Help please?

[rudinilsen]

Hi all,

I'm sure you're all sick of these newbie questions regarding camcorders but I really am totally confused

I'm looking for a camcorder for my wife, she has little or no technical knowledge so things like editing on a pc would really stretch her, and indeed, more than likely deter her from using her camcorder.

We are going to Canada next year, and part of the trip involves a train journey over the Rockies, so she fancied a camcorder to record this epic trip

Anyway, after reading this forum and camcorderinfo, I am still confused, DVD or DV?, I think I need 3ccd(whatever that is?), budget is around £350-£400, long battery life would be good too

Thanks for your help

(if you need any bike advice pop over to www.bikersoracle.com/vfr

Rudi

[redsox_mark]

Hi Rudi,

DV vs DVD: To decide which is best you need to consider what you will want to do with your "footage". If you don't want to edit on a PC at all, then a DVD camcorder has the advantage as you can shoot, finalise the disc (that's a step you do on the camcorder), and stick it in a DVD player. You can even do limited editing with the camcorder itself. The downside: in terms of quality for the money, DV models are generally better. That doesn't mean you can't get good quality with a DVD camcorder, just that a £400 DV model will generally perform better than a £400 DVD model.

With DV, other than connecting the camcorder to the DV, you pretty much have to edit. You can't give DVs to most of your friends, they may not be able to play it.

3 CCD: Putting it simply, the CCD (or CMOS) is the thing which converts the analogue real world into a digital image. 3 CCDs means there is one for each of the 3 colours, red/green/blue. All being equal generally this gives better colour than 1 CCD. But this isn't perfect - the act of splitting the signal into the 3 sensors can result in uneven compression, hue shifts, and reduced light transmissions. With CCDs, the (physically) bigger the better - and an affordable model tends to have 3 small sensors, which may not be better (or even as good) as another model with one larger sensor. Add to the mix CMOS vs. CCD... CMOS has many advantages over CCD, and there are models with a single large CMOS which outperform 3 CCDs..

Sorry if I've lost you, but the "bottom line": Don't get stuck with a hard requirement for 3 CCDs. Look at the overall performance of the camcorder.

Suggestions in your pricerange:

DVD: The only DVD camcorder I know of with 3 CCDs is the Panasonic VDR-D300. And it is a good one, but the cheapest web price I've seen is over £500, so it is out of budget. Very similar in quality is the Sony DVD505, which has a single large (1/3") CMOS. But it is also £500+... so what about in your price range? Real good deal on the Sony DVD404 here, £399 http://www.pcworld.co.uk/product.php?sku=306871 Every where else is £50 or so more. Has a single large CCD.

DV: Panasonic GS280 or GS300 - both around £420, or Sony HC96, around £400, or the Canon MVX460, around £320. The Panasonics are 3, 1/6" CCD. The Sony is a single, 1/3" CCD. The Canon, known as Elura 100 in the US, is good value, and performs well even if it only has a single 1/5" CCD. You could also consider the 3 CCD Panasonic GS180, though it's widescreen mode is not as good.

[rudinilsen]

Mark,

thankyou so much for your help, the choice is absolutely bewildering, you have cleared up a huge amount and the model recommendations are extremely helpful.

You mentioned widescreen, does it matter my television is'nt widescreen?

if we were to go down the DV as apposed to the DVD route, how complex is the editing software. The most I could invisage her wanting to do is maybe add some backgound music and cut and paste good sections together....

Thanks again

I owe you a beer

rudi

[redsox_mark]

Rudi,

Glad to help!

Widescreen: If your TV isn't widescreen, no problem - any camcorder will shoot "normal" 4:3 format fine. It's just some of them do better at widescreen. If you aren't going to be shooting widescreen, then the Panasonic GS180 comes back into the picture.

How complex is PC editing? To do simple edits isn't that complex, but you have to be at least comfortable using PC software. And even to do simple things there is a bit of a learning curve to get used to the software.

Do you have (or plan to get) a DVD recorder? This is an easy way to make a DVD and do simple edits... many models have a DV connection. Simply connect your camcorder to the DVD recorder and copy, and optionally edit. Best to have one with a HDD, this makes it easier to do the simple edits. But the edits are "cuts only", you can't add music etc (need PC for that).

[MarkE19]

To see how simple editing on a PC can be have a look at This web site that walks you through using the free MS Movie Maker 2 that is part of the Windows XP install (and therefore on 'most' PC's around). Then with the cheap (~£30) Ulead DVD Movie Factory (free 30 day trial download from Here) you can easily put your edited video onto a DVD.

CMOS vs CCD:
In the not too distant past only the cheap and nasty camcorders or cameras had CMOS sensors. But I think it was the release of the Canon 350D digital stills camera that marked the start of high quality CMOS sensors. Their main advantage is that they use a lot less power, therefore batteries can last a lot longer than they did on a CCD camera/camcorder.

Widescreen:
Well you may not have a widescreen TV at the moment, but the chances are that you will go 16:9 next time you upgrade. Not only that but if you give a DVD of your recordings to friends or family then the chances are that at least some of them will have a widescreen TV. Therefore if you intend to view what you record in the future then a camcorder that can offer good quality recording in widescreen will be more future proof.

Good luck with the decision making.

Mark.