[DJ Dave]

Afternoon everyone and Happy Easter

I am going on holiday a week today and am mulling over what camcorder to purchase.

I suppose I am buying the camcorder really to film my little boy, that's going to be the main purpose of it and to use it on holidays etc.

I don't know weather to: a) Get a DVD one
b) Get a Mini DV one
c) Get a Hi Def one
d) Get a hardisk one

My budget is £400-£500 but will go up to £800 if people out there think the High Def Camcorders are worth paying up for even though inevitably the price will grind off.

Any advice please gurus?

[DJ Dave]

My computer is an Apple Mac G5 by the way.....I presume camcorders work ok with Macs?

[Gordon Briggs]

Hi Dave,

I have just bought a Sony HC1 Hi-Def camera, I also have a canon XM2. If the HC1 had been out when I bought the Canon then I would have gone with the HC1 as the pictures are superb.

You sound like a young guy so think about the fact that everything you shoot now if you had HD would be there for all time in HD, so when HD/DVD's come along etc then you will have the benifit of those super pictures of the little one to show on your (then) Hi-Def TV.

It won't be long before you hear those words "Dad, can I borrow the car?"...they don't stay young very long.

Cheers,

Gordon.

[laser]

If you have a plasma or LCD TV with a resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher then a high def camcorder will look stunning. ThHe PQ is just amazing.

Even standard definition footage looks better than a normal SD camcorder.

However if you plan to edit footage on a PC you must have a powerful, fast computer.

[redsox_mark]

G5 should be fine for HD editing, and Macs are fine for editing. Actually you can edit HD on any machine which can edit DV, if you use a DV proxy. But a fast PC is clearly easier and gives you more options.

Mark

[senu]

buy an HD ( Hi Def) camcorder if you can afford it.

Edit in SD now and HD later when your PC specs "grow" .At least get the raw clips in todays best possible resolution even if there is currently no delivery format and the absolutely silly format wars arebeing resolved.
I have Hi8 tapes of my 9 year old daughter ( tommorow) . Although of sentimental value, the footage looks very lacklustre compared to even the Digital 8 and Mini DV footage of her kid sister which are that much sharper and more vibrant.
I would not buy an SD camcorder now as even the HD ones seem to do SD better anyway.
Good luck with your purchase:
To be sure , HD editing is PC ( or Mac ) demanding but for simple cut, join, transition and titles you dont need Cray2006!

[DJ Dave]

Thanks for the replies guys, really good advice.

I'm 38 Gordon but thanks anyways

How much is the HC1 guys?

I have got a Pioneer Plasma 436XDE so I guess the pictures/footage will look good?

I wasn't going to go for a HD but you guys are talking me round

I suppose the stills will look good too?

[senu]

I'm 38 Gordon but thanks anyways

Oh.. that young??! You need your ID in the Pub then

How much is the HC1 guys?

Sadly £950 -1499 : Shop with care .Because the hdrc3 is upon us it is being discontinued bt the hdrc3 is cheaper

I have got a Pioneer Plasma 436XDE so I guess the pictures/footage will look good?

They will look good on anything really, your nice plasma included

I wasn't going to go for a HD but you guys are talking me round

Good

I suppose the stills will look good too?

Absolutely, Stills from a few megapixel still digital camera will look better but in the world of camcorders stills from HD camcorder cannot look anything but impressive.
Happy hunting

[MarkE19]

Although generally good advice to get a HD cam I would offer a word of warning - HD cams are not that good in low light conditions!

miniDV are poor compared to the old analogue cams, but HD are not even as good as DV. I would recommend you try to borrow a HD cam to try out recording in the house etc to see if the results are good enough for you, as this seems to be one of the major things your cam will get used for. You may find the results good, perhaps with the use of a video light. But you may find additional lighting a pain and without it the footage is not good enough. Trying the cam in the home is the only way to find out what works for you.

Mark.

[DJ Dave]

£900 ?

I think the wife will behead me if I spend that much !

[Gordon Briggs]

Hello Young Dave,

The low light footage on my HC1 are more that acceptable, but come on, how many times do you want to take pictures in low light anyway. The pics you will get in "ordinary" light more than make up for any low light shortcomings. As Senu, and I am sure anyone with one of these wonder cams will tell you GO HD, you will thank us later.

I paid £980 inc carraige for my HC1 from Purely Gadgets, I have been using it for about four weeks, still can't believe the quality when seen on an HD ready TV.

Raid the kid's piggy bank and buy one.

Cheers and good lick,

Gordon.

[DJ Dave]

"Best Cameras" have the Sony HDR HC3 for £892.99

I presume that the HC3 is as good as the HC1 ?

I wonder how well these HD camcorders will hold their value in terms of price depreciation......

I need it by Thursday as we leave for Tenerife on Friday - I have almost made my mind up, just wanted to make sure the HC3 is not inferior to the HC1.

[DJ Dave]

Just seen the comparison thread below......

Maybe it is worth trying to get a HC1 ?

[Gordon Briggs]

I would say so Dave, in the comparison I saw it placed the HC1 with more pixels and therefore, one would think, better quality picture, also the HC1 has an external mike and headphones sockets, the HC3 doesent, the HC1 is worth the extra.

Hope you have a good holiday.

Cheers,

Gordon.

[bix]

One thing is that Sony kit seems to shoot 1080i only whereas JVC seem to be going down the 720p route.

There are a lot of blogs on google about that being the Sony's major shortcoming.

[DJ Dave]

Just wanted to clear something up,excuse my lack of knowledge regarding camcorders

Would I be right in saying at this moment in time if I purchased a HD camcorder the only way I will be able to view HD footage/stills is via my Pioneer 436XDE Plasma?

I presume I can transfer onto the IMAC G5 without any problems? Or will I have to run it in SD?

Any thoughts on when the PC's are going to take more of a HD route?

[MarkE19]

Depending on your Graphics card and monitor a PC/Mac should handle HD video fine now. Obviously there are lots of issues with the processor, RAM, HDD space etc etc, but in theory you don't need the 'best' spec'd PC to view HD video as it is already compressed before it gets to the PC etc.

1080i being Sony's major shortcoming
IMO that is the big advantage of the Sony cams - they can record full 1080i HD resolution rather than the cut down 720p of JVC. Given the option I would much rather have a display and source material/player that can handle true 1080i rather than 720p. I would think that the 720p HD standard will be fairly short lived and even 1080i will be out of date in the not too distant future as technology continues to push up quality (and hopefully prices down).

Mark.

[nigelbb]

Originally Posted by bix

There are a lot of blogs on google about that being the Sony's major shortcoming.

Surely the major shortcoming of Sony HD camcorders is the use of DV tape? Surely a hard disk is the obvious solution here unless of course you sell tapes like Sony do!

[MarkE19]

Originally Posted by nigelbb

Surely a hard disk is the obvious solution here

Not if you want to archive what you have recorded. Tapes are the only realistic way to archive video footage IMO as disc space is too expensive and bulky to keep too many of.

Mark.

[ianzs1980]

Originally Posted by DJ Dave

Afternoon everyone and Happy Easter

I am going on holiday a week today and am mulling over what camcorder to purchase.

I suppose I am buying the camcorder really to film my little boy, that's going to be the main purpose of it and to use it on holidays etc.

I don't know weather to: a) Get a DVD one
b) Get a Mini DV one
c) Get a Hi Def one
d) Get a hardisk one

My budget is £400-£500 but will go up to £800 if people out there think the High Def Camcorders are worth paying up for even though inevitably the price will grind off.

Any advice please gurus?

Hi there, Only just registered for these forums, this is my first post!!

Regarding the HDR-HC1 - I have one of these camcorders and the Picture Quality is Unbelieveable!!

Buy Buy Buy !!

[DJ Dave]

Interesting point Re the DV tape - memory is cheap these days. Sony do appear to be cashing in...HD Cams with DV tape!

[CarlB]

I don't think Sony are cashing in at all. HDV is a massively compressed HD format wholly suitable to tape. Many Pro users argue that its compression makes it virtually worthless as a HD format, preferring higher quality and lower compression, with the Panasonic P2 format often being quoted as the entry point into 'true' HD. With 8mins of footage on a single £400 P2 mem card, you can see how vastly expensive it becomes unless you're tethered to a drive array while shooting.

The massive compression on HDV makes it an inexpensive way to enter the HD market, using cheap tapes as a storage medium, and thus offering some level of consumer benefit. Personally, I tried the Sony HDR-FX1 and found HDV to be somewhat wanting, due to an excess of compression artefacts during action or complex scenes (reflections on water, for example). For family use HDV is probably just fine, as long as you don't expect too much from shots around the swimming pool, or to film your child's sporting prowess.