Help buying first camcorder

[lonzo4mo]

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone may be able to point me in the right direction.
I have never owned a camcorder and am looking at purchasing one for my up coming holiday.

I was looking to buy either a cheaper 780 or more expensive 1080 HD Hard drive camcorder, hopefully below the £500 mark.

My problem is I thought that once I had taken any footage I could burn to disk and give copys to family and friends. However the majority of my pals don't have HD players but a fair few of them have Blueray and as I understand Blueray players are the future.

Does that mean It's a better idea to buy a Blueray compatible camcorder so I can share disks with friends.

Like I said I have never owned a camcorder and would be chuffed for any info regarding my dilema.

Anyways, wicked site glad I spotted it

Thanks guys

Simon

[Mr Lazy]

It's not a question of any given camcorder being compatible with either HD-DVD (I assume that's what you meant) or Blu-Ray. You could put high def video files on either. Anyway ignore HD-DVD as it's pretty much dead in the water.

Personally I would avoid the 720 camcorders, if you're going to go high def you might as well do it properly, though I've heard some say the video quality of the Sanyo Xactis is good.

So if you are set on hard disk then look at Sony and Panasonic models (I would normally include Canon but you won't get a Canon HDD camcorder for less than £500, you might find a deal on the HG10 but it's getting a bit old in the tooth now).

That leaves you with the Sony HDR-SR10 - some places are selling it for just under £500
...and the Panasonic HS9 (which is still on the pana uk website but is being replaced with the HS100) which amazon currently sell for £399 (apparently the low light quality isn't fantastic but everything else is good).

If you want to share your videos with people without Blu-Ray players or PS3s you will have to make standard def DVDs for them.

[jeffmurray]

I think burning to disc is a way of the past. www.vimeo.com takes video uploads at HD quality (720p). I have edited and burned DVD for around eight years and am happy to say - I have my while DVD collection on hard disc (PS3 attached to HD tv). As for sharing with my friends vimeo does this nicely for me and saves the hassle working out DVD formats with everyone.

Obviously you have to keep your videos short. However I upload a 5 minute video each week and that is all most people can stomach.

PS: this is much cheaper than burning to Blueray (£10) per disc. Also avoids longer term issue of your DVD colellection laminating.

[lonzo4mo]

Thanks chaps, the info was very helpfull and I'll look into what you said.

I'm wondering now might I have a wider option of HD camcorders if I didn't go for the HDD route. Would I get a cheaper option if I went for disks or cards without the hard drive.

I still have several weeks before I go on holiday so I'm trying my best as a newbie to do my homework.

Also would anyone recommend a good cam magazine atall?

Many thanks again for the posts I recieved

Simon

[Mr Lazy]

Yeah I forgot to ask if you'd considered flash memory camcorders - tend to be cheaper, easier with regards transfer to computer, no moving parts unlike HDD. Some will say otherwise but to me HDD camcorders hold no advantage for the average user. Sure if you're travelling the world for a year you'd need a bucketload of cards but the price per GB will one day soon be equal.

By the way, you don't need a Blu-Ray burner to burn high def, you can burn an AVCHD disc to an ordinary DVD which can be played back on a PS3 or other Blu-Ray player, though it only gives approx 20 mins per layer for AVCHD video at the 17Mbps bitrate. Otherwise forget DVD/BD and get a digital media player such as Popcorn Hour A110 or WD HD TV.

One more thing - think about your backup strategy - with HD camcorders and digital media you need more than one place to store your footage if it's precious. No one method is infaliable, so it can start getting expensive if you need to buy new stuff (ie. external hard drive etc.).

[Mr Lazy]

Originally Posted by lonzo4mo

Also would anyone recommend a good cam magazine atall?

Video? There are none left (in the UK). There is videomaker in the US.

[lonzo4mo]

Hi Steve, thanks again for the info it's much appreciated mate.
The popcorn and the WD HD TV look wicked. I had never seen them before and it's certainly made me think about purchasing one or the other.

Would you recommend any flash memory camcorders atall. I'm only going on me hols for 2 weeks so I can imagine I'll only need a certain amount of disk space, and I don't mind paying for extra memory.

And thanks again for the info on AVCHD am gonna go look it up now.

If you do have any thoughts on flash memory cams I'd as always be proper greatful to hear any ideas.

Big thanks dude you have been a huge help already!

Simon

[Mr Lazy]

I have the Canon HF100 and it's very popular round 'ere at the moment, there have been some good offers lately. I'm very very pleased with it. However Canon will release a replacement model in April (which probably means it will not be in good supply until May/June) but might put some people off but there's really nothing wrong the current models.

Alternative is the Panasonic SD9 but I hear it's not as good in low light conditions but it's cheaper than the HF100. Same applies, Panasonic have just announced new models.

[Mr Lazy]

I probably should have mentioned the Sony TG3 also. Priced between the SD9 and the HF100, but again apparently not as good in low light at the Canon. The TG3 is designed to be more portable (not that the HF100 is exactly bulky especially compared to camcorders of say 5 years ago or more).

Sony, Panasonic, Canon, JVC and Samsung have all announced new ranges for 09, so take a look at the websites.

simplydv.co.uk and camcorderinfo.com (US) are the best sites for camcorder reviews targeted at the consumer/serious enthusiast market

[lonzo4mo]

Have to say the canon looks really good. I've just read a few reviews about it and have to say I think that may well be the one for me.

I'm wondering what cards you're using? I'm looking and finding 16gb class 6 cards for around £22 and from what I have read I see you get around 2 hours footage in full FXP mode.

Do you have any thoughts on which card mate. I'm just trying to weigh up whether I will have to spend a small fortune in cards or should I go back to the origional HDD option instead. Saying that I'm also thinking surely I can buy SDHC cards for less money when I get to the US. But will they work with my UK purchased Canon?

Big thanks for your advice matey, hopefully I'll have my first cam by maybe next weekend.

Regards Simon

[Mr Lazy]

I use 4GB cards at the mo. Reason being is that this will give approx. 30 mins of AVCHD and that is the most I am prepared to risk losing ie. in case a card gets corrupted or damaged or lost etc. Also, 4GB fits nicely on a single layer DVD for backup purposes. Any class 4 or class 6 cards from a known brand will be fine. I'm sure I heard talk on the HF100/HF10 thread (I think it was) of a Transcend 16GB card for £17 may have been a special.

Originally Posted by lonzo4mo

Saying that I'm also thinking surely I can buy SDHC cards for less money when I get to the US. But will they work with my UK purchased Canon?

Yes I can't see why not.

Big thanks for your advice matey, hopefully I'll have my first cam by maybe next weekend.

Don't forget to join us on the HF100/HF10 thread!

[lonzo4mo]

Thanks again for all your advice Steve, you have been a huge help buddy.

Simon

[lonzo4mo]

Hi steve

just wanted to say I'm now the proud owner of a HF10 cost me £550 from amazon....

Can quite happily say I'm well chuffed mate.

Your advice and help was mint mate

Huge thanks!

Simon