Newbie Needs Help: Searching for a camcorder

[RHMaxwell]

I am new to the forum, but have spent the better part of 2 days searching for a camcorder that will satisfy my needs. Please forgive me if I have missed something, but I am not very savvy with AV technology since I really haven't had a need to be prior to just recently.

I need recommendations for a camcorder that will imprint the date and time in the video while it's being recorded. I don't have the luxury of being able to edit the video to add this due to my video's needing to be admissible in court as "unedited".

What video formats allow this while being able to provide "decent" or better video quality in a variety of lighting conditions? Unfortunately, I have already hit a problem with the camcorder I have now in that it shows the date and time on the LCD screen, but when copied to any other media loses this feature.

[redwudz]

I changed you title to reflect your subject as per our rules.

Moderator redwudz

And welcome to our forums.

[RHMaxwell]

Thanks,

I wasn't sure where to put it since I am actually asking for either recommendations on a camcorder or the type formats I need to be looking at. I found out the hard way that MPEG-2 doesn't support what I need.

[edDV]

Most MiniDV camcorders will do what you want and are the most widely used.

[RHMaxwell]

Thank you. Does it matter if it uses the MPEG-2 format on a MiniDV camcorder? The reason I ask is because when I go to CNET.com and look at the reviews it gives these options for video format:

DV
DVCPRO
DVCPRO HD
HDV
MPEG-2

Of course the number of MPEG-2 cameras by far out weighs any of the other choices. Any advise y'all can give will be greatly appreciated.

BTW - Kudos to this site! I posted on three other sites and this site is the only one I got a response on. That says a lot for the quality of people on this board!

[edDV]

Thank you. Does it matter if it uses the MPEG-2 format on a MiniDV camcorder? The reason I ask is because when I go to CNET.com and look at the reviews it gives these options for video format:

DV
DVCPRO
DVCPRO HD
HDV
MPEG-2

Of course the number of MPEG-2 cameras by far out weighs any of the other choices. Any advise y'all can give will be greatly appreciated.

BTW - Kudos to this site! I posted on three other sites and this site is the only one I got a response on. That says a lot for the quality of people on this board!

MiniDV tape (DV format) is 720x480i/29.97 not MPeg2. DVCPro are expensive broadcast versions not relevant under the $10k price point.

Your main requirement is a time stamp acceptable as legal evidence. This is a camcorder feature common to DV format camcorders and accepted as normal for evidence (consult a lawyer on this). Make sure the camcorder you are considering includes the video time stamp feature.

MPeg2 SD camcorders (called MiniDVD) may or may not have the feature or be acceptable to the court. I'd avoid these.

HDV camcorders function as MiniDV in standard def mode, but record to MPeg2 in high def mode. Technically these are the better solution but I don't know if the time stamp has court approval.

AVCHD camcorders are probably unacceptable since the electronic time code is saved separately from video or not saved at all. I'm not sure if you can find one that records time code as part of the video.

[MJA]

whats your budget?if you don't care about editing,and your budget is less than $500 just get a Panasonic HDC-TM55K,or Canon VIXIA HF M31 both are based on the AVCHD formate . sadly the last HDV budget camera was made last year (HV40) nothing new since

download both manuals for the date and time stamp

[RHMaxwell]

Unfortunately, based on edDV's advice, AVCHD will not work for what I need. This camera will be strictly for work related purposes and ultimately a write off. I don't have an endless budget, but I need to get something that will fit perfectly with investigative work. The Date/Time imprint on the video is a necessity since I don't have the luxury of editing the video and maintaining integrity / admissibility in court.

[edDV]

Unfortunately, based on edDV's advice, AVCHD will not work for what I need. This camera will be strictly for work related purposes and ultimately a write off. I don't have an endless budget, but I need to get something that will fit perfectly with investigative work. The Date/Time imprint on the video is a necessity since I don't have the luxury of editing the video and maintaining integrity / admissibility in court.

You should consult a lawyer or the court on which formats are acceptable for evidence. It seems each court has standards for video evidence especially for depositions.

You can try Google or Bing
I came up with several case law citations entering

for example
"Court acceptable video evidence"

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-video-evidence.htm

[aedipuss]

any digital video can be faked. it's easy to add fake timecode graphics and write back to tape/card with new embedded timecodes. unless a tape/memory card has been in the possession of the judge the entire time since leaving the cam for the first time it's useless. they just don't know it.

[RHMaxwell]

I agree, but it is also part of my responsibility to ensure that there is a "Chain of Custody" that is followed. Needless to say, when dealing with any sort of documentation that may end up in court, ensuring that the potential evidence maintains integrity is of the utmost importance.

This is why I chose investigations over practicing law. I don't have to compromise my principles to make a living! LOL

[edDV]

I agree, but it is also part of my responsibility to ensure that there is a "Chain of Custody" that is followed. Needless to say, when dealing with any sort of documentation that may end up in court, ensuring that the potential evidence maintains integrity is of the utmost importance.

This is why I chose investigations over practicing law. I don't have to compromise my principles to make a living! LOL

Only the court can define their standards.

Most of us would make great expert witnesses to debunk video evidence.

[filmboss80]

A better source for the information you need would be the American Guild of Court Videographers:
http://www.agcv.com/

Most of us would make great expert witnesses to debunk video evidence.

I actually had to do that one time to determine if a "snuff film" was authentic or not. (It wasn't, thankfully.)