[jwoodmor]

All,

It would appear that, due to the birth of our daughter, I need a camcorder fairly urgently. I know nothing about them other than you can spend as much money as you want and record in a multitude of formats.

We are currently using a friends Sony HCR35(?) - its miniDV and it works fine, but once we give it back, I'm stuck with a bunch of tapes that I can't watch! This does not necessarily mean that I want to buy a miniDV camcorder as I can get the 2 or 3 tapes we've doen converted, but it does highlight a potential issue (for me) with the format.

As much as I'd love to say that I'll edit any footage I get into a wonderful documentary, I just don't see me having the time to sit down for hours and plough through it all. That said, it would be nice to have the option at a later date.

In short - I don't want good value for money (not necesarily cheap!), good media pricing and availability, a stable format platform, good reliability, ease of use, small and light.

Where do I go from here? I think I first need to narrow down to a format and then go from there, but I don't know the relative merits of each one.

What shoudl I be looking for?

Can anyone help

[redsox_mark]

This post gives one summary of the formats and their pros/cons
What camcorder media??

Pretty much all today's models are small, light, easy to use. Media is cheap. Assuming you want to keep your footage you do need to think about backup and media even with a media free format like a HDD cam.

What that post only mentions is High Def vs. Standard Def. If your budget allows it (£600 up) I recommend going High Def.... then you have the same choice of media, though the formats are slightly different.

[boothie]

Hi Mark, Im going out of my mind and round in ever increasing circles as to whether to plump for Hi-Def or not! My concern is I cant seem to get a sensible and concise answer from anyone as to how easy it is to transfer footage from camcorder to pc, then onto disc to play as a regular dvd!

At the moment I have just a standard dvd player. Could it be worth me buying a middle of the road hdd camcorder like the DCR-SR190E, or DCR-SR52E and wait until technology/media catches up in a couple of years, and then buy a hi def camera? I dont want to buy a hidef camera, and not be able to view the footage easily?

Hope someone can help me!!

[jetinder]

If you got minidv tapes of preciouse memorys only way see them is to get a minidv camcorder.

I've got JVC GRD770 mini dv camcorder which i feel is better than the Sony HC35 or 45 but thats how i feel.

If your happy with the Sony HC35 buy a new one or get the Sony HC45.

[senu]

Originally Posted by boothie

Hi Mark, Im going out of my mind and round in ever increasing circles as to whether to plump for Hi-Def or not!

Why. Those of us already with Hi def camcorders are enjoying them today without "sweating the small stuff" about tomorrow. The User base for HDV and tape based HD is high enough to reassure one that at the worst they will coexist side by side with AVDHC or yet another format

My concern is I cant seem to get a sensible and concise answer from anyone as to how easy it is to transfer footage from camcorder to pc, then onto disc to play as a regular dvd!

Oh I see
It is easy. Who have you asked here?
HDV camcorders can downcovert to SD for capture to PC via firewire. The footage is edited and turned to DVD with readily available software and a bit of know how
Now..(there is no escaping that little learning curve but I assure you it is not rocket science.
You could also get a settop DVD recorder and transfer the footage to it to make a DVD if you want to bypass the PC .
It is simple and we discuss it here all the time

At the moment I have just a standard dvd player. Could it be worth me buying a middle of the road hdd camcorder like the DCR-SR190E, or DCR-SR52E and wait until technology/media catches up in a couple of years, and then buy a hi def camera?

You could do that but you would miss out on recording and viewing today's events in Hi Def and there is no way of predicting technological trends as the camcorder technology direction is far from focused ( pun unintended) . Unlike with miniDV and DVD there is a move to HDD Hidef and flash memory format with little interest in a domestic equivalent of DVD ( for Hi def) . As such the PS3, Xbox 360, Hd Dvd players and HTPCs have assumed an intermediate role in Hi def playback

I dont want to buy a hidef camera, and not be able to view the footage easily?

You can always play it off the camcorder.. If you edit HDV you can print it back to tape fairly easily

[redsox_mark]

Senu has covered it well. Go for HD if you can, you have nothing to lose and much to gain.

[rhubarbe]

Originally Posted by jetinder

If you got minidv tapes of preciouse memorys only way see them is to get a minidv camcorder.

I've got JVC GRD770 mini dv camcorder which i feel is better than the Sony HC35 or 45 but thats how i feel.

If your happy with the Sony HC35 buy a new one or get the Sony HC45.

Not really. He could borrow the thing back again and firewire the footage across to a PC and then burn some DVD's. Or he could get his friend to do it. Or he could decide that he wants an HDD cam, or a DVD cam (ugh), or even a memory card cam, and just buy a cheapo second hand camcorder on eBay to play the few tapes he has.

Or he could even do a "reconstruction" when he gets his new cam....

Possibilities are endless, I should say.