Should I Get An HD Camcorder? (Newbie)

[davebo]

HI,

I'm sorry if this has been gone over before, but I'm kinda confused about the direction I should take. I purchased a JVC Everio a few years back and just haven't been happy with the quality of the video, particularly in low-light situations. I'm your standard point/shoot novice. I use it 100% for filming my 3 small children in everyday settings. So I guess I have a few questions.

1) I've heard people say with regular cameras that there is more value learning how to use the camera, then buying a more expensive one. Should I spend more time learning how to use the Everio, rather than upgrading. My primary reason for upgrading is I don' t want to look back in 10 years and think "That was really stupid not to use HD when it was available"

2) Here's my thought process. I want to capture the videos in HD NOW. I figure if I want to see the videos in all their glory, I can view them on my computer or by hooking it up to my HDTV. But I also like to have a physical copy of the videos in the form of a DVD. Since I'm not going to buy a Blu-Ray DVD Burner, can I still just burn HD videos to a regular DVD? IF so, would it look better than if I just filmed it in SD?

3) Finally, what type of HD Camcorder is recommended for someone like me? I have heard the Sony CX300, the Panasonic SD600K, and the Canon HV40 are good options.

Thanks,

Dave

[classfour]

Everios were notorious for poor low light performance. I have the 3CCD version, and it's not much better than the others. It's normal to bright performance makes up for this deficiency. I recently purchased a HD Toshiba, but have yet to test it. If you use the JVC to it's strengths, it's not a bad camcorder - just not a Sony with night vision.

Good Luck

[MJA]

I own like many others here the Canon HV-20 .it's a very nice cam,but the issue is Canon doesn't make(not 100% sure)any budget cams based on the MiniDv tapes so the HV-40 is the last model Canon is making.

[budwzr]

The Kodak Playsport and Flip have excellent video, and are much more suited to an active lifestyle. Also, they're fully automatic, no kakking around with settings.

[MJA]

what a horrible advise .recording priceless memories on a POS camera made for teens

since we both live in IL .The winter is harsh here so most of his shooting is going to be indoor until April lol

[budwzr]

Hahaha, well here's some Flip video I shot at night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tProZ5DWPCI

Another one I shot in a poorly lit room http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcRILTsNOBs

Here's another person's comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9z5cSIWGa4

Not bad for a teen camera.

[zoobie]

I don' t want to look back in 10 years and think "That was really stupid not to use HD when it was available"

I think you've just answered your own question
You can just watch your footage on the computer until you buy a blu-ray player/burner
You can put a small version of HD on a DVD for about 20 minutes worth of viewing on a AVCHD player

[edDV]

What kind of computer are you using? h.264 needs some grunt.

HDV format has ability to shoot HD to tape but convert in camera hardware to DV format output for SD DVD resolution editing. That allows you to edit SD now but have an HD tape master.

[lowellriggsiam]

I say HD all the way.

[edDV]

Cisco Flipcam : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flbM2UecXc4
Ativa 1080P : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptUZk4vaCM
I say HD all the way.

Two poor "HD" examples. Worse than SD.

[budwzr]

How bout this HD snostorm in Utah then? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiGzM4GHXTw

Shot with my Gen2 Flip Ultra!

[edDV]

Highly compressed snowflakes.

[redwudz]

I've been happy with my newer HD Everio. Low light performance isn't as good as a SD DV camera, but most HD cameras have a similar problem. A bit of a PITA, but you might consider a video light for indoor shoots. The umbrella type or 'soft box' light should give you enough illumination. If you really need low light performance, maybe a older SD DV camera would be a better choice. JMO.

Unless you have a BD player, you would have to convert the HD from the Everio to SD and you would loose quality when converted to a regular DVD. You can make short DVDs with HD quality on a regular DVD, if your BD player can read them. A regular DVD set top player can't.

[budwzr]

Highly compressed snowflakes.

Hahaha!

Without my Flip, and if I had to kakk with a regular camcorder I never would get this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8x0MEiUZio

[MJA]

budwzr,

since you like to collect those kind of cameras .Amazon is selling the Panasonic TA-1 Ultrathin HD Pocket Camcorder for $69

http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox/ref=cs_top_nav_gb27

[pepegot1]

Go with the Canon HV40. If you have problems, you can always record in SD. AVCHD is a pain in the a-- to work with. You need an Intel I7 computer. Soon the Sandy Bridge computers will be on the market. They can make quick work of video encoding, or so they say. HD is not mature enough yet-especially for a novice. If you like pain go AVCHD-else wait for a more propitious moment.

[2Bdecided]

I use it 100% for filming my 3 small children in everyday settings. ... I want to capture the videos in HD NOW.

Yes, you should. You will regret that all the crappy SD footage isn't in HD.

I figure if I want to see the videos in all their glory, I can view them on my computer or by hooking it up to my HDTV.

Yes, of course. I bought an HD camcorder before I had any hope of watching the result in HD, but I'm very glad I did.

Canon HV20 on a cloudy day (cinemode - so extra dull )...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULKvaC9IpWs
...though of course it looks 10x better on a TV from the raw footage. Shame the image stabiliser (and camerman! ) aren't better.

You have no chance of editing it(!), but the pictures from this are even better (and even more future proof, being 1080p)...
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/Camcorders/HD+Camcorders/HDC-SD700/Over...617/index.html

Cheers,
David.

[handyguy]

Regular digital cameras take awesome HD video.

[2Bdecided]

Regular digital cameras take awesome HD video.

Well, some take quite good video. Most have at least one of these problems when shooting video (some have all!)...
1. aliasing
2. lousy sound
3. no zoom and/or no auto focus
4. limited frame rate support (They rarely have 25p, and they almost never have full res 50i, 50p, 60i, or 60p)
5. no image stabilisation

Modern DSLRs can shoot nice 24p, if you're happy with manual focus, an external sound recorder, and can forgive the aliasing. That's fine for carefully planned arty movies, but utterly useless for chasing children around the garden.

Modern point-and-shoot cameras, even phones, can shoot HD video. You're usually stuck with 30p - that's a real pain in PAL countries, but an acceptable compromise in NTSC countries (you still won't get the smooth motion of 60i or 60p though). Whether you find the audio, focus, zoom, and most importantly video quality good enough for you is a personal judgement. I've never seen any that's better than a flipcam type device, and some are worse. And a flipcam type device is still a toy IMO.

Cheers,
David.