[roberthalls]

Hi all, first post so apologies if I don't give you enough information to help or equally ask too much help of you all!
I’m after a digital camcorder for use at the next Australian Grand Prix but also light weight for use whilst travelling. I’m realistically looking at spending <AUD$800
Q1) Does anyone know of a website where you can shortlist camcorders based on specification i.e. >10x zoom, memory type etc?
Q2) Specification wise I’m after the following, any ideas you have would be gratefully received
- Fast focus to deal with moving items (i.e. f1 cars)
- Optical image stabilisation
- Optical zoom >10x
- Flash memory rather than DV tape
- HD or highly rated SD
- Compact body and lightweight
Realise I may be asking for too much!
Early ideas are Panasonic HDC-SD10 or Panasonic HDC-SD20K – any thoughts?
Thanks for your help,
Rob

[A n d r e w]

The two you mention are okay - they have smallish sensors, which means good results in bright light (usually plenty of that in Australia) but mixed results in low light (i.e., indoors).

I don't know what the current AU$ prices are, but you might want to look at the Canon HF200 or HG20 as well. They should be close, though probably a bit above, your limit.

By the way, a long zoom sounds good in principle, but anything about 7x or 8x pretty much necessitates mounting the camera on a tripod.

[roberthalls]

Thanks for your suggestions, both look good, but bit expensive for me

Thinking of focusing on best Sd cams I can get for money now after some research panasonic hdc sd26 looks good, as does the canon legria fs21 or fs200

any thoughts on these with respect to the spec I'm after?

[A n d r e w]

Those you've listed are okay-ish, with either of the Canons a touch better than the tiny Panasonic. None will compete image-quality-wise with even a basic mini-DV camcorder, but the trade-off is the convenience of recording to SD cards.

Nor are any of them going to be any better in low light than the SD10 or SD20 (I realise this is a secondary concern to shooting the F1, but it will no doubt become a factor at some stage), and being standard definition models they are significantly poorer in resolution.

I'd still take the SD10 or SD20 over the SD26, FS21, or FS200 so I have to ask - why are you considering standard def?

[roberthalls]

Well to be honest I had a good chat with friends today who all asked what I'd use it for aside from the GP, truth is I couldn't come up with a long list.

As I result I'm thinking I should spend a bit less maybe around $500 if poss for a decent SD but not top end Hd camcorder. At the same don't want to buy a dud and items like stabilisation are still important. Note your point on light, some reviews say panasonics do ok here but others don't.

Rob