can you reccommend a camcorder...

[natalielongstaff]

with only 10 days to our holiday ive decided we need a new camcorder

can anyone reccommend one thats cheap, easy to use and not too bulky !

 

[CustardTart]

I've got a weeny little Sanyo Xacti which uses SD cards - it's perfect for me as it's dead easy to use...

 

[natalielongstaff]

very nice ! I see they do a pink version

 

[CustardTart]

Yes - tho' I've got macho gunmetal grey coz I take my camcordering seriously!!! And I didn't know they did a pink one when I bought it...

 

[natalielongstaff]

Yes - tho' I've got macho gunmetal grey coz I take my camcordering seriously!!! And I didn't know they did a pink one when I bought it...

whats the battery life like Karen and what size sd card do you have

cheers x x

 

[CustardTart]

Ok, my DS is now banging on that it's not a conventional camcorder but an MPEG-4 recorder!! Whatever it is, I like it as I found our previous machine too big for my hands and I can pop this in a handbag - I'm just so lady...

Battery life great - I make sure I put it back on it's little charger thingy at the end of the day. It came with a 2Gb SD card which I've yet to fill but I'm getting a 4Gb to be on the safe side for August...

 

[natalielongstaff]

Ok, my DS is now banging on that it's not a conventional camcorder but an MPEG-4 recorder!! .

ive no idea what you just said !

 

[paulh]

ive no idea what you just said !

MPEG-4 is a collection of methods defining compression of audio and visual (AV) digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) under the formal standard ISO/IEC 14496. Uses of MPEG-4 include compression of AV data for web (streaming media) and CD distribution, voice (telephone, videophone) and broadcast television applications.

MPEG-4 absorbs many of the features of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 and other related standards, adding new features such as (extended) VRML support for 3D rendering, object-oriented composite files (including audio, video and VRML objects), support for externally-specified Digital Rights Management and various types of interactivity. AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) was standardized as an adjunct to MPEG-2 (as Part 7) before MPEG-4 was issued.

MPEG-4 is still a developing standard and is divided into a number of parts. The companies promoting MPEG-4 compatibility do not always clearly state which "part" level compatibility. The key parts to be aware of are MPEG-4 part 2 (MPEG-4 SP/ASP, used by codecs such as DivX, Xvid, Nero Digital and 3ivx and by Quicktime 6) and MPEG-4 part 10 (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, used by the x264 codec, by Nero Digital AVC, by Quicktime 7, and by next-gen DVD formats like HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc).

Most of the features included in MPEG-4 are left to individual developers to decide whether to implement them. This means that there are probably no complete implementations of the entire MPEG-4 set of standards. To deal with this, the standard includes the concept of "profiles" and "levels", allowing a specific set of capabilities to be defined in a manner appropriate for a subset of applications.

Initially, MPEG-4 was aimed primarily at low bit-rate video communications; however, its scope was later expanded to be much more of a multimedia coding standard. MPEG-4 is efficient across a variety of bit-rates ranging from a few kilobits per second to tens of megabits per second.

We have a samsong HDR camcorder,records onto hard drive,not as small as above but nice size
Paulh

 

[CustardTart]

ive no idea what you just said !

Me neither!!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Ours is pretty compact (although not as much as Karen's) and dead easy to use - not sure that it necessarily fits the cheap category though

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Sony_Handycam_DCR_DVD403E__Review_5562947

 

[bazzanoid]

Ours is pretty compact (although not as much as Karen's) and dead easy to use - not sure that it necessarily fits the cheap category though

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Sony_Handycam_DCR_DVD403E__Review_5562947

A second vote for the Sony brand - i wouldn't use anything else! You have a couple of choices for recording format. The DVD option as wilma-bride said, or you could also consider this one: http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/442089/SONY-DCR-SR35/tab/specification#spec

It records to a on-board hard disc, and importantly it's in MPEG-2 format, which is the standard for your average movie DVD. You can choose quality settings to give you storage for anywhere between 7 and 20 hours, and it comes complete with a 40x optical zoom - extremely useful for shows, especially if you're a long way back. That sort of zoom should be sufficient to see into rooms in the Contemporary from the ferry from TTC to MK.

But of course the downside is it's capacity - if you're going to use it a lot, then 110 minutes between charging is not much battery time, and you are strictly limited to the space on board, no room for more.

My personal recommendation would be to go for one of these two miniDV (tape) ones:

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/compare.do?categoryId=616&sku=441678&sku=461210

The one on the right has a lower zoom, but a higher gadget factor with more recording modes, options etc. The one on the left would probably be the better buy for the 'average' camcorder user - turn on, point and press record. I've got that one, decided the other one was beyond what i wanted from a camcorder! I'm not going to be filming insects at huge magnifications or recording football matches, so bells and whistles aren't particularly important to me.

Hope that helps, or at the very least confused you some more :teetH:

 

[PoppyAnna]

Natalie, I also have a Sanyo Xacti 5.1mp, but a slightly different one from Karen.
Like Karen's it's tiny (I've put it next to the Virgin remote for you to see).

I have a feeling that Karen's is the weather proof one that my Mum has as I don't see the flash on top ? Karen?
Mine also has the option to shoot in HD (high def) which is fab for the future, although your PC or TV may not be able to keep up with that at the mo. It has an OLED screen which is a lower power drain. Like Karen's it goes to SD card, this was the big draw for us as all that converting from tape to the PC is time consuming, also being a "solid state" memory it's more reliable and future proof. We bought ours about 18months ago (but for half the price from Hong Kong). It can take a bit of getting used to if you like using a viewfinder as it doesn't have one, it's much more like using a digital camera, I can't tell you how easy it is to use and to transfer footage (same as a digi camera) from. Even without cables many laptops have card readers, you can pop the card straight in and watch your vids in seconds.

Although we use it primarily as a video camera I've taken some VERY NICE stills with it - I use a Nikon DSLR for my "serious" photography but when I want to pop one device in my handbag this wins everytime.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[natalielongstaff]

Thanks everyone ! i will let you know what i get

 

[jockey]

Natalie, the Canon HG 10 is a good buy, it's full high definition and records to hard disk. It's approx £499 so not too cheap.

 

[The Fetherstons]

We have one of those sanyo ones too

 

[bazzanoid]

hmmm teh Sanyo VPC-HD1010 looks quite tasty... loving the specification!

 

[Belle68]

Natalie, you really dont need my advice on this subject. We bought a camcorder for last years WDW trip and all I managed to film was the floor , DH was amazed and asked yet again am I related to Goofy? - hope you have better luck than me! Oh, and dont worry anyone can work a camcorder (except me).

 

[natalielongstaff]

Natalie, you really dont need my advice on this subject. We bought a camcorder for last years WDW trip and all I managed to film was the floor , DH was amazed and asked yet again am I related to Goofy? - hope you have better luck than me! Oh, and dont worry anyone can work a camcorder (except me).

Well ive took the plunge and gone for a dvd camcorder, purely for ease of playback

 

[Belle68]

Good for you Nat, I would probably mess that one up too!

 

[darthtatty]

good topic, im debating if i want to get 1 for our next Florida holiday.

good choice Nat