Going on a 2 month vacation to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. I wanted to buy a videocamera. I haven't purchased one of these in 10 years so I don't even know what I should be looking for, and don't have the time to do the requisite research. So I gratefully request some advice here.
1. What is the best format to use? I don't want to fall into a Betamax-type situation here, if you know what I mean. MiniDV is one format I think. What do you recommend as the best in terms of quality, reliability, and popularity?
2. Are there any standout recorders out there? I'm not sure if the nature of the recorder market is like with SLR cameras, where there are multiple product lines by competing manufacturers that are relatively on par with each other, or if there is a clear standout (like with the mp3 player market).
3. Is there any brand/product that's notoriously bad, and that I should stay away from?
4. Any advice on particular models? I'll be using this to records our daily travels. I'd like it to be decent, and versatile (good in both daylight and at dusk), but I'm obviously not a videophile, and it doesn't have to 800fps, quadra-phaser array, hypermax this and that, you know what I mean.
5. I'm looking to spend about 300, maybe more if there happens to be a huge quality jump at a pricepoint slightly above. Obviously I could go cheaper if there is something suitable for cheaper - but with these gadgets, I think 300 isn't going to be getting any flagship models.
Thanks A BUNCH for your help guys - this is really what Anandtech is perfect for. A thousand tech gurus at one's disposal!
1. What is the best format to use? I don't want to fall into a Betamax-type situation here, if you know what I mean. MiniDV is one format I think. What do you recommend as the best in terms of quality, reliability, and popularity?
2. Are there any standout recorders out there? I'm not sure if the nature of the recorder market is like with SLR cameras, where there are multiple product lines by competing manufacturers that are relatively on par with each other, or if there is a clear standout (like with the mp3 player market).
3. Is there any brand/product that's notoriously bad, and that I should stay away from?
4. Any advice on particular models? I'll be using this to records our daily travels. I'd like it to be decent, and versatile (good in both daylight and at dusk), but I'm obviously not a videophile, and it doesn't have to 800fps, quadra-phaser array, hypermax this and that, you know what I mean.
5. I'm looking to spend about 300, maybe more if there happens to be a huge quality jump at a pricepoint slightly above. Obviously I could go cheaper if there is something suitable for cheaper - but with these gadgets, I think 300 isn't going to be getting any flagship models.
Thanks A BUNCH for your help guys - this is really what Anandtech is perfect for. A thousand tech gurus at one's disposal!
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