[Adders21]

Hi All,
Well you've probably guesd that the baby wont be using the camcorder!
I need a camcorder for under £400.
Widescreen, excellent low light, decent stills, image stabiliser, simple to operate ie I wont be filming a movie on it! and would like one that records to a hard disk.

Can anyone help I've been looking for weeks and seem to get more confused.

Thank you for reading.

[senu]

Originally Posted by Adders21

Can anyone help I've been looking for weeks and seem to get more confused.

.

Why so ..?? If you are not aiming for Hi def and avoid the lower cost models you should have a few to chose from

The easiest thing would be to make a shortlist from the Sony and JVC models ( mainly) which fit aorund your budget and then post them here for comments
Panasonic seem to prefer SD cards but if they had an HDD model it would be well worth considering too. The HDR 250 is a hybrid whic does both HDD and card and it sound very good and just about fits your budget
What is less certain is how well they fit your specifications of Excellent low light and decent stills
Widescreen is almost a defacto standard now and all AFAIK are easy to operate
All have image stabilisation as well some have optical( better) and others electronic
The point about actually stating a few is so that user personal experience on here as well as respected reviews can be used to help you chose, and not rely on just what the manufacturers spec sheets say

[Adders21]

Hi, Thanks for the advice.

Ok here we go.
I've had a good look at 2 JVC HDD camcorders
GZMG275EK
GZMG575EK
Apart from price the 575 offers higher still resolutions and a cam light

I have also looked at 2 Panasonic Mini DV camcorders
NVGS230EBS
NVGS330EBS
I looked at these as they offer 3CDD as oppse to the HDD JVC camcorders which don't. Again there is price difference trade of with higher speck.

When I first started looking for a camcorder I decided I wanted one which recorderd to HDD for ease of transfering to a PC. Are the Mini DV camcorders user friendly for this operation? As I'm now swayed to buying one with a 3 CDD for better low light and image quality. I do find it frustrating when some manufacturers don't state the minimum lux. A non 3CDD HDD product may well perform excellent in low light but finding one isn't easy.

Have any members used or own any of the above cams and can offer any imput.

[senu]

The HDD camcorders do offer ease of transfer to PC.. and speed as well. they also offer the use of clips for quick location of scenes
The other advantage is that a lot of the time the clips are "dvd ready"
You never need tapes and you get more than 60-90 mins recording time

The disadvantage is that in terms of quality of video, they often never match tape at the same price point, editing ( if desired) is more likely to result in further degradation of Video quality,
HDD camcorders also have not as good low light and fast movt handling (especially panning: which TBH you shouldn't do!!)
Tape camcorders need tapes. The transfer to PC with a firewire equipped PC is fairly straightforward but happens in real time and takes up 13Gb per hr
The advantage is that you do get better quality which editing does not degrade
You also get to control how you get to DVD although it isnt instantaneous

Saying all that Im a "tape" person( at heart) but am trying to be totally impartial hence the apparent bias towards HDD.
Im not at all enamoured with JVCs ( or indeed any Brands) Budget HDD range .but that is really very much a personal opinion

3CCD usually has the promise of better colour not better low light. It is good marketing strategy when it work but be aware that there ae single CCD or CMOS camcorders which do similar colour but better low light.
Dont be swayed by paper specs
However it is not in doubt that Panasoonic do make good camcorders regardless of the technology used

[Adders21]

Has anyone used the JVC GZMG275EK camcorder?

Is it useable in low light? ie could I get decent results videoing in the house perhaps under artificial light?

I've found this website that might help:

http://www.babyshopping101.com/memories.htm

It has a description of what to look for when purchasing a camera for babies.

[koolpc]

Congratulations on the good news of a new baby!! All the best mate.

[senu]

Originally Posted by Adders21

Has anyone used the JVC GZMG275EK camcorder?

Is it useable in low light? ie could I get decent results videoing in the house perhaps under artificial light?

The perhaps more pocket friendly JVC Everios I used I wouldnt recommend ( more so fo indord lowlight ) but this model seems to be better rated
see

http://www.reevoo.com/reviews/mpn/jv...?sort_by=worst

[mmace]

this thread's been dragged up from Feb, I'm assuming he has the camera by now. If you haven't then I would say go Hi-def or regret it in the future

[redsox_mark]

Originally Posted by Duckster

I've found this website that might help:

http://www.babyshopping101.com/memories.htm

It has a description of what to look for when purchasing a camera for babies.

This quote from there amused me slightly:

"If you find a camera that list 3CCD's in the product discription, you can be sure you will get camera that can shoot extremly clear pictures"

[rhubarbe]

Odd chaps, the Yanks, don't you think? They leave letters out of nearly every word you can think of and then stick and entirely redundant "e" on the end of lens.

[A n d r e w]

I like the suggestion that one should get as many shots of baby crying as possible.

Picture this:

Baby is crying. Bleary-eyed, you just manage to wipe enough sleep away to make out the clock.

2:30am. Core blimey, you've only had 90 minutes' sleep!

What to do?

You're already awake. Get up and feed baby?

No.

Ignore baby and try to get some more sleep?

No.

Crank up that "3CCD's" camcorder with its extremely clear pictures, and get cracking on those home vids!

Now distribute on DVD (it's so easy even baby could do it!) and let friends and family share your joy!

Nice.

[milkmanchris]

Camcorder for new baby

A friend of mine had a baby last weekend, its a massive culture shock for a 40 year old he tells me.

I think he would take the OP up on the offer, depending on the condition of the cam of course

[senu]

Originally Posted by rhubarbe

Odd chaps, the Yanks, don't you think? They leave letters out of nearly every word you can think of and then stick and entirely redundant "e" on the end of lens.

Careful..
Who would think Leicester and Lester sound the same?

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by senu

Who would think Leicester and Lester sound the same?

What? You mean it's not pronounced "Lie-Chester"?

No.

Way!

[Adders21]

Hi All,

Yes I do now have a cam corder and yes I do wish I had bought Hi Def! Why? so I can get a better playback on my TV. I bought a Sony DCR-SR190. Happy with it overall just wish I had gone for a Hi Def.

Cheers
Ian