camcorder question

[Broli]

So, i am interested in getting a camcorder. I am will use this for basic features, shooting videos on vacations, events, basically regular use. Battery life is important

i am trying to decide what i should get, and would be interested in hearing some input.

i guess, harddrive camcorders are the most simple to use, however, they are a bit steep in price compared to miniDV cameras

if anyone has any suggestions on what would be a good basic camera, i would be interested in hearing them, or if you have something that you think is great, that would be good to know also.

also, is there any compelling reason to go with/not go with any of the types (HDD, DVD, minDV) of camcorder?

Thanks


Alex

[bubba1983]

i went wiht a HDD one simply because of the fact i won't have to **** around with minidv, dv, hi8, basically ANY form of tapes whatsoever!

The batteries that come with the camcorder in the packages don't last worth their money. U'll get about one hour with the standard battery, as they are normally about 700Mah in size.

You can easily obtain bigger batteries online for a fair price. I grabbed my 3500Mah Battery online from some random site that is out in B.C and at full charge it gives me 5 hours runtime.

Other features that peaked me in camcorders would be electronic image stabalization (for obvious reasons) so that you don't get a blair witch effect to everything you film, a resonably high zoom lense, and/or a night mode so that shooting in the dark/low light won't be spotty like your using dial-up internet to steam a movie.

Don't expect much from the photo taking features of a camcorder, as taking video is its main priority, not taking pictures. Its the same difference with taking video with a digital camera, its not the main function, so don't expect much.

I will have mine out at the BBQ for recording and such, your welcome to play around with it there.

thats my .14cents!

[TheProfessor]

At this stage I would still give my vote to MiniDV. First off the pricing is very reasonable and the quality is like that of DVD (~500 lines of resolution). Second, and most importantly IMO, is that if you run out of room you can simply insert another $6 tape and off you go. With a HDD if you fill that up you're SOL while away on vacation. Finally, if the camera breaks or is lost/stolen, your memories are still safe on tapes.

[S.F.W.]

I picked up an HDD camcorder for my sister to record my Niece's birth. Bought a JVC camera with a 30GB drive, was around $600 plus tax. Chose HDD as it was the easiest for her to use both to record, and transfer to the PC.

[bubba1983]

be it as it may, with a 20gig HDD, on the lowest video recording setting, you can tape 24 hours worth of video, and on teh higest setting, u can record 9-10 hours of video. (only quoting my camcorder) so those are roughly the 2 extremes in recording, from about 9 hours, to 24 hours.

i agree tho, for the price, minidv or any of those would probably be good for what u want. Don't totally rule out Dvd camcorders also, where u just insert a blank dvd...we all know how cheap a spindle of those are these days.

but if you don't want to be bothered wiht tapes, i recommend a HDD one, they always are on sale.

[Broli]

thanks for the comments so far, very handy.

i had reasoned that an HDD would be easiest, however, i am sure those will drop in price in the next few years, hence i was leaning towards a minDV as a learner and to last a few years.

i am not in any particular rush, so Bubbs, thx i will check it out at the bbq.

i have been wanting one for a while, and after seeing the prices at 2001 (http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17423) i was thinking now may be a good time to stike.

keep the thoughts coming

thx!

Alex

[bubba1983]

i had been wanting one for awhile too, and when the 20gig one ihave went for $499 on boxing day last year i had to jump on it! as i have been watching the prices on the HDD ones ever since they were orig at $1200 - $1500 quite a few years ago!

[IMHIP2]

Did research on this before Christmas - biggest thing is filming in low light and to a camcorder that means in a regular room. I ended up going MiniDV

Canon Elura 100 was reasonable $500 - $600 at FS or BB that seemed to perform well but tended to be noisy. For me it was a toss up between the Sony HC96 and Panasonic GS180, GS300 and GS500 I eventually ended up with a Panasonic GS500, because I got a smoking deal from Henry's

Found this site to be very informative for the best camera - I think it ranked them all

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

Other useful sights I found

http://www.pana3ccduser.com/

http://www.avsforum.com/

Good luck trying to decide - takes alot of time to decide format etc.

[Broli]

thanks for the info, thats is awesome

[MAZDA Kitten]

Futureshop has a nice Samsung on sale for $249. I bought the same one a few months earlier for almost $400 so they are coming down in price a lot