Is this a good video camera?

Question

http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2.cfm?Product_ID=5915&refererid=pricerunner

I want a cheapish yet good video camera so I can make youtube videos. Could this one work with windows movie maker and be able to put it on the internet and stuff? And is it a good choice?

Is there a better/cheaper one you could recommend?

Answer 1

This camcorder is a good camcorder to me but one thing I dont like about it is that the maximum recording time is only 120 min. but the other options looks good to me

Answer 2

best cheap cam is a Panasonic GS320 mini-dv because it has 3CCD lens which is usually a prosumer-level feature. $379 from Circuit City

For around $200 I recommend the Panasonic GS85 which is mini-dv also, 1CCD and 32x optical zoom. $229 from Circuit City. 43 reviews, got an average of 4.3 stars out of 5.

Answer 3

Any "real" video camera will be fine for on-line video, including that JVC. JVC is a decent enough brand... there's nothing terribly wrong with that camera. It is an "entry level" miniDV camcorder, meaning, cheap. You won't get the best quality video with it. But honestly, if you're shooting for YouTube, it won't matter... my $2500 Sony HDV camcorder won't produce a noticably  better YouTube video.

That camera is available new at B&H for another $13... worth considering (B&H, in New York, is a reputable mail-order/online site... many of the companies selling cameras and camcorders ARE essentially crooks, so beware prices that are too low).

Every camcorder company has a similar camera. The Canon ZR850 is another... and probably one that will deliver better picture quality.  Read the review links below -- they may not only tell you the differences, but in learning about the gear, you may understand which features matter more to you, specifically.

Another thing to consider is a flash-memory camcorder. After you shoot video on tape with a mini-DV camcorder, you have to capture it on your PC, using a Firewire port (USB can't do this). It only captures at 1x (realtime... a 10 minute tape takes 10 minutes to capture).

While this is fine, a flash memory based camcorder stores video on a flash card (SD, Memory Stick) like a digital still camera. You have to be careful here.. there are dozens of really poor quality flash camcorders from China, which I can't recommend.

Unfortunately, you may pay more like $350 for this kind, if you want the DVD-like quality of miniDV. A good example of this is the Canon FS-100 or the Panasonic SDR-S7. These offer the nearly instant transfer, via USB or your PC's memory card reader, and still work as regular camcorders.

If you only care about YouTube and other lower quality on-line venues, you might consider getting one of the web-oriented camcorders. These lack feature -- little or no optical zoom, lower image quality, etc. Camcorders of this type include various units from Flip Video, the RCA "Small Wonder", and the Creative Labs Vado. These are probably find for video blogs and other online use, but don't expect to make high quality DVD from them.

One thing to do is check out the webs sites of the makers for any camera you like -- they often have sample video you can download for comparison.