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Digital Camcorders

J

j_crackington

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
23
Location
Meridian, ID
My wife has told me she'd like a digital camcorder for Christmass so I've been looking around at reviews/information on the internet. Right now I'm leaning toward the Sony DCR-HC65 or the Panasonic PV-GS120. I need to run out to Best Buy so I can see them and decide if I like the size and the features. I was just wondering if anybody here has any experience with either camera.

I'm still researching so, if you've got a camera that you like, feel free to mention it too.

Thanks for any help.
 
what are you doing with it exactly? I wanted a digital camcorder for a long time, but I got a HP 935 last year (at the time, it was there best one) and it does pictures and video. If you buy a big memory card, you can record complete digital videos. So I can e-mail people videos of my family, instead of mailing them a tape. Also, come camcorders do both. I go with sony on this one. If you go camera way, I really support HP.
 
I think the Canon's are the best value. I've had one for a couple of years now and love it. Check out the ZR series. The higher end ones have 22X optical zoom :thumbs:
 
Panasonic. Make sure you get the extended warranty wherever you may buy it from to be on the "safe" side - best thing with any personal electronics.

Sam
 
Canon ZR85. Won't kill the budget and a great camcorder with the ability to take low res digital pictures. Make sure if your going to burn DVD's you will need the firewire cord. Even though a USB comes with only with Firewire can you stream the information to the PC. The USB is for still pictures from the flash card.
 
Thanks for the info everybody!

I hadn't come across much about the Cannon's, but I'll be sure to add them to my list of cameras to look at.

We are mostly going to be using it at family gatherings, on vacations, things like that, so I don't need something super fancy, just a solid camera that takes nice video. I do want to be able to transfer the video to my computer and burn DVD's, but that seems to be common on all the current models.

Maggs44, that web site has a ton of info, thanks for pointing it out.

I've also come across http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ It also has a bunch of reviews and comparisons on it, if any body else is looking for more info.
 
I agree with the recommendation that Canon's' are a solid choice. Also, don't be sold on the idea that a particular camcorder can do "snapshots" as well. Typically, this means that you get a grainy 640x480 shot that doesn't even make for an acceptable 3x5 photo. However, the converse isn't necessarily true. There are a number of digical cameras that now take a solid 640 x 480 video without any time limitations other than the size of the memory stick or card. I've got a Sony that will take a 44 minute movie at 15 fps on a 1 gig stick. Many can now take 30 fps. The upside to a camera that can shot video (versus a camcorder) is that the camera can still take 4-5 megapixel snapshots while taking reasonably good video. Additionally, the transfer from camera to computer is relavitely quick (at USB 2.0 or Firewire speeds) -- whereas the converstion from camcorder to computer is a one-to-one conversation. This means you have to have the camcorder attached to the computer for the full lengh of your video if you want to capture it all. Some of the cameras now even capture sound in stero. Also, cameras are typically much smaller in size. Its worth taking a look, depending on your needs. www.steves-digicams.com is a useful source for data.

Mojo
 
Mojo is dead on with his remark about ignoring the "snapshot" feature on camcorders. You can spend $500 extra on a camcorder to get 1 megapixel still capability (you can't record video and take a snapshot at the same time even then). You can spend $300 and get a separate 5 megapixel camera. The integration of the video camera and still camera is something manufacturers are forcing at us as a feature. Buy them separately and you will get better results.

I have a Panasonic MiniDV camcorder that is 2 years old now and it has worked beautifully. Once you have decided on a camcorder, let me recommend getting Pinnacle Studio to do your editing. Although the $100 price tag seems steep, you can some money by picking up a used copy at Half Price Books or eBay and then send in the Upgrade rebate (they do upgrade rebates instead of offering upgrade versions). Frequently you can get version 9 for less than $30 from Fry's, and sometimes Bestbuy or CompUSA when you catch a sale price and submit 2 rebates (normal one and upgrade one).

Finally watch the holiday sales and get yourself a mongo sized hard drive and a DVD burner. You can easily eat up 100 gigs of disk space when capturing tapes to combine them into an edited DVD.

-Matt-
 
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