[Kazza72]

Hi
I have been looking into buying a Cam - £500 - £700 but am confused as to what to get! Does anyone have any good experiences/recommendations. I would prefer a HDD and it will need component output as my tv doesn't have hdmi (only dvi). Ideally would like a HD model but these are just out of my range I think.
Have never even used one before but would like small size, good quality and relatively easy software. Considering the dvd cams but they seem to compromise on quality?
Appreciate any suggestions you might have. It will be used mostly for baby/kids type stuff, indoors and out.

[Accylad]

I bought a Sony HC3 last week, it is HD and within your price range

Nothing but good things to say about it

[redsox_mark]

With that budget and current models, you can get a HD (High Def) camcorder, a HDD (Hard Disc Drive) model, but not one which is both. (The only HD+HDD camcorder today is the Sony AVCHD camcorder, the Sony HDR-SR1, web price around £850).

If you go for HDD but not HD: The models to consider are the Sony DCR-SR90 http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/sound-a.../564220/prices or the JVC GZ-MG505 http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/sound-a.../621686/prices
Neither of these have component output – I don’t know of any standard def cams with component output. Both these camcorders are very good, but standard def HDD cams use the same MPEG2 format as DVD cams, so as with DVD cams the quality is good but not quite as good as with a similarly priced DV (tape) camcorder.

If you go for HD but not HDD: The Sony HC3 as mentioned in the previous post is in your budget, is excellent, and has component (as well as HDMI) output. Or the Canon HV10 – also has component output, though the cheapest prices I’ve seen are just over £800. Both these camcorders are HDV, use same tapes as DV. With a decent spec PC editing of HDV is as easy as DV… with a slower machine it can be done but requires additional steps.

All of the camcorders I’ve mentioned so far are of a similar small size.

If you want to stretch to £850, then there is the Sony HDR-SR1. It’s a little larger than the others, but not huge. The only downside (apart from the price) is that this AVCHD format currently is not easy to edit or view with software. Software support should improve (this is a new format); but if you want to play the files from your PC you’ll need a pretty powerful one.

[Kazza72]

Thanks for that redsox. If I could stretch to it would you say it's worth me spending a bit extra and getting the HDR-SR1? Is it just a case of linking it to my laptop and taking the vids off? Can any editing be done on the cam itself?

Otherwise how easy is the editing/saving to disc on the HC3? I have a Toshiba Qosmio G20 laptop with 1gb RAM/160gb HDD.
Are there other ways to transfer data to a dvd (dvd recorders?)??

Thanks for your help.

[redsox_mark]

If I could stretch to it would you say it's worth me spending a bit extra and getting the HDR-SR1? Is it just a case of linking it to my laptop and taking the vids off?

Hard to say if it is worth it... it depends on how important the HDD is to you.

Copying the files to the PC is easy - it's just like copying from an external HDD drive. The problem is today you can't edit it on the PC, though that will change... but the other problem is that it is a hard format for a PC to handle. There is another recent thread where a new SR1 owner can just about play the files on quite a monster PC. You've got a hot laptop, but it still may not cope. And even when editing support is available, your PC may not be fast enough to do this (it may be sluggish, and not able to preview the video at an acceptable rate).

Can any editing be done on the cam itself

I believe you can but haven't seen one yet or a manual to say for sure.


Otherwise how easy is the editing/saving to disc on the HC3? I have a Toshiba Qosmio G20 laptop with 1gb RAM/160gb HDD.

The main factor is the processor; the G20 is a Pentium M machine, there are range of M processors which can be in the GS20 , starting with the 740 and going up. I have a Dell D610 with a Pentium M 730, 1 GB RAM.. so even if your PC is the bottom of the GS20 range it's slightly faster than mine. Using Sony Vegas 7 software you'll be able to edit easily. You will first capture from the tape to HDD - this happens at real speed, so it will take 1 hour to copy a 1 hour tape. Editing with Vegas 7 is responsive, just like editing DV. Once you've edited then you need to determine what to make. You can't make a High Def DVD today. You can make a standard def DVD, you can output back to tape and play that, or you can output HD files you can play from your PC.


Are there other ways to transfer data to a dvd (dvd recorders?)??

Yes - but again today only SD. With the HC3, you can do this via Firewire. With the SD1, you would have to take the analogue video output and feed this to the DVD recorder.