[silverpuma]

Hi, I'm after a decent camcorder for the usual birthdays/Christmas etc and perhaps some you tube I'm not after the cutting edge best just a good piece of kit for less than £150 , less than £100 would be even better

• Needs to be small enough or I'll end uo not using it.
• easy to transfer from camcorder (CC) to computer and play on 42" plasma
• image stability - for my shaky hands

I am thinking about the Pan SDR-S7 mainly because its small and the SD card looks an easy way for transfers etc. or even the Flip.

I don't want to overspend on something I don't really need so any advice would help. Are the Pan and Filp good contenders or is there any others I should consider?

Thanks...........

[senu]

Samsung MX20
However image stability is EIS and you will need to adapt a human monopod/tripod posture
Ill do a little write up on it tommorow if you can wait for that with a little you tube sample to see

Otherwise a MiniDv tape model like Canon MD235.. No avoiding the firewire to PC thing though

[silverpuma]

Originally Posted by senu

Samsung MX20
However image stability is EIS and you will need to adapt a human monopod/tripod posture
Ill do a little write up on it tommorow if you can wait for that with a little you tube sample to see

Otherwise a MiniDv tape model like Canon MD235.. No avoiding the firewire to PC thing though

Thank you for the speedy reply and helpful info Senu and I'll look forward to read what you have to say. I had looked at the MD235 so I must get out my ruler and check the sizes or better still perhaps a trip to jessops to see the difference in size tomorrow.

Is the firewire thing complicated? Its just if I do want to you tube some of my recordings for family to see and if its a lot of things to do I'll probably put it off.........toooooooooo long Is it difficult to go from the format the MD235 uses to DVD so I can play the recordings on my plasma?

One last question do I need to check for the pic ratio thingy 16:9 so I can play fullscreen on the plasma? Sorry for all the basic questions and thanks again for your patience and help

[senu]

Originally Posted by silverpuma

Is the firewire thing complicated?

Not if you have the relevant cables and sockets
It is real time though ie 10 min footage takes 10 min to transfer

Its just if I do want to you tube some of my recordings for family to see and if its a lot of things to do I'll probably put it off.........toooooooooo long

Incidentally for 10min of You tube it wont take more than 20-25 min max to convert. However the MX20 format is You tube ready an can be on You Tube within minutes of taking the footage because no conversion is involved and transfer is drag and drop by USB

Is it difficult to go from the format the MD235 uses to DVD so I can play the recordings on my plasma?

No Once on the PC it is usually straight forward with the right software. It is a bit time consuming though but one usually justs get it going and leaves the PC to do other things (sometimes overnight for longer projects) . For those who want instant results, using a settop DVD recorder is a useful gadget

One last question do I need to check for the pic ratio thingy 16:9 so I can play fullscreen on the plasma?

No if it doesnt record in wide screen ( and it should unless specificlly stated notto) your TV can scale it anyway

[Mhoram]

I looked on this thread yesterday as I wanted a £150 camcorder.

After spending all day yesterday reading up on camcorders, then spending time up at currys getting them demoed side by side - Senu is (as ever) correct.

Get the Samsung. For £150 you can't go wrong. Quality of picture much better than the Panasonic, feels better (imho) to hold as well. Add to that the zoom and battery life it becomes a no brainer.

I'm sure HD camera's give much better quality, but I got 2 HD tv's and Sky HD and the last time I watched anything on HD was oooh 4 months ago.

Main lesson learnt of course is instead of wasting the best part of 8 hours reading up on all this stuff myself - just get whatever Senu recommends buy

Although, joking aside, nice to actaully hold the camera for yourself and see if you like it.