Digital Camcorder Help Please

[forensic]

We are thinking of buying a digital camcorder. We would like to spend around $500 - $600. I am looking for advice on whether to purchase hard drive; mini-disk, memory stick only (like in our digital camera)?

 

We will we doing very minimal editing and will very likely not showing these 'movies' to anyone except our DD, SIL and GREAT and WONDERFUL GRAND CHILDREN (hint: the grand children will love them no matter what and the SIL will laugh no matter what) ;)

 

I know that out there somewhere are experienced users so I need your input and help.

 

What will 'film' in the dining room?

Out on deck?

Has a great zoom?

While walking around in ports?

 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH?

[rebeljohn]

We are thinking of buying a digital camcorder. We would like to spend around $500 - $600. I am looking for advice on whether to purchase hard drive; mini-disk, memory stick only (like in our digital camera)?

 

We will we doing very minimal editing and will very likely not showing these 'movies' to anyone except our DD, SIL and GREAT and WONDERFUL GRAND CHILDREN (hint: the grand children will love them no matter what and the SIL will laugh no matter what) ;)

I know that out there somewhere are experienced users so I need your input and help.

 

What will 'film' in the dining room?

Out on deck?

Has a great zoom?

While walking around in ports?

 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH?

 

Last year, just before our Thanksgiving cruise, we purchaed a JVC digital 30GB camcorder. Paid $399 on sale. It is very small and compact, nothing fancy, and has served us VERY well. The only additional thing that I would recommend, would be the longer lasting battery. The one that came with it just doesn't last as long as we need. It also has a slot for an SD card, and will take still pictures too, just not very high resolution.

There are a LOT of camcorders out there. My suggestion would be to find a knowledgable sales person, and have him/her show you the MANY options..........

The biggest requirement for us was size.........we wanted something small.

[silentbob007]

Some things to think about (beyond the ordinary):

 

Zoom - Lots of DVCs have high zooms listed, but they are "digital" zooms, which are practically worthless if you want an image that doesn't look like a jumble of pixels. Look at what the "optical" zooms are on the camera ... this is the zoom created by use of the lens.

 

Media - Do you have any other equipment that uses the discs, sticks, etc? Are you going to transfer it to your computer through the camera or with another method?

 

Microphone - Almost any camera in your pricerange is going to have a multidirectional microphone. This can be great for just shooting sights, but could be really nasty if you plan to shoot any footage out on deck if the ship is in motion or if it is windy ... are you are going to hear is the shriek of the wind.

[Papasaurus]

We are thinking of buying a digital camcorder. We would like to spend around $500 - $600. I am looking for advice on whether to purchase hard drive; mini-disk, memory stick only (like in our digital camera)?

 

We will we doing very minimal editing and will very likely not showing these 'movies' to anyone except our DD, SIL and GREAT and WONDERFUL GRAND CHILDREN (hint: the grand children will love them no matter what and the SIL will laugh no matter what) ;)

 

I know that out there somewhere are experienced users so I need your input and help.

 

What will 'film' in the dining room?

Out on deck?

Has a great zoom?

While walking around in ports?

 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH?[/quote

I like the mini dvd because i can put it in the dvd player and play it or burn it to a standard dvd. You don't have to hook the camera up to the tv to play it. If you have the others I believe you have to have something like the sony ez editor or fire wire in your computer to copy to a dvd . The mini dvd prices range from the mid 300'S and up. With the hard drive and mini dvd you dont have to worry about the xray machine ruining your tapes however this has never happened to any of the tapes in my mini camcorder I now have.. I have a JVC GR-DVL725 which does take good video but it is an older camera and there are newer ones out there that I am sure are better cameras. What ever you get you might want to go on line and look for extra batteries with more miliamp hours on them to extend your recording/playback time. I have found them on line much cheaper than you can get them at your local electronics stores. I don't recall the name of the place I purchased them but doing a search you will find many outlets for them. Also if you wish to and have a DVD recorder you can record the video part of the videos you make and add music by plugging the video output into the dvd recorder and plug the audio cords say from a cd player into the audio of the dvd recorder and dub music on to a cd without buying expensive editing hardware or soft ware. This works great for me and is a poor persons way of making a nice dvd of your cruise. You can add music to match the theme of the part you are recording. IE : Maybe at sailing you would put Styx song "I'm Sailing Away" or something like that on the dvd. Just a few suggestions.

[Cruisin Rick]

When we went on our first cruise to Alaska I bought a new camcorder so we could have some great video of our trip. In hindsight, I wish we would have upgraded to a better digital camera. I spent so much time with the camera on I didn't get the full perspective while I was there. It was kind of a pain to be carrying around.

The video really never gets watched anymore and I haven't used the camera since. We get so much more use from the digital camera because it's pocketable, easy to use and you're not "glued" to it all the time because you're recording.

With a good digital camera, you can take decent movie clips if and when the time arrives and still be able to have fun and enjoy what you're seeing and doing .

 

This is strictly my own opinion , I know others get great use and enjoyment from thier camcorders but it should be something to consider before spending big bucks on a camcorder

 

Rick.

 

Rick

[patches12]

Optical zoom- highest number you can afford.

 

Lighting- Can't think what it is called right now. Those stores have tons of lights in them which make the cameras look like they can do well indoors. Watch for low-light conditions. I purposefully bought a camera that had poor reviews of indoor video. We wanted it just for the ease of editing and because it had three mediums....SD card, hard drive, and DVD. All the other reviews were favorable. I bought it for my classroom, which is well lit. In a poorly lit place like a church/cathedral it would not do well.

 

Stabilization- find one that says it will have stabilization thingy. Very small digital cameras mean shaking hands. You cannot hold it very still when zoomed in. Try one with stabilization and one without at the store.

 

DVR= has a VERY small cassette tape(like VCR tape, but tiny) They have better picture quality and cost less.

DVD=you can buy so many varieties of this. One time record, DVD+, DVD-, DVD+-. You can also buy REWRITABLE DVDs- DVD-RW-, DVD-RW=, DVD-RW+-...go online and try to learn the difference. I am still trying to figure it out.:D Any with RW are more expensive, but you can use them many times. They are TINY DVDs. You will have to transfer ...only hold about 30 minutes.

Hard drive- get the largest you can with the other features you want.You will have to transfer everything to a DVD with a computer OR with another thing you purchase. What is that called? The older I get....Anyway, it is about $200.00. You can plug your camera into it and download everything to it and make a DVD. Computer would be better since you can edit with a computer.

I know I let some out. I will post as I think of it.

Good luck. Go online and google the camera you are thinking about buying. Add "reviews" to the make and model # and search.

[patches12]

Forgot some things..

 

HD = High definition. Very expensive right now.

 

HDD= Hard disk drive. Don't get the two confused. 7-8 MG does not hold very much. (30 min high quality) I got 30Mg--all I could afford. (5-6 hours high quality) My camera was a previous year's model. It was on sale and it was a display model. Originally $850.00 but I got it for $149.00 because the battery charger was missing. Found battery charger for $40.00 elsewhere.

 

Some cameras have "drop protection". Something inside the camera protects the hard drive if you drop it.

 

I did not want to purchase an expensive camcorder because of the "Blue-Ray War". From what I understand....Blue-Ray is winning. So I will wait to buy one of those when the price comes down. I am NOT an expert. I just did a lot of research before choosing a camera that will make do for now.

 

Like I said in the last post, type the exact make and model number in google and add the word "reviews". You will get all sorts of info from REAL camera people who use them a lot.

 

SD card is MAINLY for still photos. My camera can take videos, then you can freeze the frame, then take a still photo off the video! Don't know if others do that or not. The SD WILL take videos, but not very good quality. The quality would be good for sending videos online, which aren't that good anyway.

Good luck!

[forensic]

Thank you all - you have given me a lot to start researching.:D