Looking for a Camcorder...

[Simba22]

Hi everyone! We are going to WDW in October and are looking for a new camcorder... preferrably something that doesn't use tapes or DVD's. I want something that will allow me to upload video to the computer without sacrificing quality, and will also allow me to watch the videos on the television (A/V cable hook up will work fine). We do not need something that takes still photo's, but we do want something has an optical zoom that is greater than 5x.

For example, I found this one...a JVC GR-D770 MiniDV Digital Camcorder,
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5621883
but one of the reviews says that it only allows you to upload still photo's to the computer, not full video.

I am looking to keep it under $450 if possible....any recommendations? TIA!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

just to let you know the link to the JVC GR-D770 MiniDV Digital Camcorder says it uses mini DV tapes to record. now you might want to look into a hard drive video camera. i have a sony and it works great. can't wait to use it at WDW. have had it 9 months and still learning to use it. LOL its an idea.
P.S. i personnaly refusr to buy any electronics from walmart. most of the electronic stuff walmart sells it refurbished. rebuilt if you don't know that already(some never knew that)

 

[Spectro is #1]

Here is a list of pros and cons of various formats. What you also want to consider is what you want to do with your video. Are you going to edit it? Do you just want a few quick clips? Are recording whole shows and parades?
How and what you want out of the camera should be a factor in your decision.


Advice for camcorder buyers

Don't take choosing a camcorder lightly they are expensive. I won't get into brands because each has their own pros and cons. Internet research will help you out there.

The first thing you need to do is choose a format. I will not use price as a determiner in choosing a format but there are some exceptions where price is relevant. For example some models will look the same and have a huge price difference. That is because manufactures are making high-def (HD) versions and non HD versions of the same model. The only thing that will look different is the LCD screen ratio. If you have a HD format TV than buy the HD model. My feeling is that with all TVs going digital in 09 HD will be the standard for all camcorders in the near future. But if you think you may buy another camera in a few years consider the fact that HD camera prices are going to drop like a rock in the coming years.

Formats:

HDD is the latest. It stores mpeg format on a built in hard disk. These are typically made to be shown on the newer wide screen TVs but still can be set to the old TV size.
Pros:
Small size and convenient because you don't need to carry recording media. Latest technology and formatted for wide screen TVs. Wont be as obsolete in the coming years as more and more people change over to the wide screen format.
Uninterrupted recording. you wont have to stop to change out full media.

Cons:
Quality suffers as the video is stored in a compressed format. The quality you would get with a $1,000 hard-drive camcorder is equivalent to what you'd get with a $600 mini-DV model. If quality is important only buy a high end model only. Price is set by the sensor used to pick up the picture. I can't stress how important price is in this category.
If you can adjust the quality you will lose HD capacity. Space may be an issue if you record a lot. A high end 30G adjusted to best quality will get you about 5 hours of video. Lowest quality 7 hours. Every time you use the camera you must download your video to store it and to clear the camera. Then you have to put it on some sort of media to archive it. This can be a huge pain in the butt. With a tape or DVD you just pull out the media put it on the desk and deal with it whenever. The unedited tape is your archived piece. Think about this, you just came back from vacation in May. Your camera has less than an hour of record time left on it. you unpack, and put the camera by the computer knowing you have to transfer the video to store it and put it on a DVD. A week goes by and you have to go to a graduation party. Now your camera is still on the desk and it is full. Bummer
If you want to watch a video without taking the time to transfer it you must hook the camera up to the TV.
*JVC store files in MOD format you must change it to mpg if you want to play it with Windows Media Player.

DVD format: These cameras record directly onto a mini DVD. These will fit in all DVD players despite the small size of the disk. All PCs, CD and DVD players have a smaller inner ring depressed into the tray. That is to accommodate mini-discs. The size of these cameras have come down but are still a little on the large size if compared to today's mini-DV and HD cameras. Disks can be bought almost anywhere. If you have no desire to ever use the computer to edit this is a good choice.

Pros:
the huge plus is that you can go strait from camera to TV with a DVD player. No computer needed. No changing format to VHS or burning to DVD. No need to hook the camera up to the TV.
Recorded video can easily be imported to computer without hooking the camera up to the computer. just pop in the DVD and start to drag and drop your footage.

Cons:
I said I wouldn't get into prices of cameras but as far as media goes min DVDs can be pricey. Look around for the best deals, always by in bulk and get a good quality disc.
This format also uses MPEG compression so quality suffers a bit. I should mention that for most people the quality isn't so bad that you would notice. I am just pointing out that side by side with DV-tape you will see a difference especial in low light.
Disks can only record continuously for 30 minutes and then you have to flip the disc over and you get 30 more minutes. (If this has improved somebody correct me. It has been a while since I have dealt with mini-DVD and I thought I had heard they were trying to increase the capacity of the disc).
Most of today's DVD players are cross compatible and will play both + and -R and RW discs. Older machines may only be able to play one format. If that is the case you would have to buy a new DVD player to get the best pro out of this format.

Next is my preference mini-DV. These cameras use small tapes.

Pros:
Great video quality even on a cheep cam!
Small. these are the most compact of the bunch. Just be aware that the smaller the lens the smaller the sensor the worse it will perform in low light.
My camera was the most expensive and largest in the DCR family but it has the best picture quality and out performs the others in the line-up in low light. Has you progressed from the cheapest to the model just under mine price was for added features not better video. Tapes are inexpensive if you look around.
60min uninterrupted recording time and up to 120 if you don't mind a lose of quality.
Don't need to have a DVD burner to watch edited videos. If you want you can upload your video into the computer, put a new tape in and then after you edit your master piece you cam export it back to the blank tape in your camera. Now you can use the camera as a player and take it to grandma's house and hook it up to her TV. (that can be a con con if Grandmas TV only has hookups in the back)

Cons:
Must connect camera to a TV to watch direct from tape video.
Older technology. I don't know how long this format will be around. most manufactures are drifting away from this and making more DVD and HDD cameras. The market will likely determine the fate of DV but it will still be around for a while longer.
Unlike DVD and like the HD cameras they require a computer with the right card installed to import video to burn to a DVD.
Please note that once the mini-DV tape is loaded into the computer it is uncompressed and takes a massive amount of space. You need a huge hard drive for DV.
I kept telling you how great the quality is but if you plan on burning to DVD it may be worthless. Your great video will be compressed to MPEG 2 when you burn it on DVD. You can make some adjustments but for the most part your great video will only remain great when it is on the tape or uncompressed on the hard drive. Some programs will capture the video from your camera in a compressed format if you want to save disc space. Again quality will suffer.


Digital 8 and other 8 formats:
I don't know if hi8 is even available in most stores. I think discounters like Wal-mart still carry 8mm Hi-8 and maybe one compact VHS model.

Pros: Can't ignore price when talking about this line of cameras, that is their market.

Cons: Old technology.
8mm tapes are larger than mini-DVs some of the cameras are quite large by today's standards.
8mm tapes can still be found but are becoming harder to find. Like mini-DVs you may only find 1 or 2 brands being offered for sale in a given store.
With the exception of Digital-8 quality is noticeably poor. the reason is lees lines of resolution. Digital 8 is the best out of the bunch but still well below the newer formats.

If you are considering these it should be for price only. I would stay away from them at this time as these are really dated now. My last camera was a D-8 and it served me well. I can't believe it was over 400 bucs but it was the shizzal back in the day. (1997)
Before that hi-8 (1994) which at the time blew standard 8mm out of the water with more lines of resolution.

I have to say though that of all the cameras I have (yes I still have all of them even the old huge VHS camera I got from my mother that was bought in 1989) the Hi-8 does the best in low light. All the digital cameras stink in low light because of the way they record. Infrared assistance (Sony calls theirs Night Shot) gives the picture a green coloring that is not very desirable. My non digital, or analog, cameras can tape in candle light. i wish my digital could.

Anyway, I have typed way too much and I am going to leave now. If I am missing any info please ask, I will answer it if I can. Hope you get a camera just don't wait to close to your trip to get it. You will need to practice with it. Often times when I get a new camera I will inadvertently and unknowingly hit a button that will turn something on or off that will effect the picture and I will have to get out the book to help me figure out what is going on with it. You don't want that to happen to you as you are about to film your kids who got picked to do the Legend Of The Loin King over at AK. So practice tapping before you go, it is important.
__________________

 

[Spectro is #1]

just to let you know the link to the JVC GR-D770 MiniDV Digital Camcorder says it uses mini DV tapes to record. now you might want to look into a hard drive video camera. i have a sony and it works great. can't wait to use it at WDW. have had it 9 months and still learning to use it. LOL its an idea.
P.S. i personnaly refusr to buy any electronics from walmart. most of the electronic stuff walmart sells it refurbished. rebuilt if you don't know that already(some never knew that)

I agree Wal-mart may not be your best choice. Only buy if they have the model you have decided on.

FYI, many retailers sell refurbished cameras, it is just a generic term. (I worked for CC and we sold them and I suspect BB does too) most are returns and floor models. Some are what we called rentals. What some people do is buy a camera and use it for their trip then return it after the vacation. Some cameras are sent out for repair and not picked up for a variety of reasons. Some are close-outs.
Whenever a retailer sells such models they must disclose that so don't think Wal-mart is trying to pull something over on you. My problem with Wal-mart is selection and help. The same can be said about warehouse clubs.
Wal-mart is price point only! Their "high end" model is usually a high mid-line model in a BB or CC. Some models may only be made for Wal-mart.

 

[Simba22]

thank you for responses, everyone!

I apologize because in my original post, I meant to say that I just used the link to the Walmart site because it was convenient but I would't necessarily buy from there, although the regular camera I have I got from Walmart.com and I love it.

That said, I am not really all THAT worried about price and things like that, my priority is finding something that will allow me to record good quality videos - at least half an hour of recording time would be good so I can at least get the parades, but mostly I am looking for something small and compact enough to carry around in my backpack so that I can take it out and record every once in a while if a once in a lifetime thing happens to come up (which in WDW is almost guaranteed to happen). I was venturing away from miniDVD's and tapes because I didn't want to carry around the extra stuff and don't want to worry about having to change disks or something like that (one of the BEST things about having a digital camera is not having to carry around film, not having to BUY film, and not having to stop what I'm doing to change rolls). My main concern is just being able to load video to the computer without losing quality. Also, I am NOT looking to really do much editing...just cutting out unimportant stuff but I don't need to add effects or anything like that.

After reading the above review of all the different types, I think miniDV is the the direction I'm heading....These are the ones I was looking at online (again i won't necessarily be getting it from this retailer, I just needed a link for you)

This is same one as in the OP, just different retailer:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/JVC-...70896/catOid/-13063/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

And this is a different model:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pana...70323/catOid/-13063/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Are there any MiniDV models that someone recommends??

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

i didn't notice this til now!!!!!!
Semper Fi

 

[Simba22]

i didn't notice this til now!!!!!!
Semper Fi

he comes home in about 1 month! Thanks for your support!

 

[webshark3]

Antoher thing about DV tape. It will be around longer than your next camcorder will (you can still buy new Betamax tapes), and it's Archival with a long history to show it. The other formats are not....