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View Full Version : Camcorder around 600-800$ ... maybe more


dmegatool
2006-11-20, 00:04
Hi !
I'm planning to make the acquisition of a brand new baby from my wife. She's not pregnant yet but we are trying hard (fun part here)... I think a camcorder will be nice since it's gonna be my first kid.

I don't really know what I want because I don't know if I really need some features. I'm ready to spend around 600-800$ but if someone recommend me a 1000-1200$ that I really, really should get, I can negociate with my wife :).

Ok here somes I want :

-manual focus
-16:9
-24p (frame mode/whatever)
-that's all ?...

I wondering things like :

-Should I get a cam that shot in HD (I don't own hdtv/hd-dvd/bluray). Does the quality is better when shot in HD and tranfered to dvd ?
-Does a handy cam does the job compared to a shoulder one ? If the size isn't a problem...
-What about storage ? What kind is better ? HDD, mini-dv, ...


I don't know that much about camcorder, lens, etc. I just want a nice image quality. I know I will be able to adjust things in finalcut but you know. Anyway I'm really impatient to get my hands on FC. I never used it. In my college we were learning Adobe Premiere (I think it was 6.0) because it was cross platform. Eewwww

PKIDelirium
2006-11-20, 11:14
I would take a look at the Sony line. Never had a problem with mine, and apparently they have some of the best quality video cameras right now.

dmegatool
2006-11-20, 16:38
Yeah sony got some nice cams. I looked at the HDR-HC3. The only things that I dislike is the fact that they removed the focus ring from the HDR-HC1.

HDR-HC1 would do the trick but it seems like the price didn't drop. Like the HDR-HC3 is around 900$ and the previous model HDR-HC1 still 1300-1400$ ?

dmegatool
2008-03-15, 10:19
Wow more than 1 year later, my wife is finally pregnant :)

So I'm planning to go shopping for a camcorder this afternoon. My strategy changed a bit. I think I'll go for the cheapo standard cam and wait a little bit for a more pricey/quality cam later (3 years maybe). The HD cams are kind out of my current price range...

So I'm thinking something around 150-200$. I'm just wondering if the picture quality will be there. A lot of cam in that price range advertise 640x480 resolution. Is that enough ? I mean, DVD is 720x480 no ? All of theses are flash based with SD cards... wich I found cool since I use them in my D80.

Will a cam that works with miniDV tapes would give me a better image ? I've seen one at 250$ so maybe I could strech if it really worth it.

dmegatool
2008-03-15, 18:31
I bought one so forget about the advices guys...

A 250$ dealed at 200$ with a free 3 year warranty. It's a JVC MiniDV... pretty "standard"

Swox
2008-08-22, 01:40
We're looking for a camcorder, somewhere between $200-500. We want to use it to film art lessons for youtube and so forth. It doesn't need to be amazing, just decent image quality, reliable, and really easy to use with my MBP.

I don't know anything about camcorders, but I know lots about DSLR's. I have no idea of what features I should be looking for, but we're going to be shooting almost exclusively in well-lit situations, mounted on a tripod.

Thanks!

WrestleEwe
2008-08-25, 11:58
what you really really want in a camcorder is Firewire out (sony calls it ilink), so you can load the recorded footage in QT/FCP and even Quartz Composer compositions. And even use it to stream live video to those programs. you can have a lot of fun with that.

My experience is that cams with USB out really suck driverwise. USB shouldnt be used for video anyhow...

The main advantage firewire has is that DV is a standard that all Macs understand out of the box.

Swox
2008-08-25, 13:52
Thanks for the advice :)

jcoley2
2008-08-25, 13:55
I would take a look at the Sony line. Never had a problem with mine, and apparently they have some of the best quality video cameras right now.

My two year old HDR-HC3's tape cartridge now fails to close, and Sony wants $541 MINIMUM to fix it. (It is unfortunately out of warranty.)