Which digital camcorder to buy?

[Jericho]

I am looking to purchase a digital camcorder and a DVD burner. My goal to edit and save home movies on DVD’s. Almost every month a new models of camcorders are introduced, any advise on good camcorder and DVD is appreciated.

Thanks

[hotwings]

well not being an owner of one, I can only point you in the right direction, cnet has good reviews and guides.

http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-1429209-8-20549126-1.html?tag=wtlf (What to look for in a digital camcorder)

http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6342639.html?tag=dir (main camcorder page with editors ratings and whatnot)


As far as dvd burner I would recommend the Sony Dru500, but I am biased because i own one. To me it depends on how flexible you want your burning capability to be (ie do you want to be able to burn to -R and +r media) Check out cnet's guide and ratings:

http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2645886-8-20759159-3.html?tag=tp


http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-1091-8-20699205-1.html?tag=wtlf (what to look for in removable storage, kind of elementary and general i know, but covers some dvd stuff too)

[Foochey]

You can't go wrong with most any of the Sony's. Get a DV. Sony is probably the best with image stabilization and the Zeiss lens. Hard to beat for the money.

-S 8)

[tweedledee]

I have the Canon 550 and it does the job for me. Unless you are making a Hollywood blockbuster you don't have to spend up big. I can take some footage and download it onto the HD then burn it on VCD with no problems at all.

[tumbar]

I have a Canon ZR45. Lots of bang for the buck.

[MachineMan]

Sony has come out with some new ones that use MiniDV tape and also can take stills at >2 megapixels. The cam is small enough that it could double as a digital camera. Unfortunatly they are way out of my league at >$1000.

I have an older digital8 sony handycam that works great with firewire.

[Will Hay]

I've just bought the Sony TRV14 and love it, although I suggest getting the TRV19, it has anologue passthrough and DV-In.
Will

[Jester700]

First, ignore the "buy brand X" advice. Many brands have expert exponents, and debate runs hot. Overall, Sony, JVC, Canon, Panasonic, etc. are very competitive and there are very few "obvious choices" out there.

Next, do you have a strict budget, or is it flexible? Figure out how much you can really spend.

Then, figure out what features you need. Ultimate picture quality (large expensive 3 chipper)? Medium size but quality still important? (smaller 3 chipper or high end 1 chip) Small size at any cost (cool but not always a good thing)? Good stills? 8mm compatibility?

All these will steer you in certain directions, and no matter how much I might dig my **** model, if you have different needs your selection should be different.

Certainly, with more info we can make better recommendations.

[curritch]

I have a Canon ZR-10. It's already been back to Canon for some transport parts/alignment (to the tune of $170) that was causing it to damage tape. I wouldn't say there is a trend but I have heard of a few others with a similar Canon problem. And I've not read of problems with other brands.

So right now I'm not so hot on Canon and would probably look elsewhere if I was in the market today.

[hoyboy]

I have used a sony D8 camcorder with analogue passthrough and memory stick for about 9 months and I have been very happy with the results. The only problem with the camera is that it gets quite heavy after using it for 2-3 hours handheld. However, compared with MiniDV I get 25X optical zoom to their 10X optical zoom. Larger body = larger lenses. The quality of the picture is excellent and the model I have (DCRTRV340) also has a hot shoe accessory for all the little extras you might need (infrared extender, light, flash etc). I have had three sony camcorders and have found all of them to be very reliable.

[miketree]

Smaller is not always better. The features can be less accessible because of smaller/fewer buttons.

Small camcorders also suffer more from camera shake.

Go for one that you feel comfortable with. Not too heavy - not t light.

[vcdfreak]

It depends on the features that you can't live without and those imperfections you can live with.

Most people are looking for those features:

1. DV Passthrough
2. Memory Card Storage
3. Good Low Light Performance (Type of Lens + CCD size)
4. High Optical Zoom
5. Optical Stabilizer
6. Manual White Balance
7. Tape Format (MiniDV or D8)
8. Tape Loading Mechanism
9. Remote Control Option
10. Recharge method
11. Size
12. Others (Date Display Method, Video Light, Still Photo Size, Web Cam Capability, Color ViewFinder, Nightspot, etc.)


DV Pass-through
-------------------
For example, some prefer to have the DV pass-through option as one can "stream" the analog video from VCR to PC through firewire for capturing.

Memory Card
---------------
If your cam can store pic in mem card, usually it can store photo larger than 640x480. If your cam use the tape to store it, it should be 720x576 the biggest for PAL or 720x480 for NTSC. It's also hard to convert to pic format as you need graphics and capture software to turn to jpg files. Imagine you have a 7-in-1 card reader. Isn't it a lot easier to have photos stored in a mem card?


Good Low Light Perf
-----------------------
If you shoot a lots of indoor video and you cannot live with grainy and dark video, you need a least cams with Carl Zeiss or Leica lens. Or you need those semi-pro cam cost around $1500 like GL2 or VX2000. Usually home video shooters are contended with $500-$700 cams unless you like to compare with those hollywood movies in DVDs.


Optical Zoom
---------------
Optical zoom is the real zooming capability of your cams. Digital zooms are artificial digital tricks that can also be achieved by running through software. Usually 10x is very good unless you really
want to check out the DVD player's brand at the next door.


Optical Stabilizer
-------------------
Good if you can't trust digital stabilizer as it blurs out your video a bit. It's also too shaky if you have it turned off and you seldom use tripod. Only Canon cams offer this for those that are less than $700. However, I'm not saying Canon is good as I don't own one to examine the performance.


Manual White Balance
-------------------------
For those who are sensitive to light or color, like myself, this is a concern. Most Sony cams don't support this. For most people, they can live without this as it is troublesome to perform manual white balance. It can be corrected using software also.

Tape Format
--------------
MiniDV or D8? Don't want to start a debate here. In short, quality is the same but those D8 cams are bigger and usually don't come with good lenses and advanced feature.

Tape Loading Mechanism
----------------------------
If you use tripod a lot, try to avoid bottom loading ones.


Remote Control Option
--------------------------
Again, if you use tripod a lot, get those that comes with a wired remote or you need to pay ~$50 for those Sony wired tripod that only works with Sony cams.

Recharge Method
--------------------
Some prefer cams that charge with it (avoid cumbersome wiring) and some prefer a separate unit to do the job as those people owns more than 1 battery. They can still work on the cam while the other battery is charging.


Size
-----
Some like it small and some like it ergonomical.


Others
-------
Some like shoot without any light (spying) and some use it as web cam. Some may use it as a web cam with no light conditions? Some like the date to be displayed intelligently. Some like to have black and white view finder and some like it colored. Some prefer to have an external microphone connected and some prefer to have the zoom microphone feature.



Again, this all depends on those features you desire and those imperfection you can live with as no cam is perfect. I repeat NO CAM IS PERFECT.

My trick to get close to this:

Go to CNET and check out those that are recommended within your price range and read only those that are negative and see whether you can live with those imperfections. Try to list those features that are important to you and start listing those that can meet most of your requirement within your budget range and at least meeting your top 3 listing. This is to avoid getting those you are going to regret.

Just something I learned from experience.

[Rond66]

I will need one that will work well in poor or low lighting.

How does your Sony, JVC, Canon or Panasonic cam work in these conditions?

Thanks

[birdygal]

I have only had my Sony TRV22 for a few weeks it has the low lighting feature which I have not tried out yet Analog to digital pass through works well through firewire, Satisfied with dv capture so far

Its $100 bucks cheaper than the Trv33 that the only difference I noticed between the two was trv33 has better digital still quality than the TRV22 which I already have a good digital camera so it wasn't worth the extra $100 for better stills

[q1aqza]

Jericho,
If you intend using it a lot for home movies, days trips, holidays, etc then I certainly recomend that smaller is better. I have the Sony DCRP6E (there are better newer versions than this one now) which is small enough for the case to fit on my belt loop comfortably or preferably in my wifes' handbag !! No big case to lug around or something hefty around your neck making you look like a typical tourist.

Before I had a camera this small I barely took any decent video footage as I couldn't be arsed to carry it about on trips/holidays. Now, I capture loads of stuff of my kids, etc. as it is so easy to carry.

So to some up my waffling, the small size can be much more important than features because what good are features if you can't be bothered to take the thing out with you

I chose my Sony on four main points - 1) It was very small and light 2) It was Sony, 3) It was mini DV and 4) it has the Carl Zeiss lense.

I hope this helps.

[Jester700]

Lens quality doesn't mean as much to low light performance as it does to overall picture quality. And the name isn't all - Zeiss & Leica are good ones, but they're not the only good ones.

For low light, consider the number of chips (3 is better than 1), the SIZE of the chips (1/3" better than 1/4", which is better than 1/6"), and the lens size. Also realize that all these things are pretty much diametrically opposed to small cams! That's why many newer cams (D8s, Sony TRV950, Panasonic MX5000, and others) have WORSE low light ability than the models they replace. The market seems to want smaller cams and high res "megapixel" CCDs for stills. Or at least that's what the manufacturers are telling us.

[kazzer]

I have a Canon MV550i. Great cam, id give it 8/10. On-board mic picks up tape mechanism however!

I think all Canons do this, Im gonna get an external mic for the accessory shoe.

I'd suggest you go with a MiniDV cam anyway