Camcorder recommendations sought please.

[General Unrest]

I am in the market for a new or used camcorder, a subject I am not greatly familiar with, so I seek advice here please.

I am into amateur TV, as a radio "ham" and I am building up a station to transmit and receive live TV pictures, mainly via the `es hail geo stationary satellite. So far I have been transmitting footage I have created as still photographic images or older video taken with a now defunct GoPro camera from my amateur motor racing.

I would like a video camera that will also allow me to take general videos here at home and at the racetracks, trackside. I breed livestock guarding dogs on my smallholding and would like to take videos of them as pups and adults for posterity and for selling purposes. I have a lot of woodland and as such videoing in the woods would be in poor light on many occasions. So fairly good low light performance is one criteria.

Another would be the essential presence of raw hdmi out (with no on screen messages). This enables me to feed my transmitter with real time footage taken indoors.

Whether I NEED 4K is debatable as for my amateur digital TV in real time there's not enough transmit bandwidth I believe for 4K but it might be nice for more general work.

I am not an audiophile, in fact my hearing has been damaged by years of motor racing so high end audio is wasted on me.

Whether I need the added complication of detachable lenses is moot.

Budget is a bit flexible around 1800 pounds Sterling, happy to buy used or new.

Cameras which took my eye on Ebay and elsewhere are the Panasonic AG-UX180 used, the Sony FDR-AX53 new or used, the Sony HXR-NX80 used, the Sony NEX-VG20 or VG30 new or used, Sony NEX-VG900 + suitable lens, used.

The AG-UX180 used looks complex but seems to all and more I could ever envisage.,

Thanks for reading, if anyone has any recommendations or comments they would be most welcome.

 

[Gordon Streeter]

I am in the market for a new or used camcorder, a subject I am not greatly familiar with, so I seek advice here please.

I am into amateur TV, as a radio "ham" and I am building up a station to transmit and receive live TV pictures, mainly via the `es hail geo stationary satellite. So far I have been transmitting footage I have created as still photographic images or older video taken with a now defunct GoPro camera from my amateur motor racing.

I would like a video camera that will also allow me to take general videos here at home and at the racetracks, trackside. I breed livestock guarding dogs on my smallholding and would like to take videos of them as pups and adults for posterity and for selling purposes. I have a lot of woodland and as such videoing in the woods would be in poor light on many occasions. So fairly good low light performance is one criteria.

Another would be the essential presence of raw hdmi out (with no on screen messages). This enables me to feed my transmitter with real time footage taken indoors.

Whether I NEED 4K is debatable as for my amateur digital TV in real time there's not enough transmit bandwidth I believe for 4K but it might be nice for more general work.

I am not an audiophile, in fact my hearing has been damaged by years of motor racing so high end audio is wasted on me.

Whether I need the added complication of detachable lenses is moot.

Budget is a bit flexible around 1800 pounds Sterling, happy to buy used or new.

Cameras which took my eye on Ebay and elsewhere are the Panasonic AG-UX180 used, the Sony FDR-AX53 new or used, the Sony HXR-NX80 used, the Sony NEX-VG20 or VG30 new or used, Sony NEX-VG900 + suitable lens, used.

The AG-UX180 used looks complex but seems to all and more I could ever envisage.,

Thanks for reading, if anyone has any recommendations or comments they would be most welcome.

Hi Chris, are you really sure that you need the sort of cameras that you have narrowed down ?
Why I say that is a camera like the UX 180 is quite a big bulky beast that isn't the easiest camera to lug around and use hand held and as you say is quite complex .
Also most of the UX 180s are getting on a bit now and buying second hand "can" be a bit risky, a good "prosumer" one is the Panasonic AG CX10 that could "possibly" be within budget as well.

The high end smaller camcorders from the main manufacturers might suit your needs like the best Panasonic 4k series that have HDMI output and also have WIFI.
It's a real minefield out there and you might find it best to look at the YouTube top bloggers and find out what they use. The main problem with asking on a forum is that you will always get conflicting sides to a story where someone will say that X is the best thing since sliced bread and another will say that it is absolute rubbish.
If I was in the same situation as you I would approach a camera shop and ask advice and physically handle different makes and models, you may be able to borrow/hire one to see if it suits you. I only mention Panasonic because having 4 of them in use for multi camera shots I find them good for what I want
Whatever you decide to buy I hope that it serves you well.

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