Digital Camcorder Question

[grammagail]

We currently have a small 1.0 mg digital camera, a 35 mm camera and a typical larger regular video camera. The thought of lugging all 3 is bugging me.

I've come across a great deal on HSN (Home Shopping Network) - for a Gateway 2.1 MP Digital Video Camera. From reading all the specks - it sounds like a very logical solution - a digital camcorder AND digital camera all in one. It comes with a 64 mg. internal memory and I know I can buy 128, 256 or 512 additional memory cards.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this camera? The price was awsome - 239.99 with a $100 rebate = total cost $139.99.

I also had another question - while I know I can do either camcorder or still pictures - does anyone know if I can do both on the same memory card? Or would it be more logical to have 1 card for my video stuff and a seperate card for my pix?

Any help/advise I could get - would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Hippychickali]

You can use a card for both video and still photos. Digital video recorders are very neat and that seems like a great price for one. If you wanted to save even more money, you could take a long a laptop computer to keep in your hotel room. That way you can upload pics and video onto your computer so that you can erase your card and use it again. That way you won't have to buy a million cards. This of course is only feasible if you can get your hands on a laptop.

Ali

 

[mickeymule]

Be forewarned on a few things.

1) Digital Camcorders do take still photos, but not as good as a digital camera.

2) Find out what kind of digitial camcorder it is (mini DV, Mini DVD etc) and check out how much the media costs.

3) Check for length of battery life and how much and how available replacement batteries are.

4) See if you can find someone who has one and try it out. I was shoping for a Mini DV camcorder for no more that 300.00, looked at a JVC, brought it home, the picture quality was worse than my VHS camcorder, the same with the comperable priced Panasonic. I found an open box Sony Mini DV for 400.00 and bought that and I love it.

5) Also remember there may be a bit of extras you need to buy to connect the camera to your computer and to edit the videos. Plus, remember, when transferring video from the camera to the computer it transferrs in "real time" so if you took 30 min of video, it will take 30 min to transfer.

6) Another thing to. Mini DV tapes generally hold only 1 hour of video, you can get some that will do 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but make sure you have enough media when you go.

Sorry this is so long, but these are from my own experience.

Good luck.

P.S.

The video files are quite large. I had a 30 min video of my sons play and it was a 7 Gigabit file. So make sure you have hard drive space.

Feel free to PM me with any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

 

[grammagail]

Thanks. Do you happen to know how much video can be taken on a card? I've seen stats for pix; i.e. 64 mg. =71, 128=142, 256=284....(approximate on high setting).

But I'm wondering how much video I can take on a card. The specs for the camera said 18 min. with the internal 64 mg. memory.

Do you think the same would apply - meaning a 256 mg. card would hold like 72 min?


This camera seems really cool - VERY compact - small, lightweight. I just hate to think of brining my regular large camcorder, lugging it around all day - along with my small 1.0 mg. digital...............thought this would be like killing 2 birds with 1 stone?

 

[mickeymule]

I sent you a PM about the camera. I figured I would post this here to for anyone else looking. http://www.epinions.com/pr-Gateway_DV-S20_Pocket_Flash_Memory_Digital_Camcorder This is from 2 people who have the camcorder already. If I had read a little more closely, I would have realized it was a memory card only camera. i will look at it closer a little later and tell you my opinions.

 

[FatCow]

the video quality of these cameras are laughable at best (when viewed on a regular TV).

For an acceptable 640x480 VHS quality you will need about 512Mb card for 1 hour's worth of video. If you want to take 2 hours of video during your trip, the price of the memory card alone is already equals to the price of an entry-level miniDV camera plus the camera bag, additional wide-angle lens and a couple hours worth of video tapes.

Oh and the miniDV has double the resolution of a regular VHS (500 lines versus 240 lines of resolution)

 

[grammagail]

I know when you see demonstrations - they always look better than the reality - but I didn't think it would be this bad - even at $240.00 Now I realize digital camcorders can run upwards of 700-900......but now I'm really wondering.

I guess my main thought was - we currently have a 1.0 mg digital camera that takes fairly good pix (for a novice vacation picture taker). so - I figured if this one was 2.1 mg - it would be better as a digital camera - and then IF we could also do video too - another plus. AND the size is awsome - so small and compact.

Guess I'll have to keep looking....thanks tho

 

[Hippychickali]

Originally posted by mickeymule
Plus, remember, when transferring video from the camera to the computer it transferrs in "real time" so if you took 30 min of video, it will take 30 min to transfer.

I may be out of my league here but I would dispute the real time warning. Some do upload in real time but I know for a fact that mine doesn't. I've taken 30 minute videos that upload in a few minutes.

I guess you really need to consider what your needs are. For me, I play all my video on my laptop and, therefore, I have been quite satified with the quality. Also, I have gotten prints from my stills several times and find the quality comparable to my digital cam.

Ali

 

[grammagail]

Thanks for the various comments. i was just hopeing that someone actually had it. The current stuff we have are OK - and to be honest, my 1.0 mg digital I have right now takes pretty good pix (in my eyes).

This combo just seemed logical - lightweight, easy to use and would keep us from lugging around a bigger camera.

I went ahead and ordered it - since I have a 30-day money back guarantee. Will experiment with it a little and if I'm not satisfied, simply return it.

 

[mickeymule]

Sorry, folks, I should clarify. I missed the part when I posted that the camera was a flash card camera. That being the case, the transfer can take only a few minutes. However; the quality of the video from those cameras is significantly reduced from the Mini DV, Hi 8 and Mini DVD camcorders out there. The flash card digital camcorders are basically enhanced digital cameras where your stills would still be good quality, but you get less quality on the video end. On the lower end digital camcorders, the video quality is better than that on the digital cameras, but the stills are not as good as a digital camera. There are some higher end digital camcorders that can do decent with both, but I cannot afford them.

Ultimatly, try it out, see what you like. the 2 lower end mini DV cameras that I tried were horrible, our VHS camera we were replacing beat out those cameras. Then we tried the Sony and the quality was superb.

Good luck with the camera. I hope it does what you were looking for it to do.