Ok I can't decide

[TheSiege]

Here is the three compared to one another on Newegg
And the HG10 and The HG20 both have HDDs. But can I also record to the flash card. And is it a hard drive or a ssd drive or internal flash memory? any help would be great

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I love the ergonomics of the HF S100 - much better over the HF 100. B&H has them for 899$ if you call in. That's a steal. I bought 2!

 

[California Roll]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
I love the ergonomics of the HF S100 - much better over the HF 100. B&H has them for 899$ if you call in. That's a steal. I bought 2!

I've been thinking of selling my HV30 and getting a SDHC based camcorder. I'm really getting tired of dealing with tape. I've heard that all the new Canon models took a big step down in terms of low light performance, which is important to me. Is this something you've noticed on your HFS100?

Op: Personally, I do not like Hard Drive based camcorders. They're unnecessarily bulky consider how cheap flash memory is. Out of the 3 choices you listed, I'd get the HF200. If you're open to other choices, I'd also recommend looking at the HF100/HF10/HF11. These are all 2008 models but they're all very good. You could get the HF11 for about $510-520 after cashback which makes this a great bargain. I might go this route in replacing my HV30.

edit: decent review site

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

To save you some time reading, the HF S100 is great in low light because of the 1/2.6" sensor size. Read why below.

At the time I bought my first HF S100 I also bought the Panasonic HDC TM300 which is suppose to have less noise and better performance in low light over the HF S100. I tested both at 60i 0db & AWB shooting around in my room in some semi-daylight; and in some cases the TMC300 was brighter. As soon as I was shooting in lamp shade light with settings on auto, the TM took a horrible nose-dive in low level light & image quality. The image quality went to shit. I mean horribly. The colors were off. I think if the TM could record at 24mb/ps and had a larger sensor rather than the 3 x 1/4.2" sensors vs the 1/2.6" sensor, it would of beat the HF S100. In an individual and overall comparison, the HF S100 beats the TM 300. The HF S100 felt soo much more comfortable over the TM... even the HF 200. The HF S100 is very nicely made, great quality IMO. It doesn't have a view finder but that's not a big con for me. The TM has one. HF S100 all the way! Be sure to get a class 6 SDHC card. My 32g transcend can transfer at 25mb/s at times even though they are only rated at 20mb/s -

 

[TheSiege]

So stick with last years model?

 

[California Roll]

Do you have a budget?

 

[TheSiege]

500 - 600 is what I'm Thinking

 

[California Roll]

Then yeah, I'd say one of last year's models. From cheapest to most expensive: Canon HF100->HF10->HF11. Price difference between the 3 is probably less than $50. All of these are SDHC/Flash models.

 

[TheSiege]

Any suggestable retailers, All I know is newegg and they dont carry them, and Amazon is like 900 bones for em

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Be VERY careful when buying cams or cameras. There are a few good sources to buy from. I've bought all my stuff from B&H Photo. I think another is Adorama; both are reputable places.

 

[HelenOster]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Be VERY careful when buying cams or cameras. There are a few good sources to buy from. I've bought all my stuff from B&H Photo. I think another is Adorama; both are reputable places.

Thanks for the recommendation for Adorama Camera, which is very much appreciated.

I apologize for having come late to this thread, but wanted to make everyone aware of reselleratings.com. It is probably the most accurate guide to assessing the reliability of a company - or not!

I wouldn't take my credit card out of my pocket for any major purchase without checking the customer ratings there, first.

 

[dman]

I'm looking to replace a MiniDV (SD) camcorder, it's dying and about 5yrs old. If I go with an HD unit, do I have to play back content using the camcorder (or transcode it) or can I burn the files directly to a disc that'll play on say a BD player (As they come out of the camera)? I assume I have to transcode to some format like Mpeg2 or what not, just asking if there are any that record in a more universal format than others?

In general--in low light, in the $2-300 range what's the best performer? Are the digicam's with HD Video on par with camorders in this price range? Any recommendations?

So, in order of my priorties:

<$400, ($2-300 much better)
720P HD 30FPS w/ good motion capture capabilities (DSLR's are out)
SDHC primary storage / small / lightweight (but doesn't have to be 'tiny')
Good built-in audio (for voice)
Good Low Light Performance,nightshot mode, and/or LED light to suppliment for close ups
10x Optical Zoom (don't need to be able to zoom while recording, but at the shot start)
Ability to use as a still cam (or vice versa)

Anything extra would be bonus.

As you can imagine, this isn't for making movies, just for casual family style stuff.

Thanks in advance!

 

[California Roll]

Originally posted by: dman
I'm looking to replace a MiniDV (SD) camcorder, it's dying and about 5yrs old. If I go with an HD unit, do I have to play back content using the camcorder (or transcode it) or can I burn the files directly to a disc that'll play on say a BD player (As they come out of the camera)? I assume I have to transcode to some format like Mpeg2 or what not, just asking if there are any that record in a more universal format than others?

In general--in low light, in the $2-300 range what's the best performer? Are the digicam's with HD Video on par with camorders in this price range? Any recommendations?

So, in order of my priorties:

<$400, ($2-300 much better)
720P HD 30FPS w/ good motion capture capabilities (DSLR's are out)
SDHC primary storage / small / lightweight (but doesn't have to be 'tiny')
Good built-in audio (for voice)
Good Low Light Performance,nightshot mode, and/or LED light to suppliment for close ups
10x Optical Zoom (don't need to be able to zoom while recording, but at the shot start)
Ability to use as a still cam (or vice versa)

Anything extra would be bonus.

As you can imagine, this isn't for making movies, just for casual family style stuff.

Thanks in advance!

I'd say it's impossible to find a HD camcorder with all the features you're looking for under $400. Some of the middle to low end current camcorders (Panasonic, JVC, Samsung) may fit the bill but they're generally $500+ still. You could try to find some models from 2008 to get closer to your budget. These are still way better than any SD model.

Another option you mentioned is getting a digital camera that has HD video capabilities. Something like the Panasonic ZS3 ($350-400) comes to mind. It has 12x optical zoom, records in 720p, has true stereo recording instead of doubling mono channels. It's a camera first and a camcorder second tho.

It is definitely lacking in terms of capturing high motion footage and low light, but it might be acceptable to you. It really is a jack of all trades, master of none type device. It takes great photos and videos (to me) but not as good as a pure camera or camcorder. But at its price, no pure device comes close to it's capabilities.

Review: http://www.dpreview.com/review...rouplongzoom/page5.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/review...ouplongzoom/page16.asp

and definitely check YouTube/Vimeo for video clips, as there are tons.

For people thinking about Flip/Vado type devices, I'd definitely recommend going the camera route, even tho it's more expensive. You get optical zoom, image stabilization, and the ability to take stills.

I have a pretty decent DSLR and HD Camcorder, but I definitely carry and use my HD digital camera the most. I'm aware of the limitations but they're acceptable for the purposes I use it for.

 

[dman]

Thanks, I've been looking a lot at the Panasonic's and follow DPreview for the photo tests but the video tests are still fairly limited. I'll check out the sites you mentioned. We need a nice small P&S camera anyway and since the camcorder is dying having both in one would be good, as long as I can record a good 30minutes at a time of video and the quality is decent (at least better than SD). Thanks again for the advice.

Both Youtube and Vimeo seem to have issues buffering HD Video. Ugh. Compared to the HF100 the test videos I've reviewed so far show that the ZS3 has a bit more jerky action footage, but not 100% sure that's the camera or the sites and how they transcoded/served the video.

 

[California Roll]

If you're comparing video from any P&S camera to something like the HF100, you're definitely going to be disappointed. A lot of action clips on YouTube/Vimeo show jerkiness. Some of it can't be helped but a lot of it is due to not properly encoding the file for upload (disabling resampling in Vegas for example can help a lot). Make no mistake tho that if you're looking for really fluid action/panning shots digicam video still has a ways to go.

I still take my HV30 to weddings, vacations, etc. where I want the best video quality. Having a good P&S that can also take 720p tho lets me take it everywhere. Way better than taking cellphone video and the image quality is better than my previous Sony SD camcorder. I take it to ballgames, concerts (no way to even bring in a camcorder), the beach, even the supermarket where my 5 year old does a spot on Muppet Swedish Chef impersonation to the butcher.

For me, I got my camera instead of a Vado HD, and it let me replace my 4 year old Canon P&S to boot. I plan on getting a ZS3 when they hit $300 because the 12x zoom could have come in handy at times, my TS1 is only 4x. If you really want HD video but are on a $400 or less budget, I'd say go with a digicam knowing it's limitations. If you can spend more and really care about the best picture, go for a real HD camcorder.

edit: http://vimeo.com/videos/search:zs3/page:1/sortlays/format:thumbnail

I prefer checking out Vimeo over YT for test clips. Users there are generally more videography oriented and know how to encode.

http://vimeo.com/5270554 Very nice video. If someone told me this was done with a $800 camcorder I would believe them.