Camcorder advice

[Captain_Hook]

Please help!! I have been thinking about buying a camcorder for our upcoming Disney trip. We have never owned one before and I thought it would be great to have video of our trip to look back on....

I am at a complete loss -- all the info out there is so completely confusing -- I was hoping I could find some sound advice here. I am sure everyone has his or her favorites, but I figured this would be the best place to get advice since Disney is one of the main reasons I want a camcorder right now.

What I want (in a perfect world): quality picture and sound, good quality in low light conditions (fireworks, parades, and dark rides), ease of transfer to computer, and low price. We don't have a laptop, so any/all transferring will have to wait until we get home -- I figure that means getting one with tapes, a miniDV. Oh yeah, we have a digital camera (few years old), it take small snippets of video, but the quality is nothing to write home about.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Fourfun]

I just bought a little panasonic that takes a mini DV,.. I like those better than the disk kind because they take a longer video.. up to 90 mins.. max on the disc is still only 30.. It was around $300.. also have a sd memory card so I can take stills with it also.. I havnt used it at night yet.. but it takes a great video with sound during the day... also has a very far zoom on it... the picture gets a bit shakey when you are zoomed in real far.. but I think that happens with most camcorders... I also have a kodak 740 digital camera.. and my new camcorder is actually a little smaller than that. it is amazing how small they are... as for the transfer.. I havnt done that yet.. so I dont know how hard it will be... I did alot of research and talked to alot of people before I bought mine.. My mom had a panasonic and I saw how great hers was and that was why I ended up with the one I did... Good luck.. I am sure you feel like your head is going to explode.. I know mine did...

 

[sue]

I have owned a camcorder for many years. There are a few things you really should work on, before you go on your trip. Practice taking movies at home. You can always erase them before you go. It is VERY important to practice moving the camera from side to side as it is running. If you move it to quickly, the people watching it when you end up showing them your video, will get dizzy watching it. Also, dont be afraid to speak during your video. It is fun to hear about what you are video taping as you watch it. It helps you remember things about your trip too. Also, don't spend too much time taping the same thing. In other words, say you are taping at Animal Kingdom... and you are taping a giraffe eating.... don't use up all your film on the animal. It can get rather boring watching that at home. Also, if your camera has zoom capability, use that too and a fade in and out is really nice at the beginnning and end of your taped segments. But above all, practice!!!

Sometimes, it is very helpful to watch TV and get some ideas. Have a nice trip, and bring home LOTS of fun video to remember your trip by

 

[peemagg]

The one thing that I can suggest is no matter which one you decide on get at least 4 batteries and a charger. The battery on mine only lasts for about 2 hours and less if you zoom in and out a lot. I carry 4 batteries with me and charge them every night. I now have enough power for a full day at the park. Also if you tape something and it will be a while before you want to use it again, take the battery out of the camera. I have found that if I don't, even though the camera is off it still draws juice off the battery. By taking the battery out I have more time to record things. Also number your batteries so you know which ones you have used and which ones you haven't.

 

[Angela&Kayla]

The new(er) camcorders now record directly to memory on their hard drives, and hold quite a bit of video. I believe JVC is the leader in the HDD camcorders, and they have come down a bit in price recently. If I didn't get a camcorder less than 2 years ago I would buy one of those in a heartbeat. I have the sony mini dvd camcorder, and still haven't been able to tranfer the movies onto my computer to transfer onto big dvds.

 

[freckles and boo]

Even though a video camera is light and relatively easy to use, be selective when you chose to use it. Don't be lured into believing that you have to have every magical moment recorded. It is sometimes better for your family if you are there with them in the moment and not always hidden behind the camera trying to get the perfect shot. We used to tape so much stuff and now we spend more time just having fun and being together. I don't believe moments are lost if they aren't on tape. Have a great trip!

 

[Kitterleen]

I bought a new camcorder last year just before my trip to Disney and what was important to me was the size....I wanted it small, light, user friendly, with image stablization. I bought a Canon mini DV.
I bought the cheapest model as taking digital pictures with my camcorder was not important as that is what we have a camera for. I have owned several over the years and was always a Sony Junkie. With the Canons I always found better low light focus, less "hunting". The menus make sense to me and the CNET reviews were always good. This particular camera only transfers with firewire but I imagine now they all will transfer with a USB cable (miniDV's anyway). The real challenge is the program you select to import the video file into.

Is it easy? Not the first time, but you will get it.