[Ash339]

Hi I'm new to this forum but I've done a quick search for my question, however this has just produced more questions.

I'm looking for a camcorder that I can use:

• Mostly indoors (sports halls/gyms)
• To capture martial arts footage
• To burn to DVD with reasonable to good quality playback

Would also like to know which is better for my purpose HDD or Mini DV. I have a budget of £300 - £500, I know this isn't a lot but I was hoping there was a solution.

Any info greatly appreciated.

Ash

[senu]

Welcome
What you wish for is a generally all round good camcorder
The budget of £3-500 is quite decent though more would be even better

There are good and poorly performing HDD and MiniDV camcorders alike and it isnt quite the format you record to that determines quality

However MiniDV models ( getting thin on the ground now) tend to get a better " recommendation" especially at the more pocket friendly end of the market because quality wise they represent VFM
However as the budget creeps up this advantage over HDD models is less clear cut
Also Transfer to PC is much easier in HDD camcorders and where editing is minimal the mpeg2 files from HDD are usually " DVD ready" meaning it takes less time
However if editing is extensive, footage from MiniDV has the advantage of not losing quality with each successive render compared to mpeg2 although the real time transfer from tape to PC is a bugbear for some
As such once on the PC HDD camcorder advantage dissipaters ( apart from being smaller file size)

The other complicating issue is one of Hi def
By £500 you are able to afford Some Hi def camcoders: Tape ( HDV) or HDD/SCD card which in fact use different file formats and editing workflow;
Tape output ( HDV mpeg2 1080i)is easier to playback , edit and turn to standard def DVD than AVCHD whic the HDD or SD card camcorders output

With either Low light ability and ability to record fast moving scenes is camcorder dependent though the tape models seem to have an easier time.
All camcorders however perform better with good lighting and indoor videoing is often a test of how ell they can do
Have a think and perhaps further post will help you get a shortlist .. rather than . "I use this camcorder and it is the best" type of posts