[Alex-r]

hi everyone,

i've been looking into buying a camcorder for my parents for xmas.

seen a nice panasonic 60GB hard drive one for £250, i don't know much about camcorders and i know there's a few different types out there so i really don't know what to go for.

would only be light use on occasions, budget around £200.

any help/advice would be great, thanks very much!

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by Alex-r

hi everyone,

i've been looking into buying a camcorder for my parents for xmas.

seen a nice panasonic 60GB hard drive one for £250, i don't know much about camcorders and i know there's a few different types out there so i really don't know what to go for.

would only be light use on occasions, budget around £200.

any help/advice would be great, thanks very much!

If picture performance is not paramount the Panasonic may well suite them,Mini dv still has the best PQ in the SD world though.

[senu]

The Budget is a fact to know but so is the model no.. It may have known users/ reviews which would make your answer more relevant.

For your parent why not consider the Canon FS100, so that they only need to record to SD card and transfer to PC via card reader USB or internal and
How will thy be watching ( PC / TV) and are they keen on PCs?

Suffce to say that Video quality will not be poor but may not win any awards.

[chrishull3]

If its SD hard drive the performance will not be great, mini dv still has some advantages.

[senu]

Originally Posted by chrishull3

If its SD hard drive the performance will not be great, mini dv still has some advantages.

There is no doubt that it offers the best quality there but Unless they will play the tapes off the camcorder You have to factor in the transfer to PC via firewire and the little effort it takes to turn that to DVD
The SD card route is very convenient in that
I may be underestimating the OPs parents sense of " adventure" though!

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by senu

There is no doubt that it offers the best quality there but Unless they will play the tapes off the camcorder You have to factor in the transfer to PC via firewire and the little effort it takes to turn that to DVD
The SD card route is very convenient in that
I may be underestimating the OPs parents sense of " adventure" though!

Sure but having used avchd i still maintain i can make a film quicker with tape

[senu]

Originally Posted by chrishull3

Sure but having used avchd i still maintain i can make a film quicker with tape

That is true but shhh.. nobody wants to hear that..

[Alex-r]

thanks for the replies

been looking at some camcorders for around £50 on ebay, chinese ones HD mini DV type, look and sound like they're decent but i'd like to hear if they're up to much, sound quality etc.

parents are fine using a SD USB reader to transfer videos, 4 GB card would be more than enough

[senu]

Originally Posted by Alex-r

thanks for the replies

been looking at some camcorders for around £50 on ebay, chinese ones HD mini DV type, look and sound like they're decent but i'd like to hear if they're up to much, sound quality etc.

parents are fine using a SD USB reader to transfer videos, 4 GB card would be more than enough

Chinese.?. they wont be That is not casting any aspersion on China for that is indeed where many of the major companies assemble thier goods but the "no name" Chinese camcorders are (IMHO) not money well spent; To answer your question they are cheap gadgets which may not always be cherrful and are not up to much in video ad sound quality
Very much a case of you get what you pay for

[Alex-r]

Originally Posted by senu

Chinese.?. they wont be That is not casting any aspersion on China for that is indeed where many of the major companies assemble thier goods but the "no name" Chinese camcorders are (IMHO) not money well spent; To answer your question they are cheap gadgets which may not always be cherrful and are not up to much in video ad sound quality
Very much a case of you get what you pay for

do you actually know they're poor or are you just assuming?

i've had a few mp3 players off ebay from china and they've all been good

[senu]

Originally Posted by Alex-r

do you actually know they're poor or are you just assuming?

I know from a few shop in my neck of the woods which sell some that many ( but not all) are poor ( returns are rife)
Also I try to keep close to technology ( get sent things to try)
Saying that some ( te odd one) may be fine and YMMV but even if video quality is good, sound may not be, durability and compatibiity of the video on the PC is often not guaranteed
My only advice is
As a gift , if your folk find it less than overwhelming , they may react by not using it as much ( buy it for yourself but not for others who may not feel like tellling youi ts no good , prefering simply to not use it.) my point is
Buy where you can return
I may be way off point here but many are not better than good mobile phones for video, the-bay adverts are " sexed up " with specs which dont tell the whole story

i've had a few mp3 players off ebay from china and they've all been good

Different scenario ,TBH portable audio players make it possible not to need an ipod just to enjoy music, but good video isnt quite as easy to replicate

Poor video on 32" let alone 40" screen will be glaring and if you did run those pocket friendly mp3 jobbies through a decent hi fi set their shortcomings would show

If you want get one of them , you may be pleasantly surprised....or not..

[kBm]

Originally Posted by chrishull3

Sure but having used avchd i still maintain i can make a film quicker with tape

Originally Posted by senu

You have to factor in the transfer to PC via firewire and the little effort it takes to turn that to DVD The SD card route is very convenient in that
I may be underestimating the OPs parents sense of " adventure" though!

Can i step in here and ask.....Is there still merit in getting a Mini DV tape V's SD/HDD format?


Getting a camcorder for my mother, to replace her old VHS loading brick () The main aspect of choice will be based on watching back the footage on TV and point and shoot nature of the unit.

I was wondering if the quality of camcorder differs based on a digital format or mini dv tapes? Im leaning toward dv taps at the moment....

I can put both types of footage on to DVD, so thats not an issue. Having the SD9, i'm well aware of the limitations of HD + low light + editting it on a pc, so HD is out!

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by kBm

Can i step in here and ask.....Is there still merit in getting a Mini DV tape V's SD/HDD format?


Getting a camcorder for my mother, to replace her old VHS loading brick () The main aspect of choice will be based on watching back the footage on TV and point and shoot nature of the unit.

I was wondering if the quality of camcorder differs based on a digital format or mini dv tapes? Im leaning toward dv taps at the moment....

I can put both types of footage on to DVD, so thats not an issue. Having the SD9, i'm well aware of the limitations of HD + low light + editting it on a pc, so HD is out!

If you meen will dv tapes be better than vhs then they will be a lot better, and for me sd mini dv over sd hdd, having said that non tape cams are far more popular now.
Putting any format incl vhs on dv is no real problem.

[kBm]

Originally Posted by chrishull3

If you meen will dv tapes be better than vhs then they will be a lot better, and for me sd mini dv over sd hdd, having said that non tape cams are far more popular now.
Putting any format incl vhs on dv is no real problem.

Im wondering if using sd card or hdd camcorder has a lesser quality than minidv tapes? They are both a digital media, but as with anything, sometimes shortcuts are made with newer technology!

As the budget is £200, mini dv tape camcorder is looking very good value, especially when you can get 10 tapes @ 60mins for £15!

[senu]

Originally Posted by kBm

Im wondering if using sd card or hdd camcorder has a lesser quality than minidv tapes? They are both a digital media, but as with anything, sometimes shortcuts are made with newer technology!

2 things.
The DV AVI which the miniDV tape records to is far less compressed , really much better starting quality
and
MiniDV technology is mature so even it is possible to make decent camcorder for less

However DV AVI at 13Gb /hr is a tad unwieldy and eventually needs to be compressed for easy portability and DVD creation but this is controllable whereas you have no choice as the mpeg2 are encoded at the point of aqusition with the tapeless kit
Also SD and HDD standard def camcorders at pocket friendly price cannot match it and by the time you get to levels which can you are gettig inti Hi def territory..
In a sense folk have ben conditioned to accept the quality from the SD /HDD pocket friendly camcorders as the norm rather than manufacturers trying o improve it
But Tape is a "dying format " due to the real time transfer by fire wire and the fact that as precision kit with moving part and delicate tape heads they are costlier to make than they have been outmoded , along with wahtever quality advantages they have.
Manufactureres have been keen to compare them to VHS . This is disingeneous as they are digital and far higher resolution even if the recording material is similar

As the budget is £200, mini dv tape camcorder is looking very good value, especially when you can get 10 tapes @ 60mins for £15!

It is.

[kBm]

So, if you had £200 to spend on a camcorder as a gift, would you go for the 'dying' tape format or 'newer' card strorage type?

[senu]

Originally Posted by kBm

So, if you had £200 to spend on a camcorder as a gift, would you go for the 'dying' tape format or 'newer' card strorage type?

For a gift
I would go for the newer card storage format ... less hassle for the recipient. If a " younger person" happy to capture to PC via firewire and then edit or older person with a sense of " aadventure" the MiniDv route has its merits but for an older person whom you want to have fun and not be too hot on 100% quality or younger You tube gneration person.. Id give tape a miss for them .. but get a decent ( not perfect though) SD card model, say like Canon FS100 ( There are rubbish ones)
A good one will ensure they get used after the first day...
For myself
Id still go for tape..

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by kBm

Im wondering if using sd card or hdd camcorder has a lesser quality than minidv tapes? They are both a digital media, but as with anything, sometimes shortcuts are made with newer technology!

As the budget is £200, mini dv tape camcorder is looking very good value, especially when you can get 10 tapes @ 60mins for £15!

they do have lesser quality than mini dv, i personaly would never use sd card but there again not sd tape now either.