Before we go, please help me pick out a new camcorder.

[coastgirl]

Ok, it's time to replace our camcorder (the only one operating on the planet that still uses a tape I'm sure). Really would like a new one for our trip in Sept, and don't want to spend a fortune.

So...

• What do you love about what you have?
• What feature did you think you needed and don't use?
• What annoys you?
• Any general performance issues, star performers or lemons?

I am looking at something under $400, want a good optical zoom (some seem to be in the 30's and 40's, going up to 70x, but I don't know if I need to worry beyond 30 or 40x). Image stabilization seems a good idea, and a built-in still camera also seems a good idea (but maybe I wouldn't use that?). Screens seem to be 2.5--3 inches. Anything I need to know about software/upload set up? Don't know if I need to worry too much about recording life or battery life...I'm not taping several hours at a time. And I'm not a technical geek. Probably won't mess with it too much beyond basic editing. Future Shop and Best Buy seem to have a decent range of Sony, Samsung, Canon. Sears has a Panasonic on this week that comes in red. (See, that's how I pick out cars too...)



Ideas? Feedback?

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

We were very pleased with our new Flip. It's the size of a cell phone, plugs directly into your laptop USB port to download (no tapes or disks), and holds an hour of HD video. (There are also non-HD versions that are less expensive.)

The quality was very good, and you couldn't beat the convenience of something you can slip into your pocket. Sure beat lugging a big camera bag through the park.

Before the trip, we were concerned about the 1 hour capacity. However, we found that it worked fine for us. We downloaded into the laptop every night, and didn't have any issues with running out of space.

 

[PandaDis]

I also love my Flip. I have the non-HD kind, and I believe it holds 2 hours of video, which is more than enough. It is so small, durable, really quick to start up and so easy to use. The quality of the video is awesome! Software is easy, and I like that I can email the videos to people as a link, rather than some huge file attached to an email. It doesn't have great zoom, though, if that's really important to you. I bought mine at Wal Mart for about $160CDN.

 

[Douglas Bray]

We bought a JVC 120 Gig HD Camcorder from Future Shop for just under $600.00 a few weeks ago when it was on sale. Other than the fact that the files are in a JVC format and not a standard file format. The pictures look amazing on a big sceen TV, much better thatn any that I was able to record with my old Sony Hi8MM Camcorder.

 

[CDNmouse]

I was at COSTCO today here in Windsor and see that they now have the new FLIP Ultra HD for $199.

This is the same price in US dollars that I saw it in Naples, Florida about 3 weeks ago.

I actually bought a Sony Webbie HD camera (Sony's response to the Flip). It is good for day time shots and video but no good at night.

Gary

 

[two*little*birds]

When I first found out about the FLIP I thought "how cool is that?" but then I did more research and most online reviews aren't good (even here on the disboards).

Do any of the PP have any FLIP video links (photobucket) they're willing to share?

We need a new camcorder as well, LOL ours is a HI8.

 

[monkeyknuckler]

Yeah, I've seen a video quality comparison between the Flip and the Kodak
Zi6. Basically same size and price. Video quality of the Flip is lacking. Like night and day. I've got a Zi6 (720p) and the video is pretty good for the price, but neither have the features that you're looking for ie optical zoom. The digital zoom is not so super. Also, no image stabilization. Good luck.

 

[two*little*birds]

Yeah, I've seen a video quality comparison between the Flip and the Kodak
Zi6. Basically same size and price. Video quality of the Flip is lacking. Like night and day. I've got a Zi6 (720p) and the video is pretty good for the price, but neither have the features that you're looking for ie optical zoom. The digital zoom is not so super. Also, no image stabilization. Good luck.

Where did you see the video quality comparison? I'd like to see that.

 

[Scornelius]

I just bought a JVC Everio with dual SD card slot. I love it!! It's super easy to use, and when you fill up one card it automatically switches over to the other one. It cost $ about $279 on sale at best buy.

 

[coastgirl]

Yeah, I've seen a video quality comparison between the Flip and the Kodak
Zi6. Basically same size and price. Video quality of the Flip is lacking. Like night and day. I've got a Zi6 (720p) and the video is pretty good for the price, but neither have the features that you're looking for ie optical zoom. The digital zoom is not so super. Also, no image stabilization. Good luck.

Interesting, thanks. It'd be nice if something small would do it, but for my 45 year old eyes, I need to be able to make sure I can see the screen too!!

I just bought a JVC Everio with dual SD card slot. I love it!! It's super easy to use, and when you fill up one card it automatically switches over to the other one. It cost $ about $279 on sale at best buy.

Hmm. SOunds right in the price range...will check it out.

 

[monkeyknuckler]

http://odeo.com/episodes/24017000-Help-Me-Decide-Flip-Mino-HD-or-Kodak-Zi6-HD
Here is another comparison. Now that I see this one, the Flip does look pretty good. The other one that favoured the Zi6 was on Wired Labs or something. Anyway, I think if you're looking for a pocket camcorder, either is a pretty good deal for the price.

 

[MikeyNS]

Purchased a FlipHD for work from dell.ca for $179 a month or two ago (on special). Video looks great to me. No disappointments at all. Easy to throw into a bag and start recording quickly. Plus I wouldn't be too worried about something happening to it at that price point. Thinking of getting one for us if it's unavailable to borrow from work.

 

[Tiger926]

We just bought the new Sony Mobile HD Snap camera and returned it. It was very small, so that was good, but it was actually too small. The viewing screen is so tiny, that it's a pain to keep kids in the shot - it would have been difficult at WDW for sure. The quality of the images were good though, but not superior, and there is no zoom whatsoever which we thought we could work around, but you do need some optical zoom at some point (we turn off our digital zooms).

We just exchanged it for the Sony DCRSX40 HDDrive 4GB Handycam Camcorder (Red) and this is much better. It's a bit bigger, but still a nice small size and the images are excellent inside (a bit better than the Snap, which is weird as it's HD and the new one is not).
Really good skin tones - skin is my comparison point for how good a camera is. It is pretty easy to use - it is touch screen based. Although it's not HD, this is not a factor for us - we do have a Plasma and 3 computers (2 of them are media), so that wouldn't have been an issue either, but we figure that in a few years, we can upgrade to HD if we so desire. We got a great price at Staples as it was already on sale and I got my teacher discount of 10% off. It was a little less than $100.00 more than the Snap, well worth it to us as it has a huge optical zoom, built in 4gbs of memory, a cover for the lens and it is a sturdy camera.

We were at Costco as well, and were looking at the new Samsung flash camera (but they don't have a display model out yet). It is pretty similar to the Sony and the Panasonic camera we were looking at. Also, Henrys has lots of cameras to choose from too (we usually get our cameras from Henrys). People need to do homework though, as stores like Sears and the Bay, and even Best Buy and Future Shop, still have older models in store, for basically the same prices as new ones, so shopping around is critical as a bunch of new cameras have just come out, and more are coming out for Christmas.

Good luck to those buying camcorders - the prices are really down now, so it's just a matter of prioritizing your needs, and comparing cameras. We don't care for hard drive cameras at all (they break more easily), but there are some new hybrid cameras (flash memory and hard drive) that are out there for people to look at as well.

Happy camera shopping, Tiger

 

[cpbjgc]

We just bought a compact camcorder in advance of a trip to China this past July. My DW wanted originally to get a Flip, but after trying out the Sanyo Xacti in the store, that's what we walked out with. It worked fantastic on the trip and was very easy to operate and we got some very nice video and still pictures on the fly. It does not have a high optical zoom (it's 5x), but that never posed a problem.

 

[squirrel]

I was looking at getting a new smaller camcorder for my trip. I don't know if I can afford one now that I just bought a laptop to make my own WDW videos.

I was looking at the Sony DCRSR47L- 60 GB, Memory Stick Pro Duo and 60X optical zoom.

I was also considering the JVC GZ-MG630-60 GB, Micro SD and 40X optical zoom.

Walmart.com has a Panasonic SDR-H79K for $399 US, 60 GB, SDHC Memory Card, 70X optical zoom

I was looking with one that has both a hard drive and a memory card (incase one fails) and a large optical zoom (want a good view of Fantasmic).

I tried getting video of Fantasmic with my camera (6X optical) last year and Mickey and the rest of the characters were tiny. So I want to get some great video of it this year.

 

[coastgirl]

Thanks, guys. We just ordered this from Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0926INGFS10119456&logon=L&langid=EN

It's on sale today for $269. We saw it yesterday at Future Shop for $299, and got "the tour", it seemed to meet our needs. Thanks so much for helping me understand what was important for us, and what our options were.

Side note: the FS sales guy was really helpful, but totally lost the sale on his "package". I asked simply, how much the memory cards would cost...and he disappeared to "see what I can do for you on a package". I just wanted memory! The $300 camera? Suddenly it was $549 (before tax!). Two cards, spare battery, camera case and extended warranty. Figure we don't need the spare battery, won't pay $50 for a camera case, dh's CC doubles the 1 yr warranty (and we've got a bad experience with FS warranty anyway), and we can get the memory we need for $50-$100 depending on what we choose.

Anyway, rant over, can't wait to play with our new machine tomorrow. (In store pick up, closed today for the holiday.) On line shopping is so totally the way to go for electronics...I hate the sales pitch so much, and it's so much faster to find the best price. Happy dancing.

Oh, and did I mention two weeks from today we'll be at Hollywood Studios, on day 3 of our trip? La la la la la...

 

[squirrel]

When I click on the link, the price says that it's $319.99.

Looks like you got a good deal on the camcorder.

 

[coastgirl]

When you add it to your cart, it applies a discount for the Labour Day sale, in this case, $50. Yeah, having looked around now, I'm pleased with the deal...hope we like the product!

 

[lcasa]

Glad to see you bought one that uses memory cards - for anyone else reading I have 1 VERY strong recommendation - DON'T BUY A VIDEO THAT USES TAPE! I was at WDW in June and my Panasonic mini-dv camcorder totally failed due to the high humidity - it would turn on, and shut down with a humidity warning. So I wound up with very little footage!

 

[coastgirl]

Glad to see you bought one that uses memory cards - for anyone else reading I have 1 VERY strong recommendation - DON'T BUY A VIDEO THAT USES TAPE! I was at WDW in June and my Panasonic mini-dv camcorder totally failed due to the high humidity - it would turn on, and shut down with a humidity warning. So I wound up with very little footage!

Oh, that would be really annoying. I'm sorry that happened to you!

The FS guy also told us the hard drive camcorders have about a 30% failure rate on the hard drive. Don't know if he was overstating it or not, as we had already pretty much decided not to get one with a hard drive.