Camcorders for student use

[jscape2000]

For work (professional dance company that does a lot of work in schools), we're looking to buy a few inexpensive camcorders w/ tripods for students to use recording their dances.

My boss has used Mini-DV for years and she is very comfortable with that.
The digital camcorder we'd look at (Canon FS200) is about the same price, and we could afford to add the memory cards.

Are low budget mini-DV camcorders a thing of the past? For the simple work we're doing, do you think there's a clear advantage of going digital or not?

Thanks in advance for any help.

John

[lordsmurf]

Are low budget mini-DV camcorders a thing of the past? No. In fact, "hell no".
If you want to shoot video you can easily edit later on, get a DV cam.
If you want HD that is a beast to edit (even on a quad-core), get that FS200.

Both are digital, just FYI.
DV = digital video stored on tape.
AVCHD = digital video recorder to tapeless system (hard drive, mem cards)

[aedipuss]

for student use i'd go tape also. tapes are cheap and not very valuable to a kid. memory cards are expensive and can be used in lots of kid's devices. which one do you think will "go missing" first and often.....

[classfour]

For a recent trip to DC: I bought my son a Jazz memory card camcorder/camera to carry. It was $40 at a discount store, and wouldn't have been a loss to him if something happened to it. The video and most of the photos that he shot were acceptable - just not on par with what he'd have gotten with his daily cameras (JVC Everio GZ-MC200 and Panasonic Lumix).

If you're not shooting in the dark, and can accept DVD quality on the video: I'd recommend an Everio. I have an MC-500 (3 CCD) model, and the video is nice. For photos, I use a Canon DSLR. Both are pretty high dollar compared to the son's cameras.

The nice thing about the memory card camcorders is this: When it's time to edit, stick the card into the reader; drag it into your target directory, rename the .mod extension .mpg - ready to go.

No firewire, no USB, no drivers - but you do need an authoring program, which you would anyway.

[jscape2000]

Thanks all for the replies.
The point about memory cards and "disappearance" is a good one.
I was concerned that most of the cheap ($200-400) mini dv camcorders I looked at 6 month ago are no longer available from Amazon or Best Buy, but I think that refurbished w/ warranty is the way to go.
Best,
John

[edDV]

Another issue with AVCHD flash cards is they need the less available, more expensive Level 4-6 cards. Cost is 10-20x MiniDV tape.

If HD is needed, HDV format is another option. They also use MiniDV tape.

[Soopafresh]

Another one to look at is the GoPro HD. Super wide angle, easy to use, low cost. It'll also let you record at 60fps for slow motion video if desired. http://www.goprocamera.com/pdfcatalog . $260 plus SD card plus $8 for a tripod mount. Record at 848x480 for 16:9 aspect ratio video which will be easy to edit and upload or convert to DVD.



You can also mount it to a pole for a bird's eye perspective