Camcorder Advice £300-£400

[onlydjw]

Through a combination of birthday and Christmas presents, I have around £300 to £400 to spend on a new camcorder (my old one seems to be starting to play up), and is now 6 years old. Basically, I've read about the first 3 pages of topics, and am confused. One of the things I can't get my head around is what to record onto (ie SD, HDD, tape, DVD etc).

Most of what I record is moving. Although I sometimes use a tripod, not always. Mostly outside, and sometimes at night (usually partially lit up at least).

Any advice appreciated.

[ukbandit]

i would suggest you seriously consider stretching a bit, get the CAnon HF100, curently 474 from Amazon, but there is £50 cashback from canon, bringing it down to 424

you will however need some SDHC, but you can get 8gb for a tenner giving you full HD resolution. if your not interested in full HD recording, lower class cards will allow you to record AFAIK.

i was in the same position, and decided on the HF100. you can never be future proof, but you need to look at how long its gonna last. if your going to have a HD TV in thenext 5 years, you should consider a HD camcorder, or you'll spend all your time looking at graining

[Tyler Durden]

What about the Panasonic SD9, currenlty available for just about £300, with discount codes and cashback.

Would that tick all the boxes?

[FISHGUTS]

Originally Posted by Tyler Durden

What about the Panasonic SD9, currenlty available for just about £300, with discount codes and cashback.

Would that tick all the boxes?

Where is that at?
Cheapest I Can find is £355 from Dixons

[Tyler Durden]

Panasonic HDCSD9EB-S Camcorder Full Hd 1080p Sd Card Slot | EmpireDirect.co.uk Electrical Appliances

Use EQ5122 promo code for 10% off, and Quidco for 2% off. Then £50 cash back.

[A n d r e w]

Pretty sure the £50 offer applies to in-store purchases only, not online ones.

Andrew.

[FISHGUTS]

So did I

[Tyler Durden]

ED do have stores, I am sending Panasonic an email asking for confirmation that the cash back offer includes online purchases from ED. The ED stores are available on the "find a dealer" pages on the Panasonic site.

[FISHGUTS]

Originally Posted by Tyler Durden

ED do have stores, I am sending Panasonic an email asking for confirmation that the cash back offer includes online purchases from ED. The ED stores are available on the "find a dealer" pages on the Panasonic site.

Please can you post on the reply you receive.

[Tyler Durden]

I will do, but nothing has come back yet.

I would be suprised if the didn't just put the claim forms in all the boxes at the factory rather than sorting out which are to be sold in store and which will go online.

[A n d r e w]

The wording of the Terms & Conditions is pretty clear on the fact that it's only in-store purchases, made immediately pursuant to an in-store demonstration, that qualify:

1. See a demonstration in-store today of a qualifying Panasonic Full-HD Camcorder (HDC-HS100, HDC-SD100, HDC-HS9, HDC-SD9) to qualify for £50 cashback plus FREE 3 Year Warranty (1 year manufacturer’s warranty plus 2 years), should you purchase a qualifying product during the promotional period.

2. Promotional period covers purchases made between 1st November 2008 and 31st December 2008. Please complete the form overleaf to verify that you have seen an in-store product demonstration and purchased a qualifying product directly after that demonstration. Only purchases made in-store and at the time of demonstration qualify.

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_G...l#anker_852020

I'm happy to be wrong about this, but won't hold my breath.

[Tyler Durden]

Hmmm, that does seem pretty conclusive, however I would suggest that they wouldn't have anyway of knowing or checking whether you did those things.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by Tyler Durden

Hmmm, that does seem pretty conclusive, however I would suggest that they wouldn't have anyway of knowing or checking whether you did those things.

...except for the bit that the retailer has to fill out to say that you did. Not sure how you could swing that if you purchased online. But still, you could give it a go. For all I know they might not even care - but that seems unlikely as this promotion has all the hallmarks of being meant to support bricks-and-mortar dealers rather than online stores.

[Tyler Durden]

Just got this from Panasonic:

Originally Posted by Email

Text : I am interested in buying a Panasonic HDCSD9EB-S and have found the best price
to be from Empire Direct. Can you confirm that if I was to buy on line from
them that I would qualify for the current £50 cash back special offer. Thanks

ISSUE RESOLUTION: Dear Mr Morfill,

Thank you for your email regarding the Panasonic warranty.

In response the standard warranty is for 1 year, however we are running a promotion where there is an offer to redeem a 3 year warranty and £50 cashback with Panasonic on selected HD camcorders and cameras.

To clarify, the criteria of this promotion, is that a qualifying product must be purchased in-store, during the specified time scale and from those retailers taking part in the scheme.

You would then receive a stamped application form to send to Panasonic along with a copy of the purchase receipt.

A purchase made on-line would not meet the above criteria and would therefore not qualify.

Please see the links below for full terms and conditions and a list of participating retailers:
Camcorder
Panasonic - ideas for life - Every Moment Matters - 3 Year Camcorder Warranty

G1 camera
Panasonic - ideas for life - Lumix G1 Dealer Locator

I trust that this information is of assistance to you. Of course if you should have any further queries related to the extended warranty promotion please do not hestitate to contact us by email to customer.care@panasonic.co.uk or by telephone on 01344 706723. Please note that this line deals specifically with the administration of the extended warranties. For general queries please contact the Panasonic Customer Care Centre on 0844 844 3852.

Best regards
Extended Warranty Team

So I guess that's that.

[paulcollins10]

how about if you went into a store like Comet, had the demo and then went back and bought it online with a collect in store from the same store you had the demo?? think that would qualify??

Also, anyone know why it seems Currys/Dixons have the all black (more appealing looking IMO) model and everyone else sells the silver and black?

Many Thanks