[kata_tutu]

Both these camcorders seem to have exceptional reviews. On Amazon, there is £300 difference between the two. My use is for mainly the new addition to our family as well as general family trips / celebratory functions. Would the picture quality be significantly better on the X900?

[Bill Bruner]

kata - yes, £300 is a lot of money, but the images from the £654 X900 will be sharper and more detailed than from the £389 V700.

Writing about the V700, Expert Reviews say:

"We were generally impressed with the camcorder's footage, which was significantly better than that of the HC-V500 but, as expected, not quite up there with the video from the HC-X800 and HC-X900's three sensors. The camcorder's sensor captures a high level of detail, but if you pause the footage and study it more closely you can see that some texture and definition is missing from some objects. The level of detail also diminishes around 25-30 metres from the lens. As an example, on the HC-X800 and HC-X900's footage we could see staining, flocking and grouting on a brick wall situated 30 metres away, but the same wall in the HC-V700's video just doesn’t have that level of detail.

Even so, the footage is a lot sharper and more defined than that captured by the HC-V500 and you really have to look carefully to notice the relative lack of detail compared to the Panasonic's three-sensor models."

The X900's viewfinder, manual lens control ring and headphone jack are also very nice to have. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it.

That said, if you want the X900's image quality, but can live without the viewfinder, headphone jack, lens ring and shoe adapter, you may want to look at the £564 X800.

Hope this is helpful,

Bill

[12harry]

You can get a lot of "useful extras" for the price-difference-
- - - like Tripod (which transforms footage) and spare Batteries (so you don't expire!) and Memory (go for Transend SDHC, not Mfr's own brand)..... and whilst there may be some quality differences they are relatively minor; - but it depends on how the vids will be viewed (and how discerning the audience is).
Most folk won't see any difference and unless you are putting onto BlueRay disc the definition is not likley to be an issue. I understand the v700 (1-sensor) has the edge in low-light..


( the v500 is an even older design, but cheaper...)
Can you test them in-store? Take a pair of blank 16G SDHC cards and format them on the camcorders . . . and try them out at the distances you expect..... that should tell you far more than reviews, where Press deadlines and better-paid work . . . . you know the rest.

The trouble with family party (etc) is they can be in poor light and that's where few camcorders score - all having modest-size sensors . . . . Perhaps you can define your requirement?
Bear in mind that family footage is a reminder of the event (you were there!), so the ultimate quality should be far less important than recording it well, without shakes and Others getting in the way, etc. - therefore a powerful zoom is not needed - IMHO - move in closer!

BTW do you have a modern powerful PC to do the Editing? Whilst "Content is King" -in general it's all done in the Edit. . . . = something for those dark winters.

Good luck.

[Bino45]

I would pay the difference just to have a view finder.

This has lots of advantages, including being able to see the subject properly when there is strong sunlight behind you and being slightly less conspicuous when trying to capture candid moments

[Gramuk]

With regards to X900 - Without the viewfinder I would have most likely been filming the ground the last few sunny days - viewfinder was one of the points that made me head for the X900. Great camcorder.

[12harry]

Ahem, yep. Certaiinly sunny weather is an issue for serious filming, where you can't move viewpoint easily. However, OP was interested in family events, so I'm not sure the cost justifies the extra,

Perhaps OP can give their take on this; now it's been thrashed about?

[Moviebuff]

I'm not a avid camcorder user, just use it every now & then, which to be fair is how most people use them.

For me, the V700 is an amazing piece of kit for the money, and while everybody that knows me, would class me as a tech geek, anything personally for me on a camcorder, would be wasted. Although the best possible picture is always a positive, I find the V700 far from wanting, and the zoom lens on it, while not used all that often, is just incredible!

[12harry]

Well, that's a happy filmer.
- Can you say if the V700 has an eye-level viewfinder as well as the super LCD display?

and, does V700 have external Mic input and Headphone output?

[Bill Bruner]

harry - the V700 has an external mic input, but no viewfinder or headphone jack.

The X900 has all three.

Cheers,

Bill