Camcorders... harder to pick that still cameras.

eyetrip

eyetrip

eyetrip

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I recently purchased a second hand JVC DVL-160 off Ebay to play around with and see if I thought I might enjoy videography, before splashing out more.

While I have only used it once on my trip to Italy recently, and most of the footage I shot was junk, I have decided that I do enjoy video. Have only just started my first edit, using that footage and am finding that enjoyable too.

So now it comes down to getting something better, because the picture quality of the dvl-160 is pretty bad -or at least, I think it is. The problem though, is that I have nothing to compare it with.

I don't know whether to go with mini dv, or hdd. Not interested in dvd cams. I don't know whether to go SD or HD.

(edit - What id editing like on hdd models. I need to edit.)

While I kind of had my sites set on a few particular features on a camera, such as hotshoe and mic input, I have just found the Sony DCR-SR50E for £200 quid somewhere (edit - this model has neither)

It seems like a good price, but reviews are limited. And when it comes to camcorders, you don't get sample videos like you can with still cameras.

Anyone think this would be a worthwhile purchase? Or should I keep looking?
 
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That camcorder seems ok, I am a bit unsure about what format it records in though. I would say you should have Mini DV quality at least and if it does that then great. The true 16:9 is cool.

The thing with camcorders is it is quite hard to get anything to look professional. What you really need is manual settings so you can get the things like the white balance set up for each shot. Manual focus and good smooth zoom are also things to consider. Manually focusing shots on camcorders can be quite tricky especially with moving subjects. Also a good tripod is one of the easiest ways to get your shots to look more professional.

Overall the quality of the image being recorded by the camcorder is not as noticable as the methods and set up of each shot.
 
The Sony DCR-SR50E uses mpeg2 compression - is that good or bad? Still got so much to learn!

Have come across 2 cams on one site, which actually offer everything I want around the £200 region.

They are both from Canon. The MVX330i with 1/4.5” 1.33M pixel CCD and 18x Zoom, and the MVX40 1/3.4” 2.2 Megapixel CCD with 10x zoom.

Both are minidv, both have mic input and hotshoe, but one big plus on the MVX40 is the manual focus ring on the lens.

I think one of the things putting me off hard drive camcorders, is I am a manual control person. I may not always, or even often, use manual control, but for some reason I just like to have them...

Of course, I still have my reservations. I don't know whether I should just go for a high def camcorder now. I don't have a high def tele, and hell, my monitor only goes up to 1680 x 1050 which is not even as high as high def resolution cams record in. So would it be a waste going high def?

I imagine most of my video would only be going online for now, but theres always that niggling "what about in 2 years time?" thought.

Secondly, despite what I said about manual control, what I do like about the hdd cams is the lack of tapes and the small sizes. However, at this point my priority would be quality over slight inconvenience. But I have no idea of the quality of hdd cams. is there a lot of pixelation, or is this no longer an issue these days? Or is dv ok to stick with for a few more years?

And can anyone tell me why the more they "advance" cameras, the fewer features they have on the things?

Hopefully not rambling too much....
 
HDD camcorders are a nice idea as like you said, no tapes! Just remember to keep a back up of footage.

As for going for HD its your call really. The higher resolution will help with quality but I am not sure how much of a difference you will see on your monitor. My suggestion would be to have a search for 3CCD cameras (a separate CCD for Red Green and Blue) these have superior image quailty when compared single chip camcorders. There are some consumer camcorders out there with 3CCD's think they are Panasonic and JVC.

I think you should buy a camcorder with manual controls, when you get better at shooting you will want to use them. The manual focus ring is very good thing to have. Shame there is no manual zoom ring as well.
 
I bought a Panasonic NV-GS320 miniDV camcorder not long ago. It has a tri CCD (3CCD) and cost just over £300.

It's great value for money, and very small.
 
Well, I went with something completely different... curse my impatience!

I saw the new Samsung VP-MX10 and wanted it: http://www.samsungplay.com/microsite/macarthur/index_mac_full.html?SMSESSION=NO

These seem to be very new, and three are no reviews on them yet, so I am sailing blind.

To be honest, I quite look forward to testing it. I will do a full review on it, so that others will learn from my experience, whether it be good or bad.

Sure, it is lacking a lot of things, but I was thinking about this today, and as youtube will be my main share point for my videos, this might work for me. And hell, if it stinks, I can always sell it on the bay.

Can't wait til tomorrow/the weekend!

Wish me luck!
 
Bah! While this thing was nice, and I honestly could have done without a couple of features, the damn thing does not record widescreen!

Highly annoyed as the Samsung website lists widescreen resolution, but it is wrong. And as I used it prior to figuring this out I can not return it...

Going to have to flog it on Ebay. Hopefully won't lose too much on it.

I suppose one good thing, is that it helped me learn that I prefer minidv for some reason. It may be less convenient, but I prefer having longer videos than lots of smaller files. Makes finding anything a nightmare.

So I am back to looking, will stick with minidv, and will not compromise on the features I want.

One camera that really appeals is this: http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Camcorders/Digital/MVX40/index.asp

But I am unsure of one thing. Does it record video that plays back as true widescreen, or does it just crop a 4:3 video?
 
Another question, does anyone know if there is a way I could go about mounting an accessory shoe to a camera which did not have one as standard.

My choices would be gretly improved if I could do this, as there seems to be many cameras with mic input, but no accessory shoe. Seems stupid to me, but there you go.
 
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