Best inexpensive HD camcorder for undercover field use

[kealolo]

Hi.

I work with an organization which does undercover video documentation of conservation treaty infractions, wildlife poaching, organized crime activities of various sorts, and sometimes newsworthy events. For this it's nice to have relatively small, reliable, videocams in the field which will capture a picture which can capture as much detail as possible - and, at times, be as sharp as possible for broadcast on the news, etc.

I've been doing this since the days of 16mm film, then through the camcorder formats and have collected a lot of good images over the years in the archives, some of which you've certainly seen on the news over the years.

It seems clear that it's time to go into a HD format capturing on SDHC cards. I'd like to solicit recommendations. Some considerations might be -

- sharp picture. Do all affordable HD camcorders now capture at 1440x1080i and interpolate to 1080i?
- passable color
- decent image stabilization
- at least fair low-light capability
- as cheap as possible: more cams in the field on a given budget
- video files editable on a mac without conversion if possible
- audio less important, but a nice bonus if there's an external mic input
- decent brand name and at least fair reliability.

Thanks!

[TreeTops]

reconyx.com but they are not cheap. Tried the inexpensive brands and they are junk.

[edDV]

- sharp picture. Do all affordable HD camcorders now capture at 1440x1080i and interpolate to 1080i?
- passable color
- decent image stabilization
- at least fair low-light capability
- as cheap as possible: more cams in the field on a given budget

Many AVCHD camcorders can record 1440x1080i or 1920x1080i (at higher bit rate).

"Cheap as possible" is inconsistent with flash media. Flash media is currently 10-15x more expensive vs DV tape (Pro DV tape ~$2.50/hr in bulk). Reconsider HDV and Canon HV-30/40.

- video files editable on a mac without conversion if possible
- audio less important, but a nice bonus if there's an external mic input
- decent brand name and at least fair reliability.

A Mac converts all consumer HD formats to either 960x540p or AIC intermediate. If you want native HDV or AVCHD editing you should look at Windows (Premiere or Vegas). Most consumer edit packages convert HD to an intermediate format.

External mic inputs are somewhat rare on cheap consumer camcorders. Don't assume.

[TreeTops]

I understood his request to be a requirement for a field camera. ie "wildlife poaching" that means a specialty camera that can stand the weather, long life for batteries, quick response shutter, night infrared, motion detection, etc. I posted one of the best. I know, as we use them. Most of the cheap ones have slow response times, which means your target is out of camera range by the time the shutter clicks.