Recommend a camcorder to me please!

[rosiejo]

Ok I'm off to Florida in November and while I'm there have about $400 to spend on a camcorder. I'd like it to be quite small - and am waivering between Hard drive and mini dv - I've heard sony handy cams are good.

So can you please recommend me a camcorder - tell me the make and model and why you think I should buy one

 

[Olaf]

Off topic, but I took a peak at your wedding pictures--they're lovely. What a beautiful dress, beautiful bride. Very cool.

 

[rosiejo]

thank you - I can't believe we're only a month away from our first anniversary already - and we're so lucky to be able to spend it in Disney World

 

[rtphokie]

Ok I'm off to Florida in November and while I'm there have about $400 to spend on a camcorder. I'd like it to be quite small - and am wavering between Hard drive and mini dv - I've heard sony handy cams are good.

So can you please recommend me a camcorder - tell me the make and model and why you think I should buy one

The MiniDV camcorders are a bargain these days and their results are great. Both will achieve the same goal, completely digital recordings. MiniDV tapes are cheap, plentiful and can be used over and over.

I've got a 6+ year old Canon Z series miniDV that we've taken everywhere. It's small, rugged, good on batteries. When we return home I plug it in via firewire and dump all the video to my PC and it's already segmented into files based on when I started and stopped recording. This makes it much easier to pick what's worth keeping and whats not.

I originally chose the Canon zr10 because of it's size and audio. The built in microphones on this thing out perform some more expensive external mikes.

 

[rosiejo]

Thanks rtphokie - I like the sound of the files being seperated when you upload to pc - that's almost like dealing with photos... no need to go through endless hours of tape to find the bits you want.

I'll go have a look for that camera on the net

Anyone else?

 

[bdtracey]

I'm looking at camcorders right now too and the one that I've found to work well for me (within your price range too) is the Panasonic PV-GS180. I don't know for sure if it is PV-GS180 but I know for sure that there is a 180 in there somewhere If you have a few more bucks to spend definitely go for the PV-GS300. That's the one that I'm saving for, you can get it for around 500 $US. What is really odd is that the exact same camcorder costs $800 Canadian. The last time I checked the Canadian dollar wasn't doing that bad compared to the American dollar (1 USD=1.13 CAD) but if you do the calculation using the 500 and 800 you get around 1 USD = 1.6 CAD. If I wasn't such a nut about getting a warranty I'd just buy it from the states.

Sorry for going but the Panasonics have 3 CCD's in them as opposed to only 1 in most other camera's in that price range. Basically, each CCD is devoted to the primary colours, red, green, and blue. Whereas with 1 CCD the picture enters and is split into pixels after which the camcorder needs to assign the colour to each pixel. If one pixel has 50.01% blue and 49.99% green it will deem the pixel to be green. This means that the colour produced by a 3 CCD camera could be SLIGHTLY better than a 1 CCD camera. Again, there are some other factors that come into play but in general a 3 CCD camera performs better in low-light situations...great for filming Wishes!!!!

Hope this helps!

 

[kitner25]

I have the JVC Everio 20 GB and works great. There is no need for mini dvds or tapes. I can record up to 8 hrs and then transfer it to a dvd. I would recommend a second battery because the original battery only last 1 hour.

 

[Mrs.viv07]

When we return home I plug it in via firewire and dump all the video to my PC and it's already segmented into files based on when I started and stopped recording. This makes it much easier to pick what's worth keeping and whats not.

forgive me if i sound ignorant but the last time i used a camcorder was the ones that you put VHS into it (i know) any way we just bought a sony one and my computer does not have the firewire but it can be added on for about $100 total including hardware and installation as opposed to buying this other thing that was also sony for about $250 on top of the camera price.
Does this make sense so far?
My question is do i need some sort of software to be able to upload all the camera content onto the computer or is automatic like when i plug the digital camera and all the photos upload to picasa?
also besides buying directly from best buy where can i get additional batteries since the one it has holds about 1 hour of charge, and how many more should i get 1 or 2?

thanks so much

 

[bdtracey]

As for your first question about the upload....I'm not too sure, I don't have my camcorder yet. I would ASSUME that you can just upload it like a regular digital camera but I would almost bet that you need some sort of software to view it. I would also ASSUME that this software is provided with the camera....definitely something that I should look into before purchasing a camcorder because the last thing that I would want to do is upgrade my computer after spending a small fortune on a camcorder. I'm not exactly sure what this $250 sony thing is. I'd be skeptical if I were you.

As for batteries, I'm sure that you can buy them online somewhere for cheaper than Best Buy. I also wouldn't be buying more than 1, just get one that has a bit longer life. Unless of course your camcorder battery size is restricted by the LCD screen. If my memory serves me right I think the sony batteries are right inside the "flap" of the screen. In that case you may need to buy several batteries. In any case shop online, preferably NOT ebay, there can be knock-offs and cloned batteries there. If you check out reviews.cnet.com they can point you in the right direction of finding a genuine retailer, they also show a list of places with the lowest prices.

Hope this helps! I can't wait to get my camcorder...I'm with you on the whole VHS tape thing. That's the last kind I operated and I'm only 24!!!

 

[Groucho]

As always, the concern about hard drives is that they are quite unreliable and will fail you, sooner or later, and it will probably not be at a good time! You gain convenience but at the expense of reliability (plus future cost to replace the hard drive.) It doesn't mean that hard-drive camcorders are worthless, but it is something that the salesman surely won't bring up.

As for firewire, $100 seems outrageous to add firewire to your PC.

If you have a desktop machine, you can add a card for $15 w/shipping - and if you can turn a screwdriver, you can install it yourself.

If you're using a laptop, here's a Cardbus one (plugs into the side of your laptop) for $25 shipped.

I would guess that someone makes a USB2-to-Firewire adapter, too, but I couldn't find one quickly.

 

[Mrs.viv07]

As always, the concern about hard drives is that they are quite unreliable and will fail you, sooner or later, and it will probably not be at a good time! You gain convenience but at the expense of reliability (plus future cost to replace the hard drive.) It doesn't mean that hard-drive camcorders are worthless, but it is something that the salesman surely won't bring up.

As for firewire, $100 seems outrageous to add firewire to your PC.

If you have a desktop machine, you can add a card for $15 w/shipping - and if you can turn a screwdriver, you can install it yourself.

If you're using a laptop, here's a Cardbus one (plugs into the side of your laptop) for $25 shipped.

I would guess that someone makes a USB2-to-Firewire adapter, too, but I couldn't find one quickly.

i am so clueless it isn't even funny the first part of your reply does that mean my camera will eventually die or my 5 month old computer?
i have a desktop i do eventually want a laptop but with the camcorder purchase that won't be happening soon!
as for the $100 the guy said at best buy the firewire card is about $30-$40 that i also need a cable ???? for it with a 6 prong on one end and a 4 prong on the other which was also about $30 ( again german to me!) and that the install would be around $30 totaling give or take $90 for it all

now you said something about a screwdriver, i am pretty handy (or i like to think i am) i put all our IKEA stuff together so i can't imagine this being any harder problem is how do i know where to stick it into the computer once the "box" is off

i have an emachines that i bought no more that 5 months ago if that helps

 

[Mrs.viv07]

If you have a desktop machine, you can add a card for $15 w/shipping - and if you can turn a screwdriver, you can install it yourself.

i forgot to ask do i need other software to be able to view what i have recorded?
and is this all i need to order or do they sell the 4/6 cable also?

sorry to bug you so much but i don't understand any of this

 

[MarkBarbieri]

As always, the concern about hard drives is that they are quite unreliable and will fail you, sooner or later, and it will probably not be at a good time!

I'm not at all convinced that tape mechanisms are more reliable that hard drives. Tape heads go out of alignment, they get dirty, and the transport mechanisms break down.

To me, the bigger difference is whether you want to record in DV format, MPEG2, or MPEG4. With tapes, you get DV, which is easier to edit and takes up more space. MPEG2 is more compressed, slower to edit, but faster to generate DVDs from. MPEG4 is even more compressed and even slower to edit.

If all you intend to do is shoot video and then dump it to DVDs to watch, I'd lean towards a disk of CF based camcorder. If you want to edit your material (and I think you should), I'd lean more towards tape.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

One other consideration is archiving. If you shoot on mini-DV tapes, they should last for decades and the easily converted to future formats. If you shoot on a transitional media like a hard disk or a CF card, you'll need some form of archival strategy, probably involving writing to DVDs. The current thinking is that writable DVDs don't have a very long shelf life.

To me, pictures have a higher immediate value that video, but that changes over time. When looking at what I did over the last couple of years, I prefer the detail and ease of display of photos. When looking at things that occurred years and years ago, I prefer video. So for me, video archival is and important consideration.

 

[Mrs.viv07]

ok i am completely lost right now as i said i haven't use a camcorder since the time you would put VHS into it literally!
we just bought this thing not even a week ago and now i am questioning even buying iot at all!
i just want to be able to video my family at xmas or WDW and then put it on DVD to share with other family, i did not want to spen $800 on one (call me cheap i don't care) so we went with a $400 sony cam and it uses DV ??? am i even right here? as opposed to the $800 that the sales rep told us tapes direct;ly to a dvd disc.
so we went with the cheaper version got the DV 5 pack of "tapes" and now i have to purchase a firewire card to put into my PC at home and the cable as well so i can take whatever i video from the camcorder onto my PC to then burnm to DVD
am i still on track?

this is the one we bought please tell me if this was a good choice for our needs.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7602659&st=sony+camcorder&lp=2&type=product&cp=4&id=1130982552719

 

[rosiejo]

Well MrsViv - after researching and looking at websites the camcorder you just bought is the one I had decided on!

Can you transfer to a pc using a USB rather than a firewire?

 

[Mrs.viv07]

Well MrsViv - after researching and looking at websites the camcorder you just bought is the one I had decided on!

Can you transfer to a pc using a USB rather than a firewire?

if only it could be that easy!!!!

the sales rep at best buy said NO because USB transfers photo data and isn't really the best choice to transfer video data (i am so clueless about all this, i barely understand my digital)
so he said since my desktop doesn't have the firewire i had to buy the card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815123012and the cable http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815999001 and then install into the pc, he did say that most desktops not over a year old should come with this firewire port (looks like a USB port almost)
funny my pc is only 5 months old and it doesn't have it hmmm....
either way its is about $30 at best buy for the card and then you just plug the cable to thecamcorder and then to the pc and it should work as a normal plug and play meaning the image should show up.
i am not sure yet as to weather you need software to run the video or if it does it on its own. there is places where you can download for free like picassa from google has for digital photos i think this place has for video. free 30 day trial http://www.wugnet.com/shareware/spow.asp?ID=525
or

check these:
http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/softwarereviews/tp/bestfreesw_ro.htm

 

[bdtracey]

Here are my thoughts...again I'm still new to the whole camcorder thing but I've done quite a bit of research (I'm an engineer... )

If your computer is 5 months old I'm pretty sure that you've got a firewire port on your computer somewhere. This port is also known as "IEEE 1394"...I refer to it as the Kia port (the southern guy that always says AIYEE!!!!) nevermind

Anyway, if you google for "firewire port" you can pull up a picture of what it looks like and where you'll need to plug your camcorder into. By the sounds of things you already have this cable. Like I said earlier you probably need to have the software installed on your computer so that everything works properly. Also, you'll need a DVD burner on your computer so that you can burn the video from your camcorder onto a DVD. Again, chances are good that you have a DVD burner because your computer is really new.

To make a long story short, get the cord, plug one end into your camcorder, the other into your IEEE 1394/Firewire port, turn on the camcorder, and you should be on your way. What happens after the camcorder gets turned on I'm not sure.

I would assume that your computer will act similar to your digital camera. I think that a little window will pop up asking what you would like to do. From there if your software is installed you should be able to use the software to transfer the video from your camcorder to a DVD. Again, I'm not 100% sure.

Give that a try and if that doesn't work let me know and I'll try to help you out. Oh, before I forget....what model of Sony camcorder do you have and what is the software called? If all else fails you can google for instructions.

Sorry for being so long winded...hopefully this helps!
If not..........

 

[MarkBarbieri]

If you don't already have a firewire port, you can get the card for $6 + $5 for shipping at NewEgg. To install it, you'll need to open your case, figure out where to stick it, pull out the little metal piece already there, plug it in, and pray that the drivers work OK. If you have a neighborhood geek, she/he can probably do it in less than 15 minutes.

As stated, you will need software. You need to capture the video onto your computer. A 1 hour tape will require about 13 gig of hard disk space. Once you've captured it, you need to render it and burn it to a DVD. The same software can probably handle all of these steps. You may also want to learn to edit your video. That allows you to cut out all of the boring bits that we all capture and it also allows you to add titles.

 

[Mrs.viv07]

this is the type of camera that we bought
Sony MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 2.5" SwivelScreen Color LCD Monitor
Model: DCR-HC36

now i remeber my father having a VHS tape that he would put his camcorder tape into and then play directly on the VHS. is there something like that for this?

also what is a memory stick for and do i really need it?

and last the handbook said i could just hook up the camera to the TV and use either VCR / or DVD with burning capability and then play the recorded footage from the camcorder to the tv and recorder onto the VHS/DVD

so i basically would only need to hook up the camera to my PC if i wanted to edit the footage kinda like photoshop woth photos am i right?