[Mhoram]

Hi

I'm very new to this part of the forums, I don't know anything about camcorders.

We have a baby due in a couple of months and I need to buy the obligatory camcorder to capture 'those special moments'

I have a couple of HD TV's and thought it would be nice to get a nice HD camcorder.

Comet have a Toshiba GSC-K80HE for £299 (reduced from £499 if they are to be believed) is this is decent enough camcorder for family outing type videos ?

Is there something glaringly wrong with it?

Should I spend my money on something else ?

Would spending a (little) more money get my something far better ?

Thanks in advance guys.

Andrew

[rhubarbe]

Yes. I'm not sure if they are still doing it but Amazon were selling the Panasonic HDC-SD5 for £350. That's a much better camcorder.

And Amazon do free delivery.

[senu]

This post is more of an opinion than anything else so anyone feel free to disagree

Truthfully I would be wary ("Comet only" stock also has that effect on me)
The lower selling price may have nothing to do with the quality, Im pretty sure its a slow moving item
80Gb HDD high Def for this price is almost too good to be true

It is a 720p model ( doesnt say 50i or 60I) ( many now have 1080p) although 1080i is OK
Numbers aside there are far too few reviews on it: User and industry for me to be comfortable with
And
Although I would happily buy a Toshiba Laptop: After the HD-DVD fiasco where they were innovative but wouldn't carry it through I would not get any AV kit apart from a standard HDTV from them personally

Look at Canon , Sony Panasonic models
Be aware that although tape is kind of on its way out , it is by no means dead
SD card and HDD are in vogue and they come in Standard and Hi def models
The Hi def need a fairly decent PC to play back the clips and unless you have a PS3, playback is limited to your PC or playing of the Camcorder to your TV
In short there is nothing glaringly wrong with the Toshiba and for £300 it looks good but I would spend a liitle bit more and try something, perhaps better known
It would seem to be a very good SD model though , just on specs

PS: Dont pay any attention to the Pink bubbly one: He works for Panasonic: Just kidding
He has perhaps expressed my sentiments in a less long winded way

[smilingcrow]

Originally Posted by senu

Truthfully I would be wary ("Comet only" stock also has that effect on me)

Comet are wrong as it’s widely available.
Lasky’s have it for £289 but there’s a code for Comet which brings it down further - AWCAMC15

[JazzyB]

Originally Posted by smilingcrow

Comet are wrong as it’s widely available.
Lasky’s have it for £289 but there’s a code for Comet which brings it down further - AWCAMC15

Just a quick note that Laskys are an online Comet brand/company.

[Shidoishi]

Hi There,

I don't know much about camcorders...

I once brought a Fuji finepix camera on a whim and I have never looked back at the decision... it was an amazing buy.

Similarly I went out on a whim and brought a Tosh camcorder (KH80E... oops!

Stay away from the Tosh, it comes with high blood pressure for free.

I brought one yesterday from Comet, thought it was a fantastic deal... as you do.

Took it home, was very impressed with the image quality and ease of use.

Captured my daughters first birthday.

Uploaded the movie to the PC... this is where the trouble started.

It's fine when playing back on the camera's LCD screen, it's fine when playing back on the TV with the supplied leads... when playing back on the laptop, the playback was so jerky it was nausiating. Even when you copy the files from the camcorder using the supplied software, to watch them locally... no improvement.


I spent the best part of the night trying to understand what the issue was to no joy.

I though it may have been the computer? but luckily my comp is pretty powerful, so that wasn't the issue. I watch bluray movies from my HDD on a second screen while desgining in adobe on the other and I have never had an issue... so I couldn't understand what was going on here. Even tried various mp4 players... no joy.

Finally spoke to COMET and they said it may be a camcorder software issue and it's not unknown... come in for a refund or exchange - Which was very nice of them.

So, I brought the SONY DCR-SR35E and it's much better. In all honesty, the HD quality of the Tosh is almost as comparable to the non-HD technology of the Sony. Plus more record time, more features, more zoom, cheaper, more maneagable... and it fits snuggly in the liliputian case I brought from Comet for the Tosh... in which only the Tosh could fit... with no leads or accessories fitting.. mad or what!

The rave for the HD technology is understandable, but I'd wait until the technology is robust enough and common enough to not have you pulling out your hair while kindly ironing out the bugs for the manufacturers

So... stay away from the Tosh... Go with Sony or Panasonic.

If you want to spend a little extra (twice as much to be fair!), their top of the range Sony is a really nice cam with night / IR vision (for all you UFO hunters - it's a steal.)

Hope that helps... there's nothing like losing valuable footage.

Also, if you see a cam you like online and comet have the same camera, take a print out of the price and site and Comet should offer to match it.

Good hunting.

[Lord Jerec]

I recently purchased the K80HE and so far I'm very happy with it.

Its versatile, has good recording time, its user friendsly and simple, plus an 80gb HDD and its 720p which is handy as my Tv is only 720p too.

All videos I've recorded play perfectly on my Laptop and my Telly.

I paid £270 for it after discounts and cashback earned and for that price I can't believe anyone can knock it.

Yes of course there are better cameras, but for someone that really won't be using it for anything other then filming the kid growing up and on holidays, day trips etc this is perfect.

I'd personally look at how serious you are about filming and that sort of thing, if like me you are just a casual user, then I'd say take a chance with this, if your proper into that sort of thing, buy something else.

[Matt.Wild]

Comet specs say this isn't a widescreen 16:9 ratio lens. I take it does actually record in widescreen since 1280x720 is 16:9 if my maths is right....