Recommandations for a few DV Camcorders

[zeek543]

Hey everyone, I'm going on a trip to Europe this summer and would like to take a camcorder to record some of the interesting sites, of course! But, I don't know where to start when it comes to Camcorders. I have had experience with an older (6yrs or so) Sony miniDV camcorder that produced great results and had great features (TR- series maybe?).

Any opinions on the Canon HV10 or ZR--- series, or any Sony branded cam?

What I would like is: good-great movie quality, small size, good-great battery life, firewire, good audio, comfortable.
I'd perfer to have a miniDV tape camcorder. If possible, it would be nice to be able to take fairly nice quality still shots with the camcorder.

Also, If therre is a really good HDV camcorder out there with all those features, I would consider that as well.

Any recommendations would be great, and please direct me to any websites that explain the in's and out's of camcorders (something as good as videohelp.com would be awesome). If you have any questions for me so that you can make a better recommendation for me, i'd be happy to answer them.

Thanks.

Ps-- almost forget, this may seem like an odd question but... will the metal detectors/x-ray machines at an airport hurt/destroy minidv tapes, flash media, or regular hard drives?

[thecoalman]

If possible, it would be nice to be able to take fairly nice quality still shots with the camcorder.

My experience with this is that even my prosumer cam takes terrible still picutres. It's listed as a 1.8 megapixel but after taking a few on the highest setting they would have to be denoised and reduced to about 1MP to compare to what you would expect from even a consumer digital still camera. Get a still cam for still cam shots.

Any recommendations would be great, and please direct me to any websites that explain the in's and out's of camcorders

www.camcorderinfo.com

will the metal detectors/x-ray machines at an airport hurt/destroy minidv tapes, flash media, or regular hard drives?

Apparently it's not an issue, consider the amount of people that travel trhough these machines daily with such devices. Having said that I would be concerned about it myself. Lordsmurf mentioned a lead lined camera case when this question was asked before. That will force them to hand search it. Of course that may be considered a wepon at this point in time... I'd do some reserch on it.

[JohnnyMalaria]

FWIW, I am very happy with my Sony PDX10 that I got off eBay - I took it on an African safari and used it for both video and stills. Personally, I like having the two in one - saved fannying around with two devices when trying to shoot lions devouring a wildebeest!

I've attached an example still image.



dsc00014.jpg

[edDV]

Key issues to consider when looking at camcorderinfo.com

1. Price range
2. Weight/size range
3. Low light capability
4. Format

DV is tried and true + inexpensive + well supported in software
Format is 720x480i 29.97fps 4:3 or 16:9

HDV is more expensive and not yet easy to edit. Sony models allow DV format export so you can edit DV to DVD now and save the higher def copy on tape for the future.
Format is 1440x1080i 29.97fps 16:9

[Nox Li]

I have a Sony DCR-HC47E (HC48 in America) and it's pretty good both for video and stills and not too expensive.It's 1.07MPx,25x optical and 2000 digital zoom,miniDV of course.Very well supported with software.Although you have to buy a larger battery if you're travelling.And of course,Sony rules in video world with Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar!