DVD vs Mini-DV Camcorders

[Disney845]

Last year after much research I upgraded my older digital camera to the Canon S3 and I LOVE it. Now I am attempting to upgrade SO's older/large Panasonic VHS-C camcorder to a new one. I am not hoping to create Spielburgesque quality home videos but to just capture fun vacation clips (parades/shows/outdoor rides/[maybe fireworks depending on the night ability of the camcorder]).

My biggest concern is size/portability (the old Panasonic is so bulky we usually leave it in the room rather than carry it around). Also price is a factor. Looking to find a camcorder on sale this holiday for under $300 (camcorder only, I know I will also have to buy accessories). I think I would like an external light. High optical zoom is prefered.

I have done a lot of looking around the web, reading reviews and this is what I "think" I know :

DVD: ease of record and then view in your DVD player with no need to transfer to computer first to burn to DVD, image quality is lacking as compared to "tape" style camcorders, slightly higher price for comparable feature than Mini-DV

Mini-DV: must transfer to computer or DVD-R in order to burn to DVD (most models I have looked at require a firewire port, which neither my desktop nor laptop has, so I would need to also invest in a firewire port addon or in a DVD-R with a firewire port), better overall picture quality than DVD camcorder

I have been out to the Circuit City/Best Buy stores to hold and play with some, and I think the Mini-DV camcorders have a sleeker style than the DVD camcorders. Specifically I was looking at the Canon ZR-850 and the JVC GR-D770 (this is what I am leaning towards, I was very happy with the feel/zoom/LCD screen/image stability/price tag!) for the Mini-DV style. I just saw a great ad price today at Best buy for the DVD style Canon DC-210.

Does anyone have any of these models, or is there another model I should look at? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks

 

[sweetnsassy]

I'm curious to hear the responses as well, I've been trying to talk dh into upgrading as well a great site to get reviews is cnet, I use them religiously!

 

[My2Girls66]

I don't have any of the ones you mentioned but in Feb. '04 we bought a small Sony for a Disney trip. HC-20 I believe. Similar ones go for under $275 right now. We really like it. Takes very good quality video. We didn't want to spend a lot because we don't use it often- it has worked out really good. Its small enough that we can ski with it in a parka pocket- its been to Europe, Disney, family reunions, on a few ski trips and some of the kids school events. It has USB and firewire connections but I didn't have great luck with tranfering to my Dell using USB- our pc and laptop also don't have firewire ports. I use firewire and either use the dvd burner on my tv or use our Mac which we've had since the summer. My dad liked our camcorder so much that we bought him a newer model in '06. He loves it. My DD uses the small Canon's for her video production class at school. I don't know the model # but they are nice, too. Mine and the Canon's DD use are mini DV. It isn't a fancy or expensive one but it has worked out great for our use.
Best Buy has a Sony for $225, the next model up for $285 and a Canon for $265.

 

[Groucho]

Disney845, I'm not a camcorder expert but this topic comes up now and then, and I think you're pretty accurate on your conclusions.

The other thing is that reportedly the miniDV is easier to edit, though I'm not sure that's an absolute truth. Certainly miniDV is designed to be an intermediate format whereas DVD-video mpeg2 is a destination format.

Adding firewire is very cheap and easy with a desktop, and I think it's pretty cheap with a laptop, too. A desktop card can probably be had for under $15 shipped - you'll save much more than that on the camcorder itself and on tapes vs the miniDVDs.

(In case it's not clear, I would definitely go with the miniDV were I buying a new one. However, we rarely shoot video so I just use a hand-me-down 8mm Sony camcorder. Either way, I do admittedly have a higher tolerance for post-production than some might.)

My2girls66, I think that most camcorders that have a USB and firewire port use the USB only for transferring photos, not for transferring the actual video.

 

[My2Girls66]

My2girls66, I think that most camcorders that have a USB and firewire port use the USB only for transferring photos, not for transferring the actual video.

I wonder if that was why the quality wasn't as good? It transfered using USB no problem but there definitely was a quality issue. I have no quality issues using the dvd recorder or the Mac which both have a firewire port.