Camcorder suggestions?

[de8212]

Thinking about picking a camcorder up soon. Don't want the most expensive one in the world and certainly don't want the cheapest. Hoping to spend ~500.00 if possible.

Do all of the new ones hook up to a pc and transfer the video through firewire? I have an audigy card in my pc that has the firewire port but I've never used it.

ANy recommendations?

 

[woowoo]

DV
Anything in the DV format
No hi8
No VHSC

Dv only.....

 

[daddyo]

I just bought a JVC GRDX77 and I'm very happy with it. I paid about $450 but it came with a $50 rebate and a free tripod and case.

www.camcorderinfo.com has some great reviews of just about everything out there.

 

[de8212]

thanks.

SO it HAS to be DV? If it's hi8, it can't be tranferred over to a pc by firewire, etc.? I know it probably can through a capture card but I don't want to go that route.

So what type of media does DV take? Is it liek compact flash, etc. from digital cameras, pda's? Or does it use dvd's?

 

[spacejamz]

something that comes in very handy is the pass through feature where you can feed an analog signal (RCA/S-video) to the camcorder and then pass the signal through to your PC via firewire...

my sony trv22 has but the trv19 doesn't, so it probably won't be on the basic model level...

BTW...miniDV is its own format (like hi-8 or VHSC...)...

 

[Kenazo]

There is something called Digital 8, which I believe has firewire, and you can play older HI8 videos, if that's what you had before. Otherwise, go for a mini-DV based camera.

 

[lozina]

Sony TRV22

It's small and chock full of nice features, like firewire/USB streaming, TV in and TV out so you can record stuff off TV onto the camera, still picture capacity (Although I must amdit I never use that, my digital camera is much more well suited) has a neat little night-shot feature (can film things in complete darkness), nice 10x opitcal zoom lens and the camera handles low light so unbelievably good. I can film things indoors without worrying much enough lighting like I do for other cameras.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have a Sony TRV-19 DV Camcorder. I've had it for 2 years now and it is flawless. I bought it primarily to take videos of my son and I highly recommend it. The camcorder is very small and lightweight, the tapes are tiny and it is very easy to use. I also like the touchscreen controls on the LCD, the menus are very easy to understand. I'm sure their newer models are just as good if not better.

I think I paid $550 for it (retail was $599). I wanted to spend a little less but ended up getting a model that was slightly more expensive because I found that the extra features were worth the money (better resolution, etc). Going up to the $800 one was definitely not worth it though as the only thing you gain is a color display when looking through the eyepiece and better quality still picture digital camera features (still really crappy though, you'd be better off spending the extra money on a decent 4 megapixel digital camera).

I was able to convince Circuit City to price match www.bhphoto.com at the time.

 

[de8212]

So is miniDV good? Like this one?

What kind of media is included and what all can I buy afterwards? It says IEEE 1394-compliant DV in/out terminal for fast, simple transfers to your PC for viewing or editing. So would that work with the firewire port on my audigy?
Also what kind of quality is it after it's on the pc? As good as a dvd????

 

[de8212]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
The camcorder is very small and lightweight, the tapes are tiny and it is very easy to use. I also like the touchscreen controls on the LCD, the menus are very easy to understand. I'm sure their newer models are just as good if not better.

So yours is DV but it takes tapes????? Sorry I know a littel about digital cameras but zero about camcorders.

I just want somehting that will record a decent abount of stuff in excellent quality (unlike the movie mode on my sony dsc-s85 camera) and then be able to transfer over to my pc via usb/firewire/etc. for putting onto dvd's.

 

[Kenazo]

MiniDV is a tape format.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I have a Sony TRV-19 DV Camcorder. I've had it for 2 years now and it is flawless. I bought it primarily to take videos of my son and I highly recommend it. The camcorder is very small and lightweight, the tapes are tiny and it is very easy to use. I also like the touchscreen controls on the LCD, the menus are very easy to understand. I'm sure their newer models are just as good if not better.

I think I paid $550 for it (retail was $599). I wanted to spend a little less but ended up getting a model that was slightly more expensive because I found that the extra features were worth the money (better resolution, etc). Going up to the $800 one was definitely not worth it though as the only thing you gain is a color display when looking through the eyepiece and better quality still picture digital camera features (still really crappy though, you'd be better off spending the extra money on a decent 4 megapixel digital camera).

I was able to convince Circuit City to price match www.bhphoto.com at the time.

another vote for trv-19.

we love it.

paid $499 for it last year i think.

 

[Kenazo]

Originally posted by: de8212
So is miniDV good? Like this one?

What kind of media is included and what all can I buy afterwards? It says IEEE 1394-compliant DV in/out terminal for fast, simple transfers to your PC for viewing or editing. So would that work with the firewire port on my audigy?
Also what kind of quality is it after it's on the pc? As good as a dvd????

That camera uses Secure Digital cards for taking digital pics, like a normal digital camera, and miniDV tapes for doing video. The miniDV content is transferable to your computer using firewire.

 

[clamum]

I don't really see anything wrong with Hi-8 if you're not concerned about high quality. If I'm not mistaken you can transfer footage via fireware to your computer. That being said I would go with DV if you're getting a new camcorder.

 

[de8212]

Don't see the TRV-19 on Best Buy's website. Is there a newer version of it with a different model # possibly.

I guess I don't mind the miniDV tapes if the quality is good when transferred to a pc. Anybody have any samples?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: de8212

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
The camcorder is very small and lightweight, the tapes are tiny and it is very easy to use. I also like the touchscreen controls on the LCD, the menus are very easy to understand. I'm sure their newer models are just as good if not better.

So yours is DV but it takes tapes????? Sorry I know a littel about digital cameras but zero about camcorders.

I just want somehting that will record a decent abount of stuff in excellent quality (unlike the movie mode on my sony dsc-s85 camera) and then be able to transfer over to my pc via usb/firewire/etc. for putting onto dvd's.

MiniDV is tape. Quality is excellent. The best thing about mini-DV, I think, is the small size of the tapes. They are about half the size of a deck of cards. Small tape=small camcorder.

I've heard mixed reviews about the Canon mini-DV camcorders. I was looking at them when I bought mine and every review I read about each favored the Sony.

 

[MrScott81]

The sony digital 8 is actually a fairly nice camera...the only difference between that and their DV models are that the cameras are a little bigger (mostly because the tapes they use are bigger.) They both record in digital and can output to your computer using firewire.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: de8212
Don't see the TRV-19 on Best Buy's website. Is there a newer version of it with a different model # possibly.

I guess I don't mind the miniDV tapes if the quality is good when transferred to a pc. Anybody have any samples?

the trv19/22/33 are last year's models....don't remember what the new model #'s are....

I use Studio 8 to capture and the quality is excellent...

 

[Thump553]

The new Sony model in that range is the DCR-HC20. It seems to be just under $500 everywhere. I picked one up last week as a gift but haven't gotten any feedback on it yet-the person is on vacation.