Please share thoughts on camcorders. I am looking at Sony's because of the 40x optical zoom.

What should I get. dvd or the newer harddrive version....or something else.

Thanks

 

How long can you record on a dvd and also what is the price of a dvd and what is the type to get.???

Can it not be erased from the dvd?

 

hard drive versions all the way. just dont drop it :-X

 

I have a Sony hard drive with 20x zoom and it is so sweet!!! 30g hard drive sounds small but it is so much room. I had it in Mexico for 2 weeks and used up 5g. I recorded quite a bit. Hard drive all the way!!!

 

i plan on using it alot for hunting....

can i edit easy with both types of cameras...if so, is it done thru the computer I assume?

 

ttt

anyone else?

 

After reading this thread it got me thinking about buying a camcorder. I started looking on websites and reading reviews. When it comes to video quality the miniDVD cams seem to be better. When it comes to overall usefulness of the camcorder the hard drive is the best. I don't think it really matters if your a computer guru to operate either one. They seem to have pretty user friendly equipment. Just read the reviews on a bunch of different websites and try to make your decision that way. Personally I'm still on the fence about the two (hi-8 is out of the question).

 

I have a JVC Minidv that I like pretty well. The only drawback is transferring movies to the PC, which is why my next one will be a MiniDVD. After doing the comparisons, I'm sure it will be a Canon.

 

Sony makes some good cams. I have one of their pro line of camcorders (DVX-100A) and its very well made...

As far as format, I would certainly stay away from DVD. The image quality is not that good and the DVDs are tempermental. They drop frames and sometimes do not finalize all the way, rendering them useless.

Hard drive is good. It is somewhat more expensive than tape and it requires that you have a way to either dump your video files to tape or an external hard drive to free up space on the camera.

8mm/Hi8/Digital8 is a format that I expect to die within the next year. It is a good format, but unfortunately it is proprietary to Sony and has been losing popularity in recent years. Digital 8 provides the best image quality of these three.

MiniDV is the most popular format. It is a direct decedent of the professionally used DV format and related to DVCAM and DVCPRO professional formats. DV and MiniDV format should be around for quite some time and is one of the best formats for consumer or pro use. The downside to DV is the MiniDV cassettes used by the consumer cameras have 66 minute capacity.

-Trey

 

I have the 30g JVC unit...I love it but you need an extra battery...and the software could be a little better but it's still better then DVD/tape style IMHO

 

i am for sure getting a minidv now.......but...which camera...i am leaning towards a sony with a 40c optical zoom, but want something good for low light conditions.......please help.....

 

HD or solid state memory (CF etc) is the way to go. magnetic media and DVDs are a thing of the past

 

I have a sony that uses mini -dv tapes. I love it. I bought it right before Christmas 05. It is great. It was a little over 500. I checked all the local stores (Wal-mart, Best Buy, Circuit City) and Wal-mart had the best price on it. Also the extended warranty at Wal-mart is cheaper. It was around $30 for 3 more years warranty.

 

get one thats digital. wheather DVD or HD. i cant tell you how many of those goofy little hi8 cassettes we end up converting over to dvd for people.

 

I am leaning towards the sony minidv

DCR-HC38 ($300) (has 40x optical, but not as good as a resolution i think)
and the
DCR-HC48 ($350) (25x optical, but a better resolution i think) (most likely this one I will get if its a sony)

Is the difference in a picture between these 2 camera, noticible?

I am willing to spend up too $500 on the camera, but I can't seem to find anything better then the dcr-hc48 in my opinion.

Could someone please compare these for me, and let me know what you think.

Thanks