Camcorder $300-400 What Brand ??

[lacywest]

Guys it is late and need to go to sleep ... quick question.

Just about every month ... I get something really cool.

But I haven't got a camcorder yet ...

Wal-Mart has some.
BestBuy has some
CompUsa has some.

I've got a Wal-Mart Credit card ...

Does Wal-Mart have a decent camcorder ??

Family shootings.
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... personal me and my girlfriend shootings 8)

Will most likely need low-light abilities ...

What works well ...

My friend tells me to get a 8 MM [HI8] ??

Digital seems good.

But I've used C-VHS ... wasn't bad ... 30 minutes kind of short.

But what about Super C-VHS ??? ...

So ... Any Suggestions.

[erayboul]

Considering the prices on MiniDV digital camcorders, I would recommend one of those. Being digital, the recording that you play back should very closely resemble what you saw through the viewfinder or on the LCD screen when you shot it. One of the ones that Wal-Mart lists on their website is the Panasonic PV-DV103. This camcorder is slightly outside your budget. I don't have experience with this camcorder, but a new website that I found today, camcorderinfo.com, seemed to indicate that it has adequate low light performance. I do have experience with other Panasonic equipment (a DVD recorder and a portable DVD player) and I can say that they make good, reliable stuff.

Another reason that I recommend the digital camcorder is that (at least to me) it seems easier to get the video onto the computer (via Firewire) and then do the editing, encoding, and authoring in order to burn a DVD. With analog camcorders such as Hi-8, S-VHS-C, and others, you would need a capture card which is an additional expense.

[bobinga]

if you plan on transferring to dvd avoid 8 and hi8 and go for digial . A world of difference in the finished product, especially looking at it on TV.

Vhsc again will be poorer quality than Digital

I am so happy I bought my digital 8. Accidentally bought 2 , but thats OK.

Bought a Sony trv740 from the locked case of returns and floor models at Sears. got 1/2 price plus 20% off ( $319 ). now it was missing the lense cap and memory stick ( oh well ).

I had previosly bought a trv 103 off of ebay for $320 after shipping and such. Reading the reviews the chip in it ( i'm no engineer ) is larger so it was supposed to do well in low light, better than the newer cameras. It came doa, I returned for refund and bought the cam from Sears. Then they returned it repaired and denied refund. thus 2 cams.

The 103 has a nice feature allowing you to use it as an analog pass thru to your computer. Sort of looks like a borg with all the cables running to and from it.

What ever you do , do your research. amazon, circuit city, epinions and cnet.com all have user reviews of products.

[lacywest]

Reply for bobinga

Your Borg comment ... I cracked up laughing ... when I read that.

Thanks guys for answering.

I have 3 Panasonic VCRs and the E50S DVD Recorder.

Well if the features are good ... I'm willing to jump into the $400 - 500 range. The feature of converting analog video to digital video sounds interesting.

Check my details ... I'm ready for Digital.

I have a Belkin Firewire card. I have two more ports open on it.

My friend who tells me to avoid Mini-DV ... was told that by somebody else. Plus he doesn't have a computer of his own.

His wife is from Mexico and his phone is disconnected ... his phone bills were sky high ... so he uses a local cell phone service ... $40 bucks a month. So he sees no need to hava a computer if he can't connect to the Internet. He uses mine.

My girlfriend is already making comments about me ... running around the house with my new toy ... but check my website ... I have family get-to-gethers ... a video camera would be great.

Thanks for the tip about Circuit City ... I'm trying to find reviews.