Video Camera Guru's

[Scutch]

Hey guys, me and the missus (or the missus and I) are looking at getting a video camera for Christmas, so we can record our frolics and post them on here. Obviously the frolics involving our daughter being silly etc. Anyway, can you clever chaps recommend a good camera for around £250 ish. Camera > DVD would be nice, but really looking for a good quality camcorder more than anything.

Cheers

 

[Timb1984]

If u want to work with the material after filming you should go for MINIdv.

I just bought a Canon HV20 a month ago.

 

[Timb1984]

Im not a guru though

 

[Scutch]

Cheers. Links and prices dude?

 

[Nigel]

As said stick with MiniDV at that price. DVD and hard drive both compress the footage to store it and in my opinion you can tell the difference when you come to edit it and you have to uncompress it.

 

[Scutch]

Something like this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000MRYQC4/?tag=cliospnet01-21

 

[Timb1984]

Have a look at the Canon MVX 450
Should tick ur boxes.

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]


[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[Scutch]

Why has this only got 1.33 Megapixels? Or am I reading it wrong?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0001OGMK2/?tag=cliospnet01-21

 

[Nigel]

This ones good Scutch and Jessops have 10% off until 5th December.

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s48814...aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&CatId=171&comp=y

You may find it slightly cheaper elsewhere though.

 

[Scutch]

So the megapixel thing doesnt mean much? I mean, thats 1MP, whereas my camera phone is 5MP. Hmm.

That is a bit too expensive. I'll have a look and see if I can find it cheaper on Pricerunner

 

[Scutch]

Erm, a LOT cheaper!!

http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-866881/Camcorders/Sony-DCR-HC47E-Compare-Prices?q=dcr-hc47

 

[thecremeegg]

I think the megapixel thing is regarding using it as a stills camera - the actual video recording resolution is much higher

 

[Scutch]

Cool cheers mate

Even so, 1MP is pretty low even for stills?

 

[Nigel]

I wouldn't bother with a camcorder for stills. The quality is usually worse than a mobile. It's more of a gimmic. I tried the HC47 out in jessops and was impressed with it. My Bro has just ordered from Pixmania for a lot less than Jessops. Cheers Scutch!

 

[Scutch]

No worries Nige. So... getting back to that camera in question, are there any others that you think are even better than that one which would go for slightly more (on Pricerunner)?
I'm inclined to go for that one, but if there are even better ones for under £250 then I'll keep a look out.

 

[Scutch]

Also, what exactly is MiniDV? We want to play it on DVD but this appears to be cassette? Confused.com

 

[Nigel]

Mini DV is like a mini VHS but the data is written digitally. A cheap MiniDV is a lot better quality than a cheap DVD or HDD camera IMO.

With MiniDV you upload the footage back to your PC and using the software provided you create a simple (or complex) DVD that'll then play back on your telly.

The benefit of DVD camcorders is that you can finalise the disc to play straight away on your telly. But you'll probably want to edit it anyway so you'd still need to put it onto a computer.

 

[Scutch]

Ahh cool. So although it stores it on cassette, its easy enough to transfer to PC/laptop and then onto DVD format?
Is this acheived via USB cable or Memory Stick etc? Or is it a new fangled way?

 

[Nigel]

The best way is via firewire. Usually the software on your computer controls the camera and it is a very simple process. Plug the camera in and press record on the software.

You simpley copy the footage to your hard drive, edit out all the bits you don't want. Add some nice transitions between clips. Add a nice DVD menu to jump to different sections and then encode the files to a DVD.

I'd also recommend Adobe Premiere elements! Brilliant programme that does everything and is very reasonabley priced.

 

[Scutch]

Is it also reasonably priced on Newsgroups? Ahem.

Thanks for the help mate, now all I need is for you to find the best camera for <£250. Otherwise I might well go for that one above you suggested.

 

[Nigel]

Premiere Elements was the first piece of software I've bought in years, I was that impressed!!

 

[Scutch]

What do you think of this one mate?

http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pi/8-867950/Camcorders/Panasonic-NV-GS230EG-S-Product-Info

Just as an alternative...

 

[Nigel]

Specs sound good. Can't seem to find any reviews of it. Maybe nip into a store and test drive it?

 

[Scutch]

Its listed as the Panasonic GS230 Nige. Few sites from Google etc.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000PHVO2Q/?tag=cliospnet01-21

http://www.twenga.co.uk/reviews-NV-GS230-PANASONIC-Camcorder-156991-1-0-0



3 CCD's whatever the hell they are!

 

[oska]

It's an image sensor. Will provide better colour separation.

 

[Scutch]

Cool, cheers for that mate.

 

[Scutch]

What are the file sizes like for video files? Are we talking GB's or just avi size MB's?

 

[oska]

On my Sony DVD camcorder it uses 8cmDVDr's which are 30 min each and 1.4GB. Maybe different on MiniDV compression wise, I've never used one.