Are there any decent pocket camcorders out there anymore??

StevieP · 2 Mar 2017 at 19:20

I'm after a dedicated pocket-sized HD camcorder for an upcoming holiday but there doesn't seem to be many out there!?!?

I know you can use a mobile phone for video these days but my wife wants a smallish camcorder, ideally the "pistol-grip" or "vertical" types (ie. the one's you can close the viewfinder on and slip into a pocket!)

Panasonic (HX-DC1) and Sony (TG3) seem to have done these in the past but for the most part they are only available 2nd hand - is there anything of this nature around these days??

Thanks for any suggestions....

Raymond Lin · 2 Mar 2017 at 19:34

Sony FDR X3000R

It's technically an Action Cam but it'll work, with built in stabiliser.

StevieP · 2 Mar 2017 at 19:40

Looks very nice but if anything it looks a bit too small - plus it's a bit more than I was hoping to have to spend to be honest!

gort · 3 Mar 2017 at 12:18

I was initially looking at them also but what with the quality of video from some pocket cameras, it seems better to get something like an rx100 (if you want a bit of optical zoom) and mount it to a stick or gimbal. It then doubles up for good stills also. If zoom isn't a must then a decent 4k gopro equivalent with screen for under £150 would probably suffice (some you can attach an external mic for better audio.)

StevieP · 3 Mar 2017 at 19:17

It seems there isn't much in the way of pocket camcorders these days so I've dug out an old Sony HX5V that I've not used for about 4 years so I'll see how that looks!

Thanks for the replies!

Raymond Lin · 4 Mar 2017 at 01:50

StevieP said:
It seems there isn't much in the way of pocket camcorders these days so I've dug out an old Sony HX5V that I've not used for about 4 years so I'll see how that looks!

Thanks for the replies!

GoPro pretty much killed the video on the go and compact cameras and phones has killed the market for the other side.

Smeghead · 7 Mar 2017 at 13:23

May as well get photo camera which has good video IMO. Camcorders are good at one thing and one thing only. Their photo capabilities (if they have any at all) are usually pants, and those two examples you posted the video is usually sub par too (I have a Sanyo CG-20 which is more or less the same thing, and it's barely average).

Something like a Sony RX100 or Panasonic (LX15, LX100) should be OK.