CamCorder Recommendation

KeithC · Post by **KeithC** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:18 am

I have been using an RCA Small Wonder for shooting video. It's great for low quality videos, but I'd like to upgrade to a camera that is inexpensive ($200 - $400) but produces a file format that is easy to use with VS.

Mini DV, SD, HD are all good. I just don't want to buy a model that is a problem for VS.

Recommendations appreciated ...

Keith

2Dogs · Post by **2Dogs** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:48 am

Hi Keith

I would recommend a MiniDV camcorder - the virtually lossless DV avi format is easy to edit and gives you the greatest versatility in your projects. As far as I know, all MiniDV camcorders are tape based. The downside, therefore, is that you can only capture the video in real time, having to play the tape back in the camcorder.

By contrast, camcorders that record to a hard drive almost invariably record to the mpeg-2 format (excepting HD units that use even more compressed video) The advantage of that is that capturing the video is by means of a possibly more straightforward transfer of files. The big downside, however, is that mpeg-2 is much less suited to editing than DV avi. This might not matter too much if you are only doing simple edits, but there is an inevitable loss in picture quality each time the video is re-encoded.

I think there are quite a few MiniDV camcorders on the market in your price range. I suggest you try some out first in a local store if you can. Whilst the big box stores invariably have poor lighting in their camera and video sections, you might at least get an idea of the handling of different units.

etech6355 · Post by **etech6355** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 4:06 am

Some Panasonic cams had some problems with the firewire port.
Maybe check on that, a chipset compatibility or something.
Can't go wrong with a DV cam.

Maybe Canon's HV20 High Def cam will drop in price, they came out with a HV30 now. It can record in both modes, High and Standard Def.

skier-hughes · Post by **skier-hughes** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:14 am

There was a problem with some panasonic cams, but it was more to do with the firmaware used inside the cam than actually a chipset compatibility problem with the firewire port.
Some Sony, jvc adn canon cams also had a similar problem when SP2 was brought out for XP, as MS increased their compatibility with the IEEE1394 standards and in doing so caused problems with cam manufacturers who didn't comply so closely.
This is mostly in older cams though, I've not had any reports on problems with newer models.
More info on this here,
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/ProblemP ... derSP2.htm

For ease of use I'd go for minidv any day, so long as you have firewire on your pc.

If you want quality or to keep up with latest trends then it'd need to be one of the hd cams, but you aren't going to get one in your price range.

I wouldn't recommend a cheap hdd or dvd type cam for ease of use and quality picture.

Post by **lancecarr** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:53 pm

At that price range for an SD mini DV cam right now you can pick up a great cam. They record on to tape as DV avi and that is about as standard and trouble free as you are going to get in the field of video editing.

Most of the big manufacturers are winding down their Mini DV/SD lines in preparation for the eventual switch to HD.

A great resource for selecting cams is a site called camcorderinfo.com. They have a LOT of info and reviews on current and recent models.
You might want to check out the Sony HC96, very nice low light capability if you are shooting indoors a lot. The Panny GS 300 or the GS 500 are also great SD cams and have wonderful outdoor ratings. They possibly fall a little behind, but not by much, in the lowlight department. Can't really go wrong with any of those.

The site gives a rating for each cam based on a weighted score. So for example if the cam is touted a a "point and shooter" then they weight the auto specifications more heavily.

Personally what I have done is to go to the raw scores for each cam that is generally in my price range and my overall wishes. I then ignore the weighted score and look at those raw scores that interest me. For example the manual controls are not important to me, I have a nine year old son and there is no way I am going have time to set up a shot! I then simply add up the raw scores that interest me and get a final total. That narrows it to maybe two or three contenders. I then read the review of the cam looking for deal breaking problems reported. Keep in mind the reviewers have their own personal opinions on things and because they are enthusiasts tend to be a little biased.

After that you should have a good picture of what you want and can go looking for a deal.
Good luck!

cgould · Post by **cgould** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 5:21 pm

etech6355 wrote:Some Panasonic cams had some problems with the firewire port.
Maybe check on that, a chipset compatibility or something.
Can't go wrong with a DV cam.

Maybe Canon's HV20 High Def cam will drop in price, they came out with a HV30 now. It can record in both modes, High and Standard Def.

The HV20 is an awesome camera (I have the smaller/older HV10), the price has dropped to around $700 now, and if you're not ready for HDV editing, you can still record in HD (for future), but you lock the firewire port to "DV" and the camera will down-convert with very good quality.