production for this camera stopped in 1997. That said, you would be hard pressed to find one in pristine condition. The most common ailment with the VX1000 is the viewfinder ribbon cable, which tears because from excessively raising and lowering the viewfinder (there is no LCD). Another problem is the horrid low light performance. If you plan on using this camera at night, even around dusk, you will NEED a light. Problems aside, this camera is a beauty. Most people will tell you (myself included) that the daylight colors you get from this camera are much more realistic than those from its younger brother… and with the custom presets, you have even more precise control of the image you capture. The design is very straight forward. The handle is clutch (pun intended) when filming fisheye from a low angle. Speaking of fisheyes, the Century Optics fisheye for the VX1 is considerably wider and more distorted than that of the VX2 (however, it vignettes a tiny amount. Really not a big deal). You can find these cameras going for as low as $700 on eBay