OK, here goes. I'm looking for a camcorder. I will be recording a band on tour of the UK so a mix of live footage (in the semi-dark) and soundcheck/backstage/other footage in a mixture of light, dark and somewhere in the middle. Shows will be around 80-90 minutes long and ideally I'd like to capture them in their entirety.

I'm looking at 20-odd shows (@ 90 mins say) plus roughly 1 hour extra per show = approx 3,000 minutes for the tour in total. I'll have limited access to a PC so back-up to PC probably won't be feasible.

We're looking at putting some of the footage onto DVD at the end so it needs to be the best possible quality - not up to HD standard though.

Any recommendations/advise/guidance? As you can maybe tell I'm fairly new to all this!

[redsox_mark]

If you aren’t able to regularly off-load that rules out HDD based cams. DVD cams don’t allow enough on a disc (only 20 mins at best quality). With a flash memory based cam you’d need to buy a ton of memory cards, and even then you are limited to the amount you can currently fit on one. Plus DV gives the best quality for the money…. so I’d recommend DV tape based cam.

DV tapes come in 60 and 80 minutes. You can get 90 and 120 out of them respectively if you shoot in LP mode…

Are you planning to record the audio with the camcorder as well (as opposed to recording the audio on another device and synching it up)? If so I’d suggest a model with an external mic input.

What’s your budget?

Originally Posted by redsox_mark

Are you planning to record the audio with the camcorder as well (as opposed to recording the audio on another device and synching it up)? If so I’d suggest a model with an external mic input.

What’s your budget?

Audio - will probably record on a dedicated audio device (DAT or MD) but it would be good to have decent raw audio on the video if possible.

As for the budget - well; ideally no more than £500 but could go up to £1000 if the results would be significantly better......

[toadoftoadhall]

if the band is using a mixing desk, with a spare line out, consider using a normal video vhs recorder to record the sound to, on the hifi track. might be better than a mic,

toad

[redsox_mark]

I suggest 3 models. All have mic inputs, all tape based. The first is DV, the others are High Def HDV:

Panasonic GS500: From £540
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-55...Compare-Prices

Canon HV20: Around £700
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-87...Compare-Prices

Sony HC7: £700+
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-87...Compare-Prices

I know you said you don’t need High Def… but the prices are close enough that I included the HDV models. Note you can also shoot ordinary DV with them as well.

For this task, as you will be making SD DVDs… and as it is also cheaper the Panasonic GS500 is probably the best fit. Looking to the future where High Def will be more common I’d go for the HV20 or HC7.

Originally Posted by redsox_mark

I suggest 3 models. All have mic inputs, all tape based. The first is DV, the others are High Def HDV:

Panasonic GS500: From £540
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-55...Compare-Prices

Canon HV20: Around £700
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-87...Compare-Prices

Sony HC7: £700+
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-87...Compare-Prices

I know you said you don’t need High Def… but the prices are close enough that I included the HDV models. Note you can also shoot ordinary DV with them as well.

For this task, as you will be making SD DVDs… and as it is also cheaper the Panasonic GS500 is probably the best fit. Looking to the future where High Def will be more common I’d go for the HV20 or HC7.

Mark I take a look at the Panasonic GS500 and I like it but.. I 'll tell you what I need and you, if possible, will tell me if that is the best one for my needs.

I'm a professional photographer, photojournalist and a lot of times I miss a videocamera to record some unique moments around the world. So i'm going now to buy a camera.

The most important aspects:
Must be low-weight and small. I already have a lot of things to carry. I want to registe the moment, I don't need professional quality on the video. I don't ant to spend more than the price of the Panasonic GS500, and if there is any one more less expensive that suits my needs, great!
I need a camera to film concerts of 90min-full time. Batteriy! really important! Sometimes i'm away from civilization for a lot of days!
Low-light condition! I want to film at night too!
I think that's all.

And what about panasonic GS320? It's a large difference in price, what about in quality?

Thank you a lot.

[redsox_mark]

Hi,

To the original poster I suggested the GS500 due to the external mic, budget, and quality request.

Your requirement seems different.
The GS500, whilst small compared to camcorders of years ago, is on the large/heavy side for today’s comsumer cams – it weighs in at 570g.

You could save money and weight at the expense of quality by say going to the GS320 (450g) or GS230 (410g). Or for something completely different but sticking with Panasonic, the SD150 which records on to SD memory cards weighs 250g. But it can only record 50 mins to a 4GB card in best quality mode (1 hour 40 min in standard quality).

Cheap option is the Canon MD101 DV model, 375g, costs under £200.

To shoot 90 mins without changing the tape you’ll need to use LP mode on a DV cam.

Or you could look at a HDD cam… Sony SR52 weighs 350g…

With all camcorders there is a choice of different batteries with different running times. Generally the supplied battery will last 1-2 hours, but you can buy ones which will last 4-6 hours or even more. But often the more powerful batteries also add weight…

Originally Posted by redsox_mark

Hi,

To the original poster I suggested the GS500 due to the external mic, budget, and quality request.

Your requirement seems different.
The GS500, whilst small compared to camcorders of years ago, is on the large/heavy side for today’s comsumer cams – it weighs in at 570g.

You could save money and weight at the expense of quality by say going to the GS320 (450g) or GS230 (410g). Or for something completely different but sticking with Panasonic, the SD150 which records on to SD memory cards weighs 250g. But it can only record 50 mins to a 4GB card in best quality mode (1 hour 40 min in standard quality).

Cheap option is the Canon MD101 DV model, 375g, costs under £200.

To shoot 90 mins without changing the tape you’ll need to use LP mode on a DV cam.

Or you could look at a HDD cam… Sony SR52 weighs 350g…

With all camcorders there is a choice of different batteries with different running times. Generally the supplied battery will last 1-2 hours, but you can buy ones which will last 4-6 hours or even more. But often the more powerful batteries also add weight…

- You know Panasonic SD150 and SD10? They differ in +/- 200Eur. I'm trying to see big differences in quality between them but I'm not seeing any. Can you help me on that?

- About the Sony SR52. I like the Idea of having a 30Gb drive but, what about quality? I heard someone saying Mpeg2 is not good cause record with only 640x480 so DV is better.True?

- About SD cards - To photography I need ultra fast cards, but for video I don´t know if there is any need so, Can I buy a normal Sd card or I need a ultra fast Sd Card?

- The canon is at a good price, but what about quality? It's good enough to what I need?

I like Panasonic SD10 cause it's beautifull and smal. I like Panasonic SD150 and GS230 because they appear to have good quality. I like sony because it's high optical zoom and appear to have good quality to. I like Canon because it's high optical zoom and price. So... in your opinion, what would you prefer?

Sorry so many questions but I'm real in serious doubt with so many camcorders to chose.

[redsox_mark]

You know Panasonic SD150 and SD10? They differ in +/- 200Eur. I'm trying to see big differences in quality between them but I'm not seeing any. Can you help me on that?

The SD10 isn’t out yet, at least not here. But they are targetting different markets. The S150 has 3 CCDs, and whilst it records MPEG2 to SD cards, it can compete with decent DV cams on quality. The SD10 has a single chip, and is more geared to the “You Tube generation”. I expect the SD10 won’t match the quality of the S150.

About the Sony SR52. I like the Idea of having a 30Gb drive but, what about quality? I heard someone saying Mpeg2 is not good cause record with only 640x480 so DV is better.True?

True and false. True that in terms of quality for the money, generally you’ll do best with DV today. But – any of the camcorders which record to MPEG2 record at least full PAL spec video 720x576. Also note that the SD memory based cams also use MPEG2… as do DVD based ones. Having said all that – if going for a HDD cam I’d go higher up the range to the SR190.. but then it is a bit bigger…

About SD cards - To photography I need ultra fast cards, but for video I don´t know if there is any need so, Can I buy a normal Sd card or I need a ultra fast Sd Card?

It needs to support 5 MB/sec. See here for details. http://panasonic.jp/support/global/c...nect/s150.html

The canon is at a good price, but what about quality? It's good enough to what I need?

Hard to say.. I don’t know how good you need. It is good quality for the money.

I like Panasonic SD10 cause it's beautifull and smal. I like Panasonic SD150 and GS230 because they appear to have good quality. I like sony because it's high optical zoom and appear to have good quality to. I like Canon because it's high optical zoom and price. So... in your opinion, what would you prefer?

I would’t put much emphasis on the optical zoom. You get the larger optical zoom on modles with smaller sensors (which don’t perform as well as those with larger sensors). Unless you plan to do a lot of tripod work 10x zoom is enough… it’s already hard enough to hold that steady.

Your requirements seem to say you are willing to trade some performance for small size, but you still want good performance, and moderate price. Of all the models discussed I’d go for the S150, or if you don’t mind it being a bit larger (and want it cheaper) the GS230. Quality wise the GS230 and S150 will be similar, so what you are paying for with the S150 is the small size and solid state technology.

Well, I don't want to open a post about this so I ask here.

Anyone knows if panasonic SDR-S150 is compatible with Sd cards with 8gb?
And if is compatible with Sandisk ultra II 8Gb? I tried to search about that but I didn't find anything concern to memory capacity of the camera.
Thanks

[redsox_mark]

The manual doesn't mention 8GB cards (as they didn't exist at the time) but I have seen reports 8 GB cards work (at least some of them).

Originally Posted by redsox_mark

The manual doesn't mention 8GB cards (as they didn't exist at the time) but I have seen reports 8 GB cards work (at least some of them).

Yes, they exist in germany for 64Eur Sandisk ultra II 8gb with card reader so I think it is a good option to use with that camera. I'm going to make the order. Hope it works.

Thanks you were a precious help