[confused&unsure]

hi

i've the same question as MANY...any feeling totally confused, so any advice please!

I am a student looking for a camcorder to make recordings as part of a research project. It'll be indoor recordings, of approx. 5 hours a day (no time in between to be downloading etc). I basically need it for watching back to record observations. The sound needs to be good and the picture decent but not amazing.

I guess I'll use it for travles and family videos too seen as I'll have one!

A shop guy recommended the sony dcr sr35E, and I found the JVC everio in my searches ... recommendation was based on fact i could record up to 20 hrs on the sony, BUT obvioulsy i have discovered the bad reviews about the difficulties / impossibilities in converting .mod files to readable ones (and i'm not technical?!) and the very short battery life...

SO any good opinions on the above camcorders or recommendations for something different?
AND, suggestions for getting around the short battery life...naive question...can I record with the camcorder plugged into the mains?

My budget: up to around £300.

THANKS SO MUCH!

[senu]

You can record with the mains
With your budget and that specific requirement I think you have a fairly narrow shortlist and Im not sure there is a significant PQ difference in most Standard def HDD camcorder within the price range
The mod/mpeg thing is not a universal problem So I wouldnt chose Sony over JVC because of that only.
Suffice to say a little more will get you better quality
You need to be a little careful when the brands are quotiing hrs. available . which quality do they quote?
You may not need BBC quality but below a certain quality you might struggle to see any decent detail at all.

[rhubarbe]

senu, we all know that shop claims and manufacturer figures for shooting times on a HDD always use the very lowest settings. Settings that none in the real world would dream of using.

SD on a solid state cam (like my old SDR-S150) would get 2:40 at highest quality mpeg2 on an 8GB card. 8GB cards now sell for less than £14.

I propose you get an SDHC cam instead of a clumsy HDD equipped one.

[senu]

Originally Posted by rhubarbe

senu, we all know that shop claims and manufacturer figures for shooting times on a HDD always use the very lowest settings. Settings that none in the real world would dream of using.

True hence my warning not to get carried away by the marketing claims

SD on a solid state cam (like my old SDR-S150) would get 2:40 at highest quality mpeg2 on an 8GB card. 8GB cards now sell for less than £14.

I propose you get an SDHC cam instead of a clumsy HDD equipped one.

If his intendeed camcorder can take a 16Gb card and is within budget there is no reason not to consider that option

[daz4590]

i agree, getting an sd card camcorder would be a great idea over hard disk ones. In the long run it will allow you to expand the storage (i.e you could have 3x 16gb cards) so you won't just be stuck with the internal memory.

oh and also their battery life is normally longer as there are less/no moving parts.

[rhubarbe]

Originally Posted by senu

True hence my warning not to get carried away by the marketing claims


If his intendeed camcorder can take a 16Gb card and is within budget there is no reason not to consider that option

16GB Transcend SDHC £26 on Amazon Marketplace today.