Let's talk about good SD Camcorders...

[hotmetaldobermans]

Alright, I fully realize now I do not have enough computing power , time, money, or patience to go HD.

Screw it. I can do this with SD.

My question, I guess, is, do I go with a Canon FS20, or find a better slightly aged model used?

I'm going to be filming bands in likely a lot of low light situations.

Hoping to nab just the camera for around $500.

cheers,

hmd

[edDV]

In the $500 range the best solution believe it or not is a used Canon HV20 or HV30 HDV cam. These shoot wide DV format with excellent quality*. In DV mode, they are compatible with most all edit software out there but not all handle wide 16:9 properly.

In the $1000+ range look for a good used Sony VX-2000/2100. These are great for 4:3 but not so great for 16:9. Their main advantage is optic quality, 3x CCD 1/3" sensors and good low light performance.


* Or you can shoot 1440x1080i HDV, but export Wide DV over IEEE-1394. You retain the HD version for the future.

[hotmetaldobermans]

So I can throw that into my decent computer with very little hassle and use all my same SD cards and such?

Sorry, I don't know a whole lot about this aspect of things. i've been doing things very ghetto.

I'm using a Canon Powershot SD1000 to film bands right now, and just want a huge upgrade (anything would be) that I can still throw on a computer, jump into Final Cut / Premiere, edit, burn, throw on youtube, vimeo, etc...quickly...

thanks!

[hotmetaldobermans]

oh, so that camera uses these tapes i've been hearing about? haha.

do the tapes, being less compressed than throwing video onto sd cards, make it look better?

sorry, i'll admit i really know nothing about formats, equipment, aspect ratios, or any of this stuff.

i've been studying, but have been using such an archaeic, guerilla way of doing things, a lot of this stuff goes over my head.

sorry.

[edDV]

oh, so that camera uses these tapes i've been hearing about? haha.

do the tapes, being less compressed than throwing video onto sd cards, make it look better?

sorry, i'll admit i really know nothing about formats, equipment, aspect ratios, or any of this stuff.

i've been studying, but have been using such an archaeic, guerilla way of doing things, a lot of this stuff goes over my head.

sorry.

So I need to reinvent the wheel with you?

A Powershot for rock band video? They must do noon performances.

The HV series use MiniDV tape and transfer to the computer over Firewire. You asked and I answered.

[hotmetaldobermans]

haha, hey, i'm learning as i go here. researching it for the last few hours.

seems like a good fit.

even though audio is somewhat a non issue because i'll be using sound recorders / soundboard audio, i'd still probly have to get an external mic for that bad boy.

and no, not rock band videos....here's an example of stuff i'm filming from the other month (this is on my crappy canon powershot) :

[jvidia]

Alright, I fully realize now I do not have enough computing power , time, money, or patience to go HD.

Screw it. I can do this with SD.

My question, I guess, is, do I go with a Canon FS20, or find a better slightly aged model used?

I'm going to be filming bands in likely a lot of low light situations.

Hoping to nab just the camera for around $500.

cheers,

hmd

How about one of the new Panasonic TM60/SD60 ?
It saves HD & SD (I think).

Seens to kick ass in the price level.

I'm going for one

[MJA]

low light and low budget don't work together , or you can't put them in the same sentence


by the way.I own the hv-20 .you don't need a powerful PC to transfer video to your hard drive plus it's easier to edit and safer for storage than camcorders based on hard drives/memory

http://www.hv20.com/

http://vimeo.com/1685127

http://vimeo.com/12459143


if you know some one who owns the hv20/30/ or the 40 model ask him/her if you can test it

if u still wanna flash camera.check the VIXIA HF200 you can get a refurb one for $399

[hotmetaldobermans]

cool...thanks guys....

sheesh, i don't know now....heh.

[edDV]

Alright, I fully realize now I do not have enough computing power , time, money, or patience to go HD.

Screw it. I can do this with SD.

My question, I guess, is, do I go with a Canon FS20, or find a better slightly aged model used?

I'm going to be filming bands in likely a lot of low light situations.

Hoping to nab just the camera for around $500.

cheers,

hmd

How about one of the new Panasonic TM60/SD60 ?
It saves HD & SD (I think).

Seens to kick ass in the price level.

I'm going for one

The Canon HV series are a two in one (plus2) deal. They shoot HDV MPeg2 or function as the best sub $2000 wide format MinDV camcorder. MiniDV is the best format for SD editing and post encoding short of full uncompressed. MPeg2 or MPeg4 GOP based SD or HD formats are an editing headache and suffer more recode loss.

The plus is you can shoot HDV but convert realtime in camcorder hardware to DV export over Firewire. This gives you an HD master but edit SD DV today. No AVCHD camcorder can do that. Another plus is the HV can output a live Firewire stream (HDV or DV) for live broadcast. No AVCHD has that ability. Uncompressed HDMI or SDI require expensive equipment for broadcast.

Plus you are dealing with $3.00 60 min MiniDV tapes vs. $30/hr Level 6 flash media. A 10x media cost advantage.

[hotmetaldobermans]

I'll absorb all of that, and keep researching.

Thanks a ton, guys.

Appreciated.

[edDV]

Another plus is you have a semi-pro user forum dedicated to this series
http://www.hv20.com/