Digital Camcorder Advice.

Jim

im looking to buy a digital camcorder, but im a bit clueless about which one to get.

my price range will be around up onto €700.
any suggestions?

SantaHoe

Just make sure the camera has both a DV in and out, that's if your at all serious about wanting to edit footage on your PC anyway.
A lot of DigiCams out there will brag no-end about their fantastic DV out features, while ignoring the existence of a DV in... be carefull.
Of course if you're going that route, you'll want some form of Firewire (IEEE1394) interface for your PC, which usualy comes in the form of a PCI expansion card, or sometimes already integrated to your motherboard.

Ignore big claims about USB connectivity on the camcorder, USB is mostly useless unless it's USB2, in which case - again you'll have to make sure your PC is up to spec.

Also ignore digital zoom figures, it's just another gimmiky selling point manufacturers like to brag about... it's completely useless beyond a certain point.
For example - my camcorder has 560x digital zoom... at full zoom, all you'll get is blocks... I have digital zoom turned off.
Look instead soley at optical zoom figures when deciding.

Don't give too much weight to how many digital effects the camera has either, you will get bored with these very quickly.

Something to look out for is the optional ability to manually focus the lens by turning it, as opposed to having to set a manual focus through the on-screen menu (or other unintuitive interface).
Only really an issue if you want to do arty-farty things with the camera

The only thing that you'll really care about at the end of the day is image quality... keep that in mind.

As for specific camera models: find a camera that suits your wallet and search the web for some reviews.

Jim

cheers, thanks for that.
will go a looking today.

[btw, have usb2.0 and firewire ]

herbie747

Do not buy JVC.

Sony or Panasonic. MiniDV.

Try a Sony DCR-TRV50E.

www.ebay.co.uk is a good place to get one at a good price.

lodgepole

That Sony model mentioned is an excellent camera, especially for the price. As already mentioned, make sure it has both DV In and DV Out.

herbie747

Originally posted by Lodgepole
That Sony model mentioned is an excellent camera, especially for the price. As already mentioned, make sure it has both DV In and DV Out.

That model does. It has analog in and out too, as well as Super Night Shot - which can film in complete darkness. There a nice big 3.5 inch LCD screen on it too, and the picture quality is very crisp for a 1 CCD camera.

Jim

couldnt find that model anywhere, could only find the trv 30 and trv55, both of which are a bit pricey i was going to stay well clear of sony cause of imo from past experiences you dont really get value for money.

herbie747

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2964804553&category=3315

Would suit you perfect.

magpie

What's wrong with JVC? (honest question, not an argument! What makes Sony better?)

Also, the camcorder in that link looks fookin' massive. I'm looking for one of the palm sized jobbies to film my impending kids, not to do any director's cuts of apocalypse now.

What's the best basic palm digital camcorder for us non-budding-film-students?

herbie747

That camera is actually quite compact, but I know the one you mean.

Like this?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008AQ9U/ref=sr_aps_electronics_1_1/026-0210065-0469202

Karoma

Originally posted by herbie747
Do not buy JVC.

agreed. i have an old(3years?+?) jvc-it refuses to work with anything but win98 :rolleyes: even XP won't detect the thing-.support is non-existant!

magpie: why not mix obnoxious-kiddy-vid with apocalypse now? hehehehehehe!

Mumha

I bought a Sony TRV33 and am quite happy with it. The cost in the Sony store was about 1250 euro, however, I bought it in Dixons in Stansted and saved myself over 300 euro. Didn't realise that I could save that much, just happened to be browsing and found it out.

Question re using the Camcorder. What is the best way to edit the recordings ? Do u have to upload and edit or edit it through the camcorder. Seems to take up a load of space.

magpie

Herbie: Yep, that's the sort of thing I'm looking for. As small as possible.

Recommendations? Is the sony one in the link good? And what's the problem with JVC?

They have one of those Sony TRV33s on pixmania for €784 here

magpie

why not mix obnoxious-kiddy-vid with apocalypse now? hehehehehehe

The Horror!

sci0x

I am thinking of getting a Canon ZR60. What do ye think of it?

DMT

Which is better - DV or Digital8?

Having had a Hi8 camcorder that's gone dead, I'd probably be swayed easier towards Digital8 so that I can play the old tapes but still I remain open to being swayed in the DV direction....

McGintyMcGoo

You can buy the TRV33E from the US here for approximately €670 at the current exchange rates. That includes shipping to Ireland AND it IS definitely the PAL version!!

Sully

Any suggestions for a good DC at about 200 mark?

Kilree

DMT wrote: »

Which is better - DV or Digital8?

Having had a Hi8 camcorder that's gone dead, I'd probably be swayed easier towards Digital8 so that I can play the old tapes but still I remain open to being swayed in the DV direction....

I'm no expert but I had a similar problem when my old 8mm (not Hi 8) Sony camcorder died a few years ago. When it came to getting a new one I opted for a digital 8 which would play back the old 8mm and Hi 8 tapes. It really is the only option if you have a stack of old tapes. This enabled me to transfer all my old recordings to PC by firewire for editing . I found USB to be useless for capture even USB2 - kept dropping frames and also needs specific drivers. I bought both of my daughters Sony mini dv camcorders a couple of years ago and the quality is very good (no better than the Digi 8 BTW). What they like though is the compact size of the Mini dv camera as against the slightly larger Digi 8.
Hope this helps.

JJBMW

Hello all,

I have a Sony Camcorder with Built-in hard drive. (80gb) since Christmas. Problem is that the picture quality on any screen is very poor. I've been back to the Sony Centre, the guy there tried another camera, went out and recorded some footage and came back with the opinion that "yes, the picture is quite poor alright". Quality in the viewfinder screen on the side is perfect. Just not on any TV or Pc I've tried. All help appreciated.

Thanks.