Which camcorder?

Sesame

I'm asking a friend to do some videoing on our wedding day.
Not sure how much he knows about it but he's good a good eye for a photo so I'm hoping he can create a good wedding film.
We'd also like a camcorder for holidays and things after the wedding.
I'd don't have a lot to spend (max maybe €250) and I know a lot of people who buy camcorders don't get much use out of them which is why I think ebay might be a good place to look for one.
My question is what sort of format would suit and wouldn't become obsolete soon? I've heard of mini dv and DVD types. Which is better for what I need?
My requirements, particularly for the wedding would probably be long battery life (and maybe a spare battery) and a good enough picture when there isn't a lot of light available (eg. in the church, dancing, etc) and the ability to edit the film afterwards to remove the boring bits and maybe add a soundtrack.
Any particular brands better than others?
Thanks a lot.

foreignobserver

For 250 euros you cant be too fussy it won't buy a real good quality camcorder. Sure you can find something that works from either Canon or Sony or JVC.

In general hard disk and flash-based ones use compression that is not good for handling movement - but are easier to edit compared to DVD and miniDV based ones. So you have to decide what matters to you.
Keep in mind cheap ones use CMOS and not CCD sensors that have poor color range and sensitivity. See these threads for more good info:

http://www.filmmaking.net/fnetforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4527
http://www.filmmaking.net/fnetforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6195
http://www.filmmaking.net/fnetforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7221
http://www.filmmaking.net/fnetforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7034

Good Luck

Fajitas!

Gonna move this over to the video forum, might get some more experienced replies there!

decob

Given the budget, i'd say a sony or canon minidv. Can't recommend any particualtar model. Both hard disk and dvd are compressed - well compressed more than dv compression.

Again with the limitation of your budget all cameras will be single chip (ccd/cmos) and will suffer from noise in low light conditions - if the camera has decent manual controls it'd be possible to reduce the noise artifacts somewhat.

extopia

foreignobserver wrote: »

In general hard disk and flash-based ones use compression that is not good for handling movement - but are easier to edit compared to DVD and miniDV based ones. So you have to decide what matters to you.
Keep in mind cheap ones use CMOS and not CCD sensors that have poor color range and sensitivity.

Actually, the MiniDV format is easiest to edit (assuming you have a relatively new PC or Mac), and better picture quality than DVD and hard-disk formats (both of which are more compressed than the DV format). DV format is frame-based, so easier to edit. You can get good results with basic editors like Apple's iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, both of which should have come with free with your computer.)

You're in luck - the popularity of DVD/Hard disk recorders means that MiniDV cameras are both cheaper AND better - a rare combination these days