Question about the Panasonic VDR-D210?

Question

Im thinking about buying this camcorder for making movies. Me and my friends love to make small videos and need something that will have better picture then a 5 yr old sony digital camera. We needed something that was good with little light, a good picture and easy to transfer to a computer. So i looked up camcorders and their reviews but other ones are either too expensive or the reviews says their quality is terrible. Many people suggested this camcorder.

Does anyone here have this camcorder? If you do can you please tell me how well you think it is and how good the quality is. Also if you know of any better camcorders that do not cost more then $300.

Can you also get a tripod for this?

Answer 1

Movies are generally edited - that way you can get the bad shots out. DVD based camcorders capture video that is not meant to be edited - so when people do try to edit the video from DVD based camcorders, it is a pain. But you don't have to take my word for it... read through some of these:

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7594_102-0.h...

For $300, you aren't going to find much that does well in low light... can you just turn on a light?

I would suggest the Canon ZR800, 900 or 930. They use miniDV tape. Your computer will need a firewire port (if it does not already have one):

http://shop3.frys.com/search?search_type...

And you will connect the camcorder's DV port to the firewire port of the computer with a firewire cable:

http://shop3.frys.com/product/4338375?si...

Firewire, IEEE1394a and i.Link are all the same thing.

If you have a Mac, it probably already has a firewire port because all Macs made in the last 6-7 years came with one (the only exception is the new Mac Air).

All camcorders have a tripod mounting s***w hole in the bottom. Get a tripod with a "quick-release".