digital camcorder recommendations?

[spanky]

hi, i'm in the market for a digital camcorder...but i have no idea what means what. any of u guys have any suggestions as tho which models are pretty good? or any pointers of what to look for? come on...help an AT brotha' out

 

[UofI]

I would recommand the Canon POWERSHOT S300 or if you have some serious cash to burn then get the Fuji FinePix 4900.
The Powershot is a superb camera though

 

[apoppin]

DVC is the way to go. It is the future.

Choosing a model will take research on your part.

I wanted an entry level DVC and bought the Panasonic PV-DV51 for $399 after MIR. It is very basic but to get a better picture you need to spend twice the money. And it is better than any analog (Hi-8/VHS, etc.) camcorder.

What is your pricerange? How much are you willing to spend? You have to decide if it is for home movies ($400 up - 1 chip, like for me) or broadcast quality (3 chips - $1800 up).

Read the reviews. Do a search on AT and you will find some interesting links and discussions.

 

[UofI]

Oops!
I thought you wanted a regular camera recommendation.
Sorry

 

[d0ofy]

The Canon Optura is pretty nice. It doubles a digital camera too.

 

[dionx]

most sony digital camcorders are good. get the best one you could afford.

 

[mrCide]

i picked up a sony dcr-trv17, i love it.

 

[DCFife]

<< I wanted an entry level DVC and bought the Panasonic PV-DV51 for $399 after MIR >>



This was my choice for an entry level DVC too and I've been quite happy with it. It's simple, it's basic, it gets the job done, and the video quality is great. I can't imagine too many single-CCD camcorders being that much better to warrant spending the extra $$$. I still want to get the Canon XL-1 so I can use all of my EOS lenses, though...

 

[apoppin]

<< I can't imagine too many single-CCD camcorders being that much better to warrant spending the extra $$$. >>



The only "flaw" I can find with mine is the lack of an external microphone input. Since it is "home movies", it doesn't matter to me.

The only differences between the cheaper DVCs and more expensive one are "features", not picture quality. You have to spend quite a bit more (like 2x or 3x) to get much better picture quality.

For example, for $50 more (in the same Panasonic line) I would get the upgrade from 18X optical zoom to 20x optical zoom. Oh, and a serial port for transferring still pictures (which is a WASTE in my opinion as the still pictures are not great quality - buy a digitical still camera instead).

For a couple of hundred more you get a color viewfinder (the LCD is the same) and a USB port. And for about $300 more you get that external mic input. When you get to 4X the price, you get the 3 CCDs which make for "broadcast" quality (the kind the TV stations use).