Help finding a camcorder for Basketball team

[goufball]

I need a video camera to fill Junior College basketball games. At the begining of the season I went to best buy and asked for the best camera that would give good quality video and would be easy to transfer the files from the camera to the computer and be able to easily make a DVD of the game. They sold me the Canon VIXIA HF R21. It does not fit our needs at all. The quality of the video is not any better than our old camera and it takes over an hour to make a video. I also can not use the video unles I use the program that came with camera, which is not a good program. I need some thing that I easily make a DVD from so i can send them to Division one coaches that are recruiting my players. I also need to be able to transfer the videos to external drive so I can save them. To be able to save my current videos I think I have to find a program to convert all the files. Since I am working with a school, I have to buy from best-buy. The recommended a DSLR camera, but I am not convinced that is my best option. I would appreciate any help.... THANK YOU!!

[Cornucopia]

"Have to buy from Best Buy" - There's your problem: the blind leading the blind.

Budget? Time Frame (both to buy and to put out a program, post-game)? Quality needs (SD or HD)?

Scott

[goufball]

Yes it is the blind leading the blind...... SD vs HD doesn't really matter to us. After a game we would like to be upload the game to our computer, combine all the clips, save all the clips as one video in a format that we would be able to use later in anther program or save on an external drive, and make a DVD that we would be able to send to other schools. Thank you so much for help!!!

[dwight55]

Goufball, . . . we just went through a similar problem at out church, . . . formerly using a Sony 460 tape camera that seriously is on it's very last legs, . . . or at least seemed to be so.

I bit the bullet, . . . shopped like a trooper, . . . bought a Canon GL2 on Ebay for $450, . . . coupled it with a Panasonic EA38V DVD recorder, . . . we copy directly from the camera to the DVD burner as it is going on, . . . when the service is done, . . . it takes about 7 minutes to close and finalize the DVD, . . . done. The Canon will give you a beautiful standard definition picture, . . . and using 60 minute tapes on LP mode, . . . will record 90 minutes.

I have some of my own pocket money in this, . . . but it works great, . . . recommend similar to anyone needing this type of work.

May God bless,
Dwight