Camcorder advice?

[blackrain]

I am looking for a camcorder between $300-$500. It looks like the miniDV and DVD camcorders are all in the $300-$400 range and the hard drive camcorders are in the $500 range.

What do you suggest?

I'm not too crazy about the DVD camcorders. How is the quality of the burn and mini DVD's? I like to use high end DVD's (TY's, Verbatim) to back up my home videos and then use my BENQ to check the disc quality for errors.

Is there anything I should be aware? Known bugs or problems with any of the types of camcorders?

The HD ones seem to be the most interesting to me because you save money on DV's and can also process your video however you want.

My wife is sort of klutzy....she tends to drop our cameras/camcorders. So I have to take that into consideration as well.

How about manufacturers? Is there one better than another? Do any of the manufacturers offer better warranties than the others? (like Seagates 5 year warranty in the HD market)

Also, if there is a forum elsewhere better suited for this question, please let me know.

 

[sswingle]

I would go for miniDV or hard drive. miniDV is a plus if you think you will be taking a lot of video without having a chance to offload it to the computer, since you can just swap tapes. Once your HDD is full on that type, you need to send it to your PC before you can record more.

 

[blackrain]

With the HD camcorders, how are the files recorded? Does the file and recording end at 2 hours? Is the video continuously recorded on the same file? Are there file size limitations? At some point these will have to be transferred to my pc and processed for backup to DVD's. Can I automatically set that the video should not be recorded onto a file greater than 4GB? Could it be as easy as copying the file to my NTFS HD, and then using Ulead Studio to process the file and burn to DVD. Is the file MPEG and can every recording be in a separate file?

Also, what I always hated about the tape is that I would have 2 hours of video about a variety of topics all mixed together on one tape (birthdays, vacations, home use, etc) and back up the entire tape with all of the topics onto the same DVD (didn't have the time to cut out the different topics and put them onto different DVD's and many topics were short or a few minutes only so it would not be worth having them on a separate DVD). It would be nice if for every recording, a new file was created so that for every different topic, I would have a separate file. I could name the file "birthday" or "summer vacation 2007" and then just back up all of the separate mpeg files onto a CD or DVD.


Edit: One other question...have the HD's on the camcorders been lasting?

When I refer to HD camcorder, I mean "Hard Drive" and not "High Definition"

 

[shortylickens]

I have a low-end Sony hard drive camcorder and I like it.
The files are recorded as MPEG's. You can do hi, mid or low quality.
(The hi is mpeg2, and they get huge.)
Mine is just a 30GB drive but its more than enough. As with all new hobbies, I recommend starting cheap and learning as much as possible.
Near as I can tell, there are no features to limit movie length or file size.
But simply clipping either one without changing the compression is VERY easy to do in even basic video software.

Incidentally, if you dont want to confuse High-definition with hard drive, say HDD.
Its another way of saying hard disk drive.

 

[blackrain]

I am assuming its just standard mpeg2 and any software can be used? The reason why I ask is because I don't necessarily want to be constrained to the software that comes with the camcorder.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: blackrain
I am assuming its just standard mpeg2 and any software can be used? The reason why I ask is because I don't necessarily want to be constrained to the software that comes with the camcorder.

You'll be able to use anything, Windows Movie Maker to Adobe Premier and anything else in between.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers

Originally posted by: blackrain
I am assuming its just standard mpeg2 and any software can be used? The reason why I ask is because I don't necessarily want to be constrained to the software that comes with the camcorder.

You'll be able to use anything, Windows Movie Maker to Adobe Premier and anything else in between.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT.....
The new, hi-end, High Definition version of Sony's hard drive camcorder does use its own special format for files, and right now only the software included in the box can be used for it.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: shortylickens

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers

Originally posted by: blackrain
I am assuming its just standard mpeg2 and any software can be used? The reason why I ask is because I don't necessarily want to be constrained to the software that comes with the camcorder.

You'll be able to use anything, Windows Movie Maker to Adobe Premier and anything else in between.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT.....
The new, hi-end, High Definition version of Sony's hard drive camcorder does use its own special format for files, and right now only the software included in the box can be used for it.

Well thats crappy. Does it have a firewire port so you can transfer off that way?

 

[shortylickens]

Of course it has firewire.
How else did you think it would get the data off a hard drive?

Oh, I'm sorry, perhaps you meant FW as opposed to USB 2.
I think it has FW, let me check.

EDIT:
WRONG!
It looks like USB 2 only.
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/specs/Sony--HDR-SR1.htm

 

[blackrain]

Is the following understanding correct then?

On the HDD camcorders, you basically have access to the files to copy them directly from the HDD to the PC right? Then I can use whatever software I want to convert the MPEG to a DVD and author the DVD, or I can just back up a bunch of the misc MPEG's to CD or DVD, right?


So my only remainng question is reliability/warranty?

Obviously, the question is not will the HDD die? The question is WHEN will the HDD die? For the money, maybe its just better to get a miniDV that will last 5+ years

It seems that the main mfg's are Sony and JVC. Both seem to only have a 1 year warranty. For a HDD-based device, that makes me worry a little bit. Its one thing to buy a Maxtor/WD HDD for $100-$200 and lose out after a year, but a $500-$600 camcorder makes me worry a bit.

 

[shortylickens]

As a general rule with cameras:
Sony makes higher quality stuff and better supports it.
Have owned many Sony photography products over the years and never needed to use the warranty on any of them.

HOWEVER, you just made me realize that I now have my first Sony product with a hard drive in it.
You are correct, the question is WHEN will it die?
I may have to investigate this, and soon.

 

[blackrain]

Have you compared the Sony specs to the JVC specs? I know that Sony has a great name and quality, but the JVC specs seem to blow away Sony for the price.

 

[shortylickens]

Again this is just a general rule but:
On a point per point comparison, the JVC's always seem like a better deal.

But so far as cameras go, SONY is a lot more honest and straightforward about the camera quality and capability.
If you go to an independant review site and read their articles on comparable cameras, the Sony always beats the JVC. You usually have to move up a whole price range to get the JVC to win and then its not really a comparison anymore.

Though in some areas a Canon or Nikon will beat an equivalent Sony model.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Of course it has firewire.
How else did you think it would get the data off a hard drive?

Oh, I'm sorry, perhaps you meant FW as opposed to USB 2.
I think it has FW, let me check.

EDIT:
WRONG!
It looks like USB 2 only.
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/specs/Sony--HDR-SR1.htm

Thats what I thought, because if it had firewire you could play it back and re-record with video software on the PC. Bad idea for Sony IMO, people want to use their own software.

 

[blackrain]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Again this is just a general rule but:
On a point per point comparison, the JVC's always seem like a better deal.

But so far as cameras go, SONY is a lot more honest and straightforward about the camera quality and capability.
If you go to an independant review site and read their articles on comparable cameras, the Sony always beats the JVC. You usually have to move up a whole price range to get the JVC to win and then its not really a comparison anymore.

Though in some areas a Canon or Nikon will beat an equivalent Sony model.

You're right. After looking at some review sites, it looks like the JVC cameras just suck.

 

[Quasmo]

Get a Panasonic 3CCD MiniDV camcorder. It will be better quality, be more durable, and more versitile, than most other in the same $$$ catagory.

For cheap

Get a GS-300

 

[blackrain]

Originally posted by: Quasmo
Get a Panasonic 3CCD MiniDV camcorder. It will be better quality, be more durable, and more versitile, than most other in the same $$$ catagory.

For cheap

Get a GS-300

After spending most of my day researching, it comes down to something like the GS300 versus Sony's DCR-HC96

It seems that while Panasonic pushes its 3CCD (1/6 each in size), Sony pushes its 1/3 CCD size, which ultimately has better low light level functionality.

At first I was going to go with the GS-300 because of the optical image stabilization added to the 3CCD, but many reviewers say that the difference between optical stabilization and electronic stabilization are negligible. If that's the case, then it seems the Sony would be better. Also, if that's the case there's no reason for me to even consider the GS-300, when the GS-180 has basically the same features minus the optical stabilization.