Best HD Camcorder for $1000?

[Raycaster]

It looks like everyone is asking about $500 HD Camcorders.. what about $1000?

In July I'll be heading to London for a family vacation and my trusy old 10 yr old Panasonic just won't cut it anymore for viewing on my 42" LCD.

I will probably wait and save up a little more but was wondering if there something coming out soon I should watch out for?

I'm a computer geek with a powerful computer so editing probably won't be a problem. I more interested in QUALITY and will probably have my laptop with me to dump footage if needed.

If I have missed a matching thread please feel send me in that direction.

Thank you for your time guys, its very appreciated. It's strange asking a "review" question here but most of the Camcorder sites seem out of date?

PS. Maybe "Best Camcorder etc" should be stickys since it seems like every other question.

[MJA]

I'm a fan of the HV20/30 .excellent camera for less than $600. a $1000 will not get u anything better

[poisondeathray]

camcorderinfo.com is a great resource with recent reviews, ratings system, and even previews of unreleased models

[lordsmurf]

Canon or Sony.
The jump above a $500-900 camera will take far more than $1,000.

[greymalkin]

wow..i'm seeing that hv30 for like 299 on a few websites!!??? i wantz it!

[MJA]

$299 where?fishing sites

[zoobie]

bait and switch?
quality is our recipe

[greymalkin]

well this site shows it for 299 w/ free shipping:

http://www.camcordergenius.com/products.asp?product_id=10072

it just doesn't sound right though..I mean I've found some pretty good deals on the internet but this just seems TOO low even though it says it's new.....

[Sal C]

Camcorderinfo.com

Great review site and up to date.

I've had the Canon HF11 for almost 6 months now and love it. MiniDV is dead. Memory AVCHD is the way to go, no moving parts (except for the zoom lens) and you will need a pretty good pc to edit but it sounds like you have that. Instead of a storage box full of MiniDV tapes I bought a 1tb external hd to store my video (actually two of them - one as a offsite backup). The HF11 has 32gb internal memory and takes SDHC cards (available in 16gb for ~$65). That's almost 3 hours of HD video at the highest qulaity setting (24Mbps). There's a cheaper HF20 out now but the reviews aren't very good compared to the HF11. Orignally the HF11 was $1,199 but I got mine for $899. It's now $799 at B&H. The stock battery is only good for ~1 hour, extended life batteries are kind of expensive but I bought a couple of aftermarket for $25 w/charger on Ebay and they work great. I've always been a Sony guy when it came to camcorders (I've had 3 of them) but this Canon beats Sony IMO...

Good luck...

[greymalkin]

MiniDV is dead.

uh oh..you'd better tell Canon, Sony, Panasonic, and the rest..I don't think they got that memo

[Zen of Encoding]

well this site shows it for 299 w/ free shipping:

http://www.camcordergenius.com/products.asp?product_id=10072

it just doesn't sound right though..I mean I've found some pretty good deals on the internet but this just seems TOO low even though it says it's new.....

Doesn't look good

http://thoughts-of-dave.blogspot.com/2009/01/warning-closeoutgenius-aka.html

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/437/ripoff0437267.htm

[Soopafresh]

Get a $500 camcorder and with the extra $ get a steadicam, tripod, and wide angle lens

http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_mini_motion_cam_steadicam_type_camcorder_stabilizer.htm

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/366741-REG/Velbon_DV7000_DV_7000_Tripod_with_2_Way.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/414491-REG/Raynox_HD660055_HD_6600_Pro_55mm_0_66x.html

[Raycaster]

Thank you for the replies, yes the camcorderinfo.com site updated, I just earlier found the site confusing and must of clicked on old reviews etc.

The Canon HF11 looks very interesting! I'll be on holidays with the family in London/Paris/Amsterdam and think I'll be better served with a HD Camcorder instead of my DSLR. I was saving up for a expensive lens proper for indoor museums etc but I think a simple P&S with a HD Cam may be better.

I'm kinda excited about an HD camcorder but really concerned about video quality. I borrowed my friends 1st Gen Sony HD camcorder and was generally disappointed in the quality. I was all excited about the HD quality but upon watching it on 42" LCD I was REALLY disappointed. It looked barely better than my old 5 year old panasonic DV camcorder.

Just have to read,read,read...

[Sal C]

I have a Sony HC7 miniDV which has excellent video quality, I bought the Canon HF11 because I was tired of buyng a ton of miniDV tapes which only held one hour of video. The video quality of the Canon is just as good as my Sony. I probably should sell the Sony while I can get a decent $ for it...

[2Bdecided]

Consumer camcorders, especially HD ones, need a lot of light. So you might be disappointed with indoors footage, but should be delighted with outdoor stuff.

Don't wave it around like an idiot. Shoot carefully.

Cheers,
David.

[lordsmurf]

well this site shows it for 299 w/ free shipping:
http://www.camcordergenius.com/products.asp?product_id=10072
it just doesn't sound right though..I mean I've found some pretty good deals on the internet but this just seems TOO low even though it says it's new.....

New name to an old scammer site. Beware.