[Karmh]

Hello, looking to get a low budget camcorder for around £120 gbp. I was looking at the Sony dcr-sx45e (£100) or the toshiba camileo (£140) or the JVC Everio (£100), could you give me any info on which camera would be the best or another suggestion maybe, i want it to make videos when i am fishing so need to be reasonably good, also i dont know how pocket camcorders compare to the ones listed above but i just watched a video of one or two and they seem quite clear compared to say the sony dcr-sx45, i would probably want to use a tripod though, can you use tripods on pocket ones? Cheers, any info appreciated, Luke.

[Emerton]

JVC seems very good value, not sure about 'upconverted full HD' though- sounds like a contradiction in terms.

[rickyt]

I bought a new JVC Everio ,model GZ-HM30SEK from the Argos outlet on that well known action site for about £109 .Very good model indeed for the money , yet to read a bad review about it .Decent picture quality even in low light ,with a 16GB SD card in I can get over 3 hours of recording . I see recently Agos were selling a Sony model for a similar price , but I can definetly recommend the JVC.

[Karmh]

Well the Sony one is £98.49, the JVC is £92.99 and the toshiba is £140 for the x200 or £150 for the x400 camileo, Cheers, i was also looking at the sanyo vpc gh-1 and this looks pretty good for around £110 so anybody have any suggestions?

[12harry]

Karmh these models don't feature here because they are not considered sufficiently serious. I've seen footage from budget camcorders and they are definately a compromise.
Check their specs to see if they have a tripod bush, or check in-store? Manufacturers can change things in this range quite quickly. You should look for a metal bushing, beware some are chromed plastic!

Check what other fishermen use - you may need to think about waterproof as I know wet-weather doesn't stop the fun, but can kill a camcorder.
At that price-range you can't expect to get much in the quality stakes....perhap you should be asking "What do I want this for and what audience will see it" - (-and how will the see it?). For posting on YouTube almost any moving image will do " Content is king" - but decent kit can make it a little easier, even if heavier...

+If you plan to land a big-fish "on camera" that may be a difficult task . . . . . the best footage is faked.

+ You'll need to budget for at least one spare battery as they don't last long. - and you will want good sound of the fish coming out of the water, the cries of joy and general chat amongst cringing fellow fishermen? That looks like a serious senario that would demand a much bigger budget, like £500.and who's going to Edit it?
Good luck.

[robred]

Toshiba Camileo X400 isn't bad, but is a flawed diamond, with it's autofocus. I had one replaced by Toshiba after 3 months when the autofocus went haywire producing fuzzy footage. to get an idea of what it can do on a good day i have posted unconverted or processed (apart from whatever YouTube does) from the replacement here :

http://youtu.be/YEeLXtm8wWE

Really though it would be better to save up for something higher up the price scale, depends whether you are buying cheap as it isn't too much of a loss if it gets wet. the pocket ones are more novelty imho.

I am only using the Tosh for a specific project whilst I save for something much higher up the food chain

[Karmh]

Thanks for the replies, i would love for the budget to be bigger but as i am a student and need a car very badly i cannot really afford to go any higher than £150 tops. Its more convenience than a top spec, the sony's zoom looks awesome from what videos i have seen, but obviously the quality is SD and not HD which makes alot of difference, someone said i could render the footage to HD, i dont know if this would work or not but its worth a go i think also the sony has a built in light so would be good for low light conditions obviously. Thanks.

[Emerton]

The JVC link took me to Dixons, where it is £79-91, it would be worth buying at that price just to get a spare battery/PSU for someone who had the same fittings.

[Karmh]

Emerton, for £80 i would have got it but its out of stock unfortunetly, i dont have a clue about whats good and bad in the camcorder world but that sounds good if it was available.

[robred]

Originally Posted by Karmh

Thanks for the replies, i would love for the budget to be bigger but as i am a student and need a car very badly i cannot really afford to go any higher than £150 tops. Its more convenience than a top spec, the sony's zoom looks awesome from what videos i have seen, but obviously the quality is SD and not HD which makes alot of difference, someone said i could render the footage to HD, i dont know if this would work or not but its worth a go i think also the sony has a built in light so would be good for low light conditions obviously. Thanks.

Rendering SD to HD is like playing a DVD trough an upscaling player, it may look OK or it may look abysmal, it depends on the source footage, as it works by interpolation, you cannot add any more detail to what is already there.

[12harry]

If upscaling worked, then we'd already be using it...it's a marketing fudge. IMHO.

Don't buy a camcorder for the light on the front - they are pretty hopeless and drain the battery. You can but an under-the-bonnet- rechargeable car light for £12 in Aldi ant that includes the charger. 60 LED's will be seriously bright, but I'd recommend buying two, as it's better to have a wide spread of light.

For low-light performance, you need a big sensor and these Budget cams are quite tiny - really OK for outdoors in the sun and not much else. Buying secondhand is another possibility, but stick with the Models featured here, so you know the pitfalls. Also, discount the extreme zooms - they are practically unusable since movement is magnified. Far better to walk a bit, to get closer.

It's a tight budget, so compromise may be necessary.
+Buy an older car, perhaps?

[Karmh]

Isnt about the car, more the insurance at £3000 and cheers, i am seriously thinking about the toshiba camileo x400, i can get it for £90 refurbed or £150 new wht do u think?

[12harry]

Oooh, that £££ hurts, so I imagine you're quite young and that counts against you. There's another Thread here, using an old SD camcorder (using tape!), but I suspect the quality will be excellent even though things have moved on from when it was designed.
I suspect, but don't know, that for "fishing" scenes the low-light and manual focus will be strong requirements - these are unlikley to be available in yr budget. Also, you have to Edit this stuff, so more expense. (for a PC + Software, etc.)
In the end you have to take the chance . . . have you really discounted a Stills-camera which provides some movie-funtion? Are you sure you cannot achieve yr goal with stills?

Good Luck.

[Karmh]

Yeah tell me about it lol atleast its not just me that has to pay that amount for insurance. I have just brought a Sony HDR-CX130e Full HD from Curry's for £129 down from £289 i think so has got to be better than the ones listed i think? Anyway i looked at footage on youtube and reviews and it looks perfect.

[grahamlthompson]

Originally Posted by Karmh

someone said i could render the footage to HD, i dont know if this would work or not but its worth a go i think also the sony has a built in light so would be good for low light conditions obviously. Thanks.

This would be totally pointless. Any HD TV will upscale the content anyway and probably make a nuch better job of it.. All you will do is make the file larger.