I'd like to buy a new handycam camcoder but lost for all these models

[MGBHallinONE]

Hello,
I am here from goggle
Please I'd like to buy a new handycam or camcoder (still do not know what is the right name yet) but really confused for all these brand and all these models and specifications !!
I will need it to record educational lectures on a daily base.
I need to attach a high sensitive microphone.
I need to add a small lighter above it to adjust the light in case the light in the place is not good enough.
I need to place it over something that is 1-2 meters high and the heavy duty one the better.
I will record about 6-8 hours per day on a daily base (but may have a free weekend every 3 months), so I need a heavy duty one.
I need something that have a high zoom power.
I need it to be easily connected to computer.
So please guide me
Thanks

[MGBHallinONE]

no one to help so far

[smrpix]

You haven't gotten responses because your specifications are very broad and possibly contradictory.


For starters, what is the physical space you will be working in, classrooms, lecture halls, offices?
Also, what is the ultimate use for the material you capture?
And what is your budget?


Answer these and we can begin to give you advice on the rest of it.

I need to attach a high sensitive microphone. --Probably not.

I need to add a small lighter above it to adjust the light in case the light in the place is not good enough.
--Unlikely to work the way you think it will.

I need to place it over something that is 1-2 meters high and the heavy duty one the better.
--You mean a tripod?

I will record about 6-8 hours per day on a daily base (but may have a free weekend every 3 months), so I need a heavy duty one.
--So you either need an expensive rugged professional camera or a webcam. I don't think a consumer camcorder is going to meet your needs unless you are prepared to replace it fairly frequently.

I need something that have a high zoom power.
--Not likely. Please explain.


I need it to be easily connected to computer.
--For live webcast or to archive the material you've recorded?

[MGBHallinONE]

You haven't gotten responses because your specifications are very broad and possibly contradictory.

I think you are right because I do not know a lot about this area so I came here to ask for help.
You can say that I do not know the technical exactly but I will try to explain what I want to do so you can get better understanding.

For starters, what is the physical space you will be working in, classrooms, lecture halls, offices?
Also, what is the ultimate use for the material you capture?
And what is your budget?

lecture halls.
I will upload them all to yourtube.
I've about 600 usd for the whole thing including accessories.

Answer these and we can begin to give you advice on the rest of it.

I hope that I did a clear answer and if I did not please forgive me and try to help

I need to attach a high sensitive microphone. --Probably not.

Why not possible to connect an external microphone?

I need to add a small lighter above it to adjust the light in case the light in the place is not good enough.
--Unlikely to work the way you think it will.

I am afraid that I do not understand correctly.

I need to place it over something that is 1-2 meters high and the heavy duty one the better.
--You mean a tripod?

Exactly (thanks goggle)

I will record about 6-8 hours per day on a daily base (but may have a free weekend every 3 months), so I need a heavy duty one.
--So you either need an expensive rugged professional camera or a webcam. I don't think a consumer camcorder is going to meet your needs unless you are prepared to replace it fairly frequently.

If I am using it correctly why it is not gonna do the job? you mean it will burn out?

I need something that have a high zoom power.
--Not likely. Please explain.

For example if I am 15 meters away from the speaker I want to zoom in to make it clear to his face.

I need it to be easily connected to computer.
--For live webcast or to archive the material you've recorded?

I am recording everything offline then encode it to .mp4 h.264 then upload to youtube.

[TreeTops]

You're going to record 8 hours everyday and upload that to youtube? Good luck. If that is not correct then are you going to record 8 hours a day and edit those 8 hours to remove stuff? You will need some serious rethinking of your project as you will not get any sleep.

[smrpix]

Good, now we're getting somewhere!

You don't need a "high sensitivity" microphone, but external is pretty much essential. If the speaker is going to be moving around you will need either a wireless lav or a handheld (wired or not.) If the speaker is at a podium a hard-wired podium mic will do the trick for you (and cost less) Are the lectures normally amplified or will you be providing the only microphones?

A small light on a camera is unlikely to provide adequate fill from the back of the room. Most lecture halls are bright enough (though the light is often ugly, leaving faces in shadow.)

I've never run a consumer camcorder 6-8 hours a day every day. But I have frequently run into problems in less time due to heat buildup. Professional cameras -- way out of your budget -- are built for this. You don't want to even think of a tape camera. Use SD cards. Stay away from internal Hard Drives as they can limit both recording time and options for transferring the material to your computer.

You don't need a high power zoom. Standard zoom will be adequate.

Think through your workflow. If you're converting 8 hours of material to H.264 every day you're going to need one or more fairly stout computers to handle this. You haven't mentioned your experience in this area so I will not make assumptions either way. (edit: looks like treetops beat me to this one.)

Here's a link to BH Photovideo (no, I don't work for them) With some of your parameters plugged in. It's a good place to explore possibilities as far as price and features.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Media%2fStorage_SDXC%2fSDHC%2fSD&ci=1871&N=...414+4259332445

You also don't indicate where you are located which makes a difference as far as standards and purchasing options.

[MGBHallinONE]

You're going to record 8 hours everyday and upload that to youtube? Good luck. If that is not correct then are you going to record 8 hours a day and edit those 8 hours to remove stuff? You will need some serious rethinking of your project as you will not get any sleep.

I am not the one who will stand beside the camcoder handycam and do the recording but he is another guy.
It will be a one longshot video so not a lot of editing.

Good, now we're getting somewhere!.

Glad that I answered with something has a meaning

You don't need a "high sensitivity" microphone, but external is pretty much essential. If the speaker is going to be moving around you will need either a wireless lav or a handheld (wired or not.) If the speaker is at a podium a hard-wired podium mic will do the trick for you (and cost less) Are the lectures normally amplified or will you be providing the only microphones?.

The speaker will be set to a chair and a desk or a table and will not move around at all but will be in the same place all the time, so I will place the camera in a fixed stable place and place the external mic in the camera and long it ahead to the place where the speaker stand and it will be attached to his clothes.

A small light on a camera is unlikely to provide adequate fill from the back of the room. Most lecture halls are bright enough (though the light is often ugly, leaving faces in shadow.).

Ok, no problem then .

I've never run a consumer camcorder 6-8 hours a day every day. But I have frequently run into problems in less time due to heat buildup. Professional cameras -- way out of your budget -- are built for this. You don't want to even think of a tape camera. Use SD cards. Stay away from internal Hard Drives as they can limit both recording time and options for transferring the material to your computer..

You mean like micro sd and mini sd cards with 32 GB or more?

You don't need a high power zoom. Standard zoom will be adequate..

what is the normal zoom ?

Think through your workflow. If you're converting 8 hours of material to H.264 every day you're going to need one or more fairly stout computers to handle this. You haven't mentioned your experience in this area so I will not make assumptions either way. (edit: looks like treetops beat me to this one.).

I've an i7 2600k one and using handbrake and the one hour length video being converted in about 10 or 12 minutes so I will place the recorded files in queue and then run the encoder, but this part is not a problem for me at all.

Here's a link to BH Photovideo (no, I don't work for them) With some of your parameters plugged in. It's a good place to explore possibilities as far as price and features..

I will check it and feed you back.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Media%2fStorage_SDXC%2fSDHC%2fSD&ci=1871&N=...414+4259332445

which model exactly ?

You also don't indicate where you are located which makes a difference as far as standards and purchasing options.

As shown in my profile, EGYPT - Cairo

[smrpix]

I will place the camera in a fixed stable place and place the external mic in the camera and long it ahead to the place where the speaker stand and it will be attached to his clothes.

--Consumer grade mics and cables aren't the best for long runs, so be sure to listen carefully for buzzes and humms. Your operator should also pay attention for clothing noise. But there's really no reason you can't make it work.

You mean like micro sd and mini sd cards with 32 GB or more?

--Most cameras use regular sized SD -- not mini or micro. I would argue for using 8GB or so. Cheaper, less catastrophic if it fails.

what is the normal zoom ?

--It varies, but most should be more than adequate.

I've an i7 2600k one and using handbrake and the one hour length video being converted in about 10 or 12 minutes so I will place the recorded files in queue and then run the encoder, but this part is not a problem for me at all.

--Decent power. Your actual conversion time will be determined by the nature of your files.

which model exactly ?

--I'm being coy about that one. I like Sony, there are others here who react to it like Dracula to sunlight. Sony, Canon and Panasonic are generally reliable. The HDR-CX260V had a price drop recently but it seems to be back up again. You will want a PAL version. I have no idea where to shop for electronics from Cairo .

(Still don't see your location in your profile, but what an exciting place to be these days.)

[TreeTops]

First post said 8 hours of video but in post 8 you say one hour of video. Which is it?

[MGBHallinONE]

--Consumer grade mics and cables aren't the best for long runs, so be sure to listen carefully for buzzes and humms. Your operator should also pay attention for clothing noise. But there's really no reason you can't make it work.

I bought a mic from radishack and the guy sad that it is te best one I could ever foound in the market.

--Most cameras use regular sized SD -- not mini or micro. I would argue for using 8GB or so. Cheaper, less catastrophic if it fails.

Ok

what is the normal zoom ?

I do not understand what are the different kinds of zooming I am afraid.

--It varies, but most should be more than adequate.

You mean any zoom level is ok?

--Decent power. Your actual conversion time will be determined by the nature of your files.

If it is mpeg-2 or mp4 it will be vary or still the same?

which model exactly ?

You mean the computer cpu?

--I'm being coy about that one. I like Sony, there are others here who react to it like Dracula to sunlight. Sony, Canon and Panasonic are generally reliable. The HDR-CX260V had a price drop recently but it seems to be back up again. You will want a PAL version. I have no idea where to shop for electronics from Cairo .

You mean this one?

(Still don't see your location in your profile, but what an exciting place to be these days.)

Yes it is
-off topic- still fighting to do not allow the old rejeme to come back but it is really hard days.

First post said 8 hours of video but in post 8 you say one hour of video. Which is it?

I mean to give an example of the encoding consumed time and not the whole recording time but yes you understand correctly that the 8 hours.

[smrpix]

I bought a mic from radishack and the guy sad that it is te best one I could ever foound in the market.

--He's lying. But as long as it has a mini plug you'll probably be ok.

--"normal zoom" is expressed in power 10x, 8x etc. It's the ratio of widest to most zoomed in. Since video camera vary widely on lens length and sensor size there is no "normal" per se, but most cameras would be more than adequate for your needs. I'm saying don't worry too much. (That sony camera goes wider than most which is a good thing, and the zoom goes in ridiculously tight.)

If it is mpeg-2 or mp4 it will be vary or still the same?

--mp4 generally takes longer. Specific to the sony camera you can shoot High-Def (H.264 in an MTS wrapper -- essentially the same as mp4) or Standard Def. The standard def (mpeg2) will probably be good enough for YouTube and convert more quickly. (I recommend testing different workflows.)

The camera you identified may be the right one. Be sure to get a PAL version!!!!!!

more like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/858083-REG/Sony_hdr_cx260e_b_HDR_CX260E_High_Def..._Handycam.html

Again, I don't know your purchasing options there but if there's nothing local I would recommend ordering from a trusted supplier in Europe rather than US. The TV standards are different.

Best of luck, on topic and off.

[TreeTops]

I doubt very much that that camera you posted a link for will shoot eight hours without shutting down due to heat problems.

[smrpix]

I doubt very much that that camera you posted a link for will shoot eight hours without shutting down due to heat problems.

TreeTops, I definitely share your concern.

As I said above: --So you either need an expensive rugged professional camera or a webcam. I don't think a consumer camcorder is going to meet your needs unless you are prepared to replace it fairly frequently.

MGBHallinONE, please do consider this carefully.

[MGBHallinONE]

Sorry for late reply, but had to reinstall windows

I would recommend ordering from a trusted supplier in Europe rather than US.

I do not know of any and will it be ok to send to Egypt?

I doubt very much that that camera you posted a link for will shoot eight hours without shutting down due to heat problems.
TreeTops, I definitely share your concern.

Ok, I will take this into consideration

[2Bdecided]

I would consider getting a very stable PC and recording directly into there - no media (tape or card or HDD) in the camera itself at all. That improves camera longevity, and saves transfer time.

However, if you are not going to edit, then if you can get a camera that shoots straight into a format suitable for uploading to YouTube, that will save encoding time.

As others have hinted, I think workflow is more important to figure out first.

Cheers,
David.

[MGBHallinONE]

I would consider getting a very stable PC and recording directly into there - no media (tape or card or HDD) in the camera itself at all. That improves camera longevity, and saves transfer time.

However, if you are not going to edit, then if you can get a camera that shoots straight into a format suitable for uploading to YouTube, that will save encoding time.

As others have hinted, I think workflow is more important to figure out first.

Cheers,
David.

No worry about work flow believe me.
I am still do not know which model to buy.