[robo989]

hi.
i'm looking for a camcorder to come travelling with me soon. i was thinking of a hybrid one with a hard drive of min. 30GB and at least 30x optical zoom.
it is important that the display is clearly visible in bright sunlight (and dark?) as well as a compact size. also i would prefer if it had the option to ajust the settings manually.
and are there any good ones with a waterproof housing available out there?high def isn't a must and if possible with a prizetag under £300.
don't ask for much, do i?
can someone with experience help me, please!

[robo989]

bump

[A n d r e w]

I can't think of anything with 30x optical zoom. Camcorder optical zooms are normally 10x, at most 12x. After that it's digital zoom, with varied results. But 10x is quite a lot - better than a lot of budget digital stills cameras.

Waterproof housings are generally made by third parties. I can't offer any more help with that except to suggest that the lack of replies might be because no one who owns a consumer camcorder with a waterproof housing frequents this forum. They're expensive. I doubt you'd get a decent camcorder and a housing for your target price.

For £350 you could look at the Panasonic HDC-SD5 (Amazon price) which records in high definition to SD card. Hybrid cameras are usually another £100 on top.

Under £300 . . . perhaps something in the JVC Everio range, though my experience with them is that the video quality isn't great. Under £300 you'd be looking at standard definition. You'd still have to factor in a housing on top of that. At around the £300 mark you'll get superior video quality, even among standard definition offerings, from miniDV cameras recording to tape rather than harddrive / hybrid cameras.

LCD screens aren't always successful in bright daylight. Viewfinders have been disappearing from consumer camcorders faster than you can say "I can't see a damn thing here" in the interests of reducing size and weight.

Also, consider how you intend to view / edit your video. What kind of computer / DVD burner etc. you already own has to be part of the equation.

Andrew.

[willc111]

Originally Posted by robo989

at least 30x optical zoom

You sure about that? It would have to look like this...

http://www.engadget.com/2004/06/24/30x-zoom-digital-camera/

...not very travel friendly

[shoehorn]

For waterproofing look here!
It depends on how deep/waterproof you want things I guess!
I've used an EWA marine jacket with great success for snorkelling with one of my handycams!

[shoehorn]

There's a few 30x optical zooms about too...
Google is your friend here....
click!