Camcorder questions: is a camcorder with buttons less likely to go wrong than using a screen menu? also,..

Question

what are the relative merits of the new formats that have come after mini dv tapes....one review i read said dv tapes are still the better choice when compared with dvd/hard disk/memory stick etc...why might that be the case?

Answer 1

There are several reasons why miniDV tape is superior to other storage methods available to consumer camcorders:

1) DV and HDV (digital video is standard definition and HDV is high definition) are much less compressed than the very highly compressed MPEG2 or AVCHD formats typically used by hard drive and flash memory consumer camcorders.

Compressed video = discarded video data = reduced video quality.

2) If you are recording loud audio, this = vibration. Read ALL the hard drive based camcorder manuals. "Do not apply vibration or recording can stop." This is because the hard drive heads are doing their job - vibration could cause the hard drive head to hit the platter causing a crash. Loud bands (screamers, metal, Marching Bands, etc), airplanes, heavy machinery, power boat noise, other loud motors (like at car or boat races), etc. can cause "buffer overflow. MiniDV tape does not have this problem (neither does flash memory).

3) MiniDV tape is cheap. Import the video - good quality standard definition video uses ~14 gig or hard drive space for one hour imported. High definition uses about ~44 gig of hard drive space per hour imported. Do the editing burn a DVD... with miniDV tape, I can also export the finished video project back out to the tape. If I want to watch the finished project in high definition, all I need to do is connect the camcorder to a HDTV. At around $3 per tape, it makes for REALLY cheap archiving. Last time I checked, exporting back out to the HDD camcorder was not allowed and exporting (or coying the data file) back to flash memory does not allow me to playback on the camcorder.

4) If I drop a internal hard drive camcorder and break it, how do I get the video off of it that has not yet been transferred to a computer? If that hard drive was full of hours of video, it will be an expensive recovery. With flash memory or miniDV tape, I should be able to get the memory card or tape out - worst case, I am only out that card or tape - and presuming I get the card or tape out, I need to get another camcorder anyway...

5) As previously indicated, DV and HDV compresses way less than HDD or flash memory... and they don't compress the most - DVD based camcorder do - I would not wish a DVD based camcorder on ANYONE, especially if you think the video might be edited... evfen a little. DVD camcorder were a good concept, but poorly implemented.

6) There are flash memory and hard drive units available that save to DV and HDV... the Firestore external drive requires a firewire connection so that typically means a miniDV tape based camcorder as the "host" and the P2 cards Panasonic uses in the HDX200 family are flash memory...

There's more, but this should be enough for now...

On your question about real buttons vs screen menu - basically you are talking about Sony vs the world because Sony uses the touch screen for their consumer camcorders and most of the other manufacturers do not. I've been using a Sony HDR-HC1 for about 3 years and the touch screen is pretty cool. It is as easy to change settings on it as it is a camcorder with buttons - it is what you get used to using. I recently got a Sony HDR-FX1. It does not use a touch screen - all buttons... I am still getting used to it - rather than looking at the screen and touching the screen to make buttons, I still have to look for the right button on the correct side of the camcorder body - like I said, it is what you get used to using.