Best Value for Money High Defnition Camcorder

[newbie270287]

Hi all,

Have had a search online, and within these forums for the best value for money high definition camcorder . . but the customers are the best people to ask, rather than the manufacturers!!

Any recommendations!?

[loz]

What is your budget?

Best to narrow it down to what you are willing to spend first.

Otherwise, you will get someone recommending a £4000 Sony EX1 as the best Value for Money High Def camcorder. Which it is - if you are a pro.

[newbie270287]

Prefereably something between the £200 - £350 price bracket.

[senu]

Originally Posted by newbie270287

Prefereably something between the £200 - £350 price bracket.

That will get you the very lower end of the crop of current camcorders. Im not very sure if any of the curent models is that pocket friendly
"Value for money" may cost more than that,
All the offerings from Sony Canon and Panasonic ( the major players) cost more
You may get some bargains on discontinued models but I guess the best thing is bring up here for opinions whatever catches your fancy
I would suggest you up your budget a bit more though

What does seem to increase cost is size of HDD and no of pixels;These probably have little to do with Video quality

What do you want to do with it..and what are you expectations in terms of what your money gets you?

PS:The EX1 does rock but it is the cost of a small second hand family car

[newbie270287]

I could comfortably up my budget to £500.00.

I'm going to use it as any one esle would use a camcorder.

Mainly recording snowboarding and football; but then the general laughs and giggle's at social events etc.

I always get frustrated when the picture quality is not up to scratch on playback.
Obvioulsy snowboarding is quite demanding for recording in quality . . .but it is the most vital as well.

Hope this helps.

[senu]

Have a look
Choosing Family 1080 Camcorder

Budget camcorders tend not to be overwhelming compared to the quality we are all now used to with BBC/ Sky ect
Video quality is somewhat proportional to cost and it makes sense to buy what you are most able to afford.
£500 seems a decent sum but many camcorders will struggle with AF with the poor contrast of snow in snowboarding
The other challenges would be accurate white balance and exposure

As such Consider a model which has some manual control of WB and exposure modes
It is these features that separate the simple " memory makers" from Camcorders which are more able and therefore cost a bit more
The other issue is how fast motion is handled

Whilst awaiting suggestions I suggest you put on a few models and let owners or those who have used them chip in
Although Ive used a few of the newer models I relly still own MiniDv tape HDv models which serve me well.. so far

[loz]

also, if you intend on taking a lot of fast paced action stuff, then you might find the CMOS chips and AVCHD recording format in most budget HD camcorders are not suitable. Whereas CCD and HDV based cameras are probably better.

e.g. a snowboarder moving fast left to right across the screen would probably break up on a budget CMOS/AVCHD camera.

Of course you can compose your shots to minimise such scenes....

You might find you are better off with an older tape based CCD/HDV machine even though on paper the resolution figures look poorer.

[senu]

Or an HDV with CMOS if one with a CCD is hard to come by but Stunning as the AVCHD CMOS models might be( SD/HDD) with more sedate and less " challenging" subjects,
The more pocket friendly ones may need you to
Minimise Panning if the video image is to remain free of " tearing".