hi everyone, I am looking for a camcorder that has a/v in (to record the feed from a bullet camera attached to my motorcycle helmet) and
lanc (or other form of remote control) and has good optics for recording fast moving objects (motorcycle races). Do you have any suggestions?

Less important but desirable features would be MiniDV (better quality), 3CCDs (seem to be better optics) and true surround sound recording (5.1 ?)

Many thanks.

[redsox_mark]

I suggest to get a Sony HC96 while you can. It’s recently discontinued but you can still find them. ebuyer had a good deal but they seem to be out. It has av-in, lanc, excellent Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens. It has a single large (1/3”) CCD rather than 3 CCDs, but this has advantages over 3 small CCDs (e.g. better low light performance). All in all the HC96 performance is very comparable to the Panasonic GS300 3 CCD model (but the GS300 doesn’t have AV-in).

For current models it is much tougher. Models with AV-in are getting harder to find, as are lanc jacks. None of Sony’s current DV range (or even their other format consumer cams) have AV-in. Canon’s DV models don’t have it either, nor Panasonic.

All I could suggest is the Canon HV20 HDV cam. It as AV-in, and is excellent… but you probably don’t need the HD, and it is more expensive. It doesn’t have a lanc. (The Sony HC5 and HC7 have lanc, but not av-in).

Maybe I’m missing a model… but that’s all I can think of…

[Kevron]

I bought the Sony dcr-hc96e 3 weeks ago and its a very good video and stills camera. I`ve just been transfering from my vhs recorder through the camcorders av direct to dvd through my computer and I am very pleased with the results. But I had to buy a firewire cable and svideo with 3 phono cable and a scart converter to get the best connection to my computer, Kevin.

Thanks for your replies I will check up on the sony.


The better low light capabilities of single CCD over 3CCD is certainly a factor. Would the optical quality in normal conditions be noticable ?

[senu]

Originally Posted by The Viathan

Thanks for your replies I will check up on the sony.


The better low light capabilities of single CCD over 3CCD is certainly a factor. Would the optical quality in normal conditions be noticable ?

Probably not as much as you'd think. Apart from poor examples, the general quality of MiniDV is good anyway. As Mark has hinted in his post,, in good light a well sorted 3CCD model will have better colours but not all are "well sorted" and even in those there's a little low light penalty as well as your need for AV-in and Lanc..

You may be a lot more limited in choice

Perhaps the wrong place, but in Comet yesterday , of the 20 odd camcorders on display, only 3 were tape , and one of the was HD (Sony HC5) which doesn't have av in.
Neither of the other 2 ad AV in or were 3CCD..the rest were DVD or HDD models