Digital Camcoder Info Request

[EagleKeeper]

Looking for info for nephew.

I am being asked questions that are beyond my knowledge, so I figured to pop in here to some "experts" for advise.


Something in the sub $500 range
Place/site that may evaluate units

Do they have the ability to act as a single shot as well as a regular recorder?

Storage mediums - Is one type better than another.

Firewire or USB to transfer to the computer for recording/editing?
Is this just a speed issue or something else.

 

[tailschao]

for ~$500, your limited to SD camcorders, for which you've got 4 options for recording format;
- MiniDV
- Hard Drive
- DVD
- Flash Memory Cards

The last 3 all use relatively Low Bitrate MPEG-2 encoding, Whereas MiniDV uses higher bitrate MPEG-4. In short, MiniDV provides the best image quality at the expense of Random Access - I.E. you have to fast forward, rewind etc, you can't just access anywhere in the recording instantly.

A good place for reviews is CamcorderInfo, Their objectivity is debatable, but they offer the most in depth reviews of camcorders I've found.

Yes, you can use a camcorder as a still camera too, but as far as quality is concerned, it isn't really advisable. As a rule, Video Cameras take sh!tty still pictures, and Still Cameras take sh!tty video. A nice, cheap P&S will take better pictures and be far more portable than a camcorder, so my advice is to keep Video and Stills separate.

As to Firewire Vs. USB... I'm not sure. By 'Not Sure', what I mean is 'I've no idea'
All I know for sure is that for transferring MiniDV to computer, you always use Firewire. Hopefully someone else can Explain/Elaborate.

Personally, for ~$500 I'd probably get the Sony DCR-HC96 $500 @ B&H

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: tailschao
The last 3 all use relatively Low Bitrate MPEG-2 encoding, Whereas MiniDV uses higher bitrate MPEG-4. In short, MiniDV provides the best image quality at the expense of Random Access - I.E. you have to fast forward, rewind etc, you can't just access anywhere in the recording instantly.

This is incorrect. The HDD use AVCHD, which is an MPEG-4 spec similar to H.264 at a low bitrate. MiniDV is NEVER MPEG-4. It is either DV-AVI or MPEG-2 Long GOP (Elemental Stream like DVD) for HDV.

to Firewire Vs. USB... I'm not sure. By 'Not Sure', what I mean is 'I've no idea'
All I know for sure is that for transferring MiniDV to computer, you always use Firewire. Hopefully someone else can Explain/Elaborate.

USB works with HDDs. Firewire is always the best solution with MiniDV (real time streaming media) I always recommend MiniDV format because it is its own archive. Order tapes in bulk from B&H and they are $3.50 each with shipping incl in lots of 10.

EagleKeeper, at the site linked in tailschao's post, look at the Pansonic PV-GS320. 3MP stills is OK (my Sony HDV takes 6 at twice the price). Under $400 at B&H. The only negative I see is having to remove the battery to access USB and Firewire (doing field captures on a laptop in a bus like I did 3 summers ago would be impossible with no A/C.) But, that is a minor. Very inexpensive for having 3 CCDs and OIS. Can be a little cheap feeling, but same is true with many consumer cams including Canon's HDV HV series.

 

[tailschao]

Originally posted by: gsellis
This is incorrect. The HDD use AVCHD, which is an MPEG-4 spec similar to H.264 at a low bitrate.

Only on High Definition Cameras. On Standard Def MPEG-2 is used. Hence the name AVCHD

Originally posted by: gsellis
MiniDV is NEVER MPEG-4. It is either DV-AVI or MPEG-2 Long GOP (Elemental Stream like DVD) for HDV.

It is. MPEG-4 does not only mean H.264, for example, MPEG-4 Part 10 is H.264, MPEG-4 Part 2 is ASP, used in XviD/DivX, so on & so forth. DV-AVI is MPEG-4, which part I'm not sure, but it's definitely MPEG-4.

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: tailschao

Originally posted by: gsellis
This is incorrect. The HDD use AVCHD, which is an MPEG-4 spec similar to H.264 at a low bitrate.

Only on High Definition Cameras. On Standard Def MPEG-2 is used. Hence the name AVCHD

Originally posted by: gsellis
MiniDV is NEVER MPEG-4. It is either DV-AVI or MPEG-2 Long GOP (Elemental Stream like DVD) for HDV.

It is. MPEG-4 does not only mean H.264, for example, MPEG-4 Part 10 is H.264, MPEG-4 Part 2 is ASP, used in XviD/DivX, so on & so forth. DV-AVI is MPEG-4, which part I'm not sure, but it's definitely MPEG-4.

Let's correct some things. MiniDV is actually a tape standard. On all the camcorders I know of, it is either DCT or MPEG-2 Long GOP (PES on Sony HDV). The spec says 5:1 DVC-format DCT, intra-frame; 25 Mbps video data rate for SD DV. Audio for DV is usually PCM 12/16 bit, but there are MPEG-2 audio cameras. DCT is not MPEG-4. MPEG-4 Part 2 is DCT. MPEG-4 is a post DV creation. DV-AVI is AVI Type 2, which is Microsoft's. Microsoft did not adopt MPEG-4 until much later. MPEG-4 was a post DV-AVI creation.

Forgot about SD HDD cams. Not sure what the GOP length is, but I assume it is the standard MPEG-2 group of pics that DVD usually uses.