Camcorder advice needed...

[Jay McLaughlin]

I'm a photographer and often video my photoshoots and put together short videos for YouTube.....

http://uk.youtube.com/user/JMPhotographer


Anyway, until now I've been using a cheapo JVC GR-D225EK MiniDV camcorder. With YouTube going HD, it's starting to really look poor.

As this is only for YouTube I don't really want to spend much money, so I don't want anything fancy. Is it worth getting a cheap HD camcorder or a better quality SD camcorder? What are my options?

[glesgaguyav]

Something like this might do for broacast video on Youtube
Surely too good to be true?

[Jay McLaughlin]

I was looking at that. My local camera shop have the Practica in store. I just wanted to know if it was going to be worth it or if a good SD camcorder was a better option

[A n d r e w]

A tough question, which only someone who has seen native footage from the Practika and compared it with a similarly-priced standard def camera can answer definitively. As a photographer you no doubt understand that resolution isn't everything, and "Full HD" usually just means 1920x1080 pixels, and is not synonymous with "good optics" or "big sensor" or "high quality image processing."

I'm making an edjumicated guess because I've never seen the Practika let alone compared its output with another camcorder, but I'd say that unless you're willing to spend around £400 or more, you'll not see much improvement over what you're presently using.

Could be wrong though.

Andrew.

EDIT: Google tells me the JVC has a single 1/6" CCD - plenty of room for improvement there. The Practika has a 1/2.5" (I think that means 2/5" but whatever!) CMOS. The numbers suggest that the Practika will be better for shooting indoors. In conjunction with the pixel count this suggests it could well be noticeably sharper than the JVC.

[Jay McLaughlin]

Thanks

Yeah I realise that unless I shell out big money I won't get Blu-ray quality, but then that's not what I'm after.

I was looking at the Full HD on the basis that it's 1080p and I probably won't need any more than 720p so even if it's not the best, it should be pretty good when downscaled.

The main thing is that I want something with a bigger and better sensor than the JVC I'm currently using.

[Jay McLaughlin]

Also, I rarely zoom. I tend to shoot with a single focal length for each shot, and put the camera where I need it, rather than zoom in and out all the time.

[kille911]

I have a JVC HD-3U and I haven't had any problems with image quality or sharpness. If your really wanting a good quality inexpensive HD camera I would recomend looking at JVC or Sony.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by Jay McLaughlin

The main thing is that I want something with a bigger and better sensor than the JVC I'm currently using.

The Praktica appears to have the biggest slice of sensor real estate you can buy for that money. There's also the Samsung HMX20C which used to be a steal but has shot up in price in the last fortnight, or the Canon HF100.

[Jay McLaughlin]

Originally Posted by A n d r e w

The Praktica appears to have the biggest slice of sensor real estate you can buy for that money. There's also the Samsung HMX20C which used to be a steal but has shot up in price in the last fortnight, or the Canon HF100.

The Samsung and Canon cost about 3 times more!

Looks like the Praktica is going to do what I need it to do and be a significant step up in image quality.

I take it no one rates the toshiba camelio?

[senu]

Originally Posted by Jay McLaughlin

The Samsung and Canon cost about 3 times more!

Looks like the Praktica is going to do what I need it to do and be a significant step up in image quality.

Maybe, maybe not.. Be prepared to take it back if it doesn't live up to its promise

I take it no one rates the toshiba camelio?

Not really

[Jay McLaughlin]

Originally Posted by senu

Maybe, maybe not.. Be prepared to take it back if it doesn't live up to its promise

As long as it's better than what I'm using now, I'll be happy!

I looked at the sample videos on the Practika website, but there's only so much you can tell from a family day out to the zoo. Then I looked at the videos posted my people on the link further up, but again, there's only so much you can tell from someone videoing the front of their stationary car and a dog.

Shame there isn't somewhere with video samples of people actually using these things properly. I'd like to compare against the more expensive ones too.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by Jay McLaughlin

Shame there isn't somewhere with video samples of people actually using these things properly. I'd like to compare against the more expensive ones too.

Vimeo? Search by model number.

[Jay McLaughlin]

Possibly going to go out and get something today. Definitely going to look at the Praktica.

My main thing is that I want a decent sized sensor, but for under £200

[Jay McLaughlin]

Ok, so I went everywhere and no one had the Practika in stock anymore. Dixons were closing down but had nothing except camcorders way out of my price range.

I went to Comet and they had loads of choice and I ended up getting the Toshiba Gigashot K40HE.

I was a little wary as I spent about 20 mins on my iphone trying to find reviews of it, but there are virtually none! It's a 720p HD camcorder with a 40GB HDD. My main thing was the sensor size and it has a 1.3" sensor so is considerably larger than the JVC's 1/6".

I'll let you know how I get on.

[Jay McLaughlin]

Incidentally, they also had a Hitachi Full HD Blu-Ray camcorder there for under £200!!!

I was a little skeptical about camcorders that use 8" Blu-Ray discs as they're not exactly common, but I enquired as to why it was so cheap...

Turns out it was the last one, it's the display model, and has no box, manual, software, cables, charger or even a battery! None of which they sell or can order in... nice! haha