hi guys

I need some camcorder shopping advice,as i know nothing about it.
currently i only see this one that i like,but like i said,i'm a noob in that field.

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3946908

I don't need a top of line one,just a decent,user-friendly,reasonable price one.
thanks guys

 

That is probably an alright unit.

However it is "digital 8" format, so tapes will be getting harder to find and the image quality isn't going to be as good as a DV format cam, but then again, DV will cost more.

Where it will really be deficient is in the still image department- its only got 240K pixel resolution, where any decent digital still cam these days will give you at least 3M pixel , or better than 12 times the resolution. If you have a digital camera already that shouldn't be too big an issue, but if you have any desire to use this as a general purpose camera, I'd advise against it, you want better still image resolution.

But if its just for occasional home use with no broadcasting ambitions beyond americas funnies home videos, something like this is probably a decent camera for the money.

In fact for that money its quite a good deal...

On the other hand, if you're halfway serious about taking movies that will be editied into DVD's and shown on high resolution telivisions, I'd suggest you pony up at least twice that much and go for a proper mid-range consumer DV cam.

The real kool semi-pro 3CCD stuff comes in around 2G and up, but a very decent consumer DV camera with plenty of features can be had for $700-800 and up.

 

i see~thank you for the infos. I learned something tonight^^

 

hEY forget fries! first of that cam aint that great, second I recomend you go to costco and pick up a nice video cam/digital cam it uses both DV and multimedia storage cards (the ones youll see in didgital cameras) with that camera you will be so enabled to do things compared to other cameras and all at the same time I bought mine for $299. Trust me go to Costco before you make the big commitment.

 

what brand and model?i'll check it out

 

On the costco web site I found this one;

JVC GR-D72US 2.5" LCD 16X Optical & 700X Digital Zoom
F1.6 Bright Lens
Digital Image Stabilizer
LiON Battery
$349.99
Item # 778125

that's the online price, I wouldn't be shocked if its what he's talking about though, they probably mark them down on occasion.

I'd have to say I agree with FatalV, you'll get a lot more use out of this one.

 

the one I bought was a Samsung and I bought it about 2 months ago before going to Israel.

 

I bought a Sharp Viewcam Z VL-Z7 Mini-DV camcorder about a year ago. It was about $600, but it is worth every penny. It's tiny (like 3" x 4" x 3"), feature packed, and SUPER clear.

-Chris

 

FWIW, digital is digital. so it DOESNT MATTER what format the data is on.

what matters, is the OPTICS and the amount and size of the CCD.

plus tapes for D8 is the same as those you use for ANALOG HI8 tapes.

and if you work in a computer shop that uses certain digital tapes for backups, they work too...

if you are gonna go this route, say $2000+, you CANT beat:

canon XL2
sony VX series
panasonic DV/DVx series...

and if you ar gonna go towards the HD route, jvc has their GV/HD line. but they are still a single CCD...

 

ome more thing, if a sales droid PUSHES how much a camera has a digital ZOOM, laugh at them and ask for another person.

digital zoon is crap.

 

I have that camera but the only reason I bought it was for the 8/Hi8 playback compatibility. Its a fine camera but its a bit bulky, it doesn't have a jack for an external mike, there is no manual override for focus (it has a spot focus). It has a very complex touch screen menu which reads high on the gizmo meter. The one nice gizmo feature is time lapse (haven't tried it yet).

Digital 8 is the same digital format as DV - just the tape is different. The tapes are cheaper and will be around for a good while since there are a lot of 8/Hi8/Digital8 camcorders out there. By the time it matters solid state will be the way to go (give it a year or two)

This
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3946958
might be better and is cheaper. I think the optics are basically the same but it doesn't playback 8/hi8. It does have a manual focus override and no touch screen which is probably an advantage. Not sure about a jack for an external mike.
Again a bit bulky

My advice:
1. Are you sure you want a camcorder. Many digital still camera can take short movies which are much easier to deal with and fun to share with friends and family. Camcorders will give you better quality movies and allow you to film for hours rather than a minute or two. Generally you only need to do that if you have kids or you are interested in trying to make movies. Stills, in my exerience, get much more use and a still camera will take much higher quality stills than a camcorder.

2. If you are sure you want a Camcorder, Digital8 is on its way out but they are cheaper so a good deal. DV is the format du jour and probably the one to go for right now. I'd skip the DVD based ones since I've heard they are not that great though you can play back directly in some DVD players which is nice. Hi8 is the cheapest way to go but its not digital so is harder to deal with and the video quality is less predictable.

3. Buy the one with the minimum amount of gizmos. Manual focus ability and external mike jack are the only ones I think are really important. The reason is that you can do most of the other stuff on a computer afterwards. Focus and sound you can only get when you are actually filming. If it's quiet, the built in mike will pick up alot of motor noise from the camera so its nice to have the option of using a enternal mike if you find that annoying. Manual focus (really focus freeze) because the autofocus can hunt in and out of focus in some light conditions so its nice to be able to stop it. Most likely you won't need either but its good to have the option. Most other gizmos are hard to use (eg adjustments for lighting and exposure) so you probably won't. I'd be less concerned about those being minimal. Wouldn't worry about having a flash memory either unless the camera is capable of taking higher quality stills (probably only expensive camcorders). the TVR460 only takes stills at digital movie resolution so its only a minor convenience.

 

Digital is digital? OK, actually then why not run everything on your digital still camera, after all it takes "digital movies"....

(Actually, as Tim suggested, that might be a better choice for some people)

However- in fact the DV timecode is critical for some editing systems, so with the digital 8 camcorder you might have to run back through converters and do analog capture or transfer to DV for capture -depending on how your editing system handles things.

I'll grant you that the pixel resolution is the same, so at a certain level what you said is correct, but you should know as well as anybody -that doesn't mean that a $300 Digital 8 camcorder is going to take as good a video as a $700 DV cam.

The fact is that the manufacturers consider the digital 8 as a "lower" end of the market, and so the camera features and quality are not going to be the same level as a more expensive DV camera, even though they might both have the same line count.

But the rest of what you posted is good stuff, -if I only had a few grand for more toys.....

 

Pete,
I'm pretty sure the digital format for Digital8 and DV is identical. I've read this multiple places. 8/Hi8 was analog. Digital8 puts DV format data on Hi8 tapes (ie not analog)

http://www.nonlinear4.com/FAQ.htm#Q2

I think any difference in quality comes from the size and number of the CCD chip, optics and related electronics. Since Digital8 is a stopgap Sony only make lower end cameras in Digital 8 anymore. But the only reason to buy one is price or 8/Hi8 comaptability(only the TRV 460) imo. DV is the mainstream.

However DV and MPEG are not the same so digital is not digital

 

wow,i'm getting lot of knowledge tonight =D
well, i did think about the digital DV.But,I don't think i'll use it that often expect go on trip.

I could buy another digital camera with video record ability,but JGTC event is 2 days.I don't think that's enough =P

And i can put everyone's car in the video during the event or during party,hehe
so,i'm pretty sure i want a DV,intead of buying another high end digital camera