Hi there,

I am hoping you guys may be able to help me out and point me the right direction

I am in the market for a camcorder up to about £400. I would like it to be High definition. It will primarily be used for indoors, kids parties,xmas etc. I have issues with my stills camera indoors becuase its quite dark so will need something that will sort this automaticly. I guess what i really need is camera without to many bells and whistles that does the lion share of the work without me having to remember to change settings every five minutes.

I am unsure of format but the im thinking of downloading to my PC to edit/burn to disc.

I have seen this and it looks good but a bit pricey for me is there a slightly cheaper alternative?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Apologies as i know these questions get asked lots but i havent a clue where to start / search for the information im after.

Many Thanks

[Andy98765]

Here is a pile of reviews for you http://www.steves-digicams.com/digvideo.html

[senu]

The one you have linked is very good for the money ( especially the one quoted) even though it is more than your budget ( but then peace of mind with " ..'er indoors " doesn't have a price tag does it? )
It is a tape based model , therefore the transfer is real time to PC. Your PC will need to have fire wire and a big hard drive.
However for these apparent " disadvantages" you get the best for bang in quality and maturity of format
The Hard Disc Drive based High def models do not cost any less. With them you generally only need USB, transfer of footage is faster, quality is arguably similar , and you don't need as large an HDD, and dont require tapes
But unlike tape models, playing, and editing footage is harder ( requires a higher spec PC) archiving... you don't have the tape as a little cheap archive, and currently the range of editing/playback options are more limited. This also applies to models which record HD to memory card

In terms of ease of use, Both types can be used in "Point and shoot mode" ..also with both, you get better low light performance at the higher end of price range.

The manual controls are there to help, not hinder you.. Mastering them will make you have more control over how the video looks in the more challenging shooting conditions ensuring you are not at the mercy of the camcorders electronics
Good luck

[redsox_mark]

The Canon HV10 is a bit cheaper than the HV20. The HV20 is better, but the HV10 is very good.
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/8-68...-Prices?q=hv10

[rhubarbe]

Prices for the HV10 seem to have climbed recently, on both sides of the pond. Did anybody else notice?

Thanks for the advice guys so far guys, i think i am swaying towards a unit that doesn't have a tape just for ease of use in transferring to PC.

I am going to read up the reviews on the
HV10
HV20

I will probably post a question or two on them. Are there any similar quality units in the £400 range?

Thanks

[JH4]

I agonised for ages whether to go for a hard drive or tape based HD storage camcorder. Finally went for the DV tape version as this just gives unlimited storage if you record a lot of material. A hard drive will always fill up and have to be transferred to PC at some point. DV tapes will store OK for years.

[rhubarbe]

Originally Posted by blueslinky

Thanks for the advice guys so far guys, i think i am swaying towards a unit that doesn't have a tape just for ease of use in transferring to PC.

I am going to read up the reviews on the
HV10
HV20

I will probably post a question or two on them. Are there any similar quality units in the £400 range?

Thanks

No, the HV10 is the best value of any (non-toy) HD cam right now. Bear in mind that when it first appeared on shelves over here last October, it retailed at £1300.

Both of the Canons are tape based HDV cams....

The process of uploading to a PC onlt has to be done once, and then it'll be on your PC same as the files from any other HDD or card based cam.

[senu]

Originally Posted by blueslinky

Thanks for the advice guys so far guys, i think i am swaying towards a unit that doesn't have a tape just for ease of use in transferring to PC.

Transfer to PC is , as has been said a one off. After that there is no difference to HDD or card format, if anything thereafter there are advantages
Propagating its "difficulty" is an HDD camcorder marketeers dream, in reality it isn't a big deal and there are other advantages which outweigh the fact that it is real time.. it isn't difficult at all, just more time consuming to capture

I will probably post a question or two on them. Are there any similar quality units in the £400 range

No

[rhubarbe]

Cheapest regular shop (I'd trust) I have seen an HV10 was at B&H PhotoVideo in NYC. Including shipping it weighs in at $700, or about £410, but the VAT on top kind of spoils the party. Oh, and it's the NTSC model.

Shame really.

Guys,

Many thanks for your advice and suggestions. I have read some reviews and now like the look of the Canon HV10. A little more than i was looking to spend but i want quality and not a toyish unit that wont perfom after i have learned the basics. I think the HV 10 fits the bill.

A few questions, remember never had a camcorder so please be gentle

Regarding moving the images from the camera/ tape to pc.


I am assuming its done by firewire? I would want to burn all the video footage on DVD.
Are the tapes like the ones from years ago that fit in bigger tapes to go into video players? (Noob question that one i think)

Lastly my lounge is quite dark and on my current digital camera the shots always come out dark. I have read this camcorder works ok under low light situations but this for me i guess is the most important factor as low light shots are real pain when you look back at footage. Will this baby be ok in low light?(i dont live in a cave by the way)

Guys your advice so far has been awesome and you would make an AV novice very happy if you could help me out one more time.

Thanks

[redsox_mark]

I am assuming its done by firewire? I would want to burn all the video footage on DVD.

Yes, transfer is using Firewire.

Are the tapes like the ones from years ago that fit in bigger tapes to go into video players? (Noob question that one i think)

No… those were VHS-C tapes. These are DV/HDV tapes.

Lastly my lounge is quite dark and on my current digital camera the shots always come out dark. I have read this camcorder works ok under low light situations but this for me i guess is the most important factor as low light shots are real pain when you look back at footage. Will this baby be ok in low light?(i dont live in a cave by the way)

While some are slightly better than others, all camcorders will struggle in low light. Simply turning on as many lights in the room as you can will help; using a dedicated video light will help more (though the baby may not like it so much).

[senu]

Originally Posted by blueslinky

Regarding moving the images from the camera/ tape to pc.

I am assuming its done by firewire? I would want to burn all the video footage on DVD.

Yes ..firewire is the way as Mark has said,
However "Burning to DVD " to create a video disc involves more than just copying the video files as data files to a DVD-R/+R .
You would ( whether you edit or not) use software which will turn the files from the way they come from camcorder to PC ( DV AVI (SD)or m2t (HDV) to the universal format for DVD video ( mpeg2), readable by all DVD players
This is only as complicated as you want it to be.. for the most part it is a simple process and your editing software combined with a DVD burner on the PC deal with that in the background

Are the tapes like the ones from years ago that fit in bigger tapes to go into video players? (Noob question that one i think)

Apart from being DV/HDV tapes ( and dimensions almost half the size of VHS-C or Video 8) recording to them is digital and intrinsic quality of the format is far better. The fact of being tape still often connotes an "old fashioned" format. This isn't the case

Lastly my lounge is quite dark and on my current digital camera the shots always come out dark.

As stated above all camcorders like ( actually.. no, love ) better light. Even if the camcorder is said to have good lowlight performance, this is often only in comparison to other similarly specified camcorders.. The human eye ( and brain) is far better at compensating for low light as your digital Still camera demonstrates.
This is even more glaring for video where low light results in grainy ("noise" laden) footage at best or even worse,nothing to see!

You may not be able to do much about it at night ( apart from avoid shooting in obviously dim ("ambience" type ) lighting).. During the day taking advantage of sunlight is to be recommended....
Also as with the digital still, , ironically shooting directly at a very bright scene ( like a Sunny window) can result in dark video

[rhubarbe]

And there are always the manual controls. Slow down that shutter speed to 1/25th and you'll let in more light. Babies don't tend to move too fast so you should be OK.

Guys i have decided i am going to get a HV10 based on advice, great reviews and a wife with a rolling pin.

Many Thanks

Danny

[rhubarbe]

Turn down the cam audio volume when you get it. May be called AGC or something like that. The mic on the HV10 is very sensitive and it picks up tape noise on the default setting (which is way too high). Just turn it down and you'll be fine.

just ordered the HV10.

thanks guys

Hi Guys,

What tapes would you recommend to be used with the Canon HV10 ?

Thanks

[rhubarbe]

These: Sony Premium

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-60min-P...655875-4258000

You are a star!

Many Thanks