What's a good Camcorder?

Question

budget = 500 USDA beef.

Answer 1

What's your budget?

The BEST ones will be those cameras which:

1) store their captured video with the least amount of compression.

2) have an easy video archive process so you don't have an extra step.

3) have an external mic jack so you can connect external mics.

4) have manual audio control, exposure/iris, zoom and focus - but also can go auto while you are learning to use the camera.

When you star looking you will find miniDV tape based camcorders will meet all of these requirements. Hard drive, flash memory and DVD based camcorders cannot meet these requirements.

Since you did not give us a budget - other than you don't want to spend very much, starting at the low end and working our way to the mid-range:

Canon ZR950 ZR800 (no manual audio controls)

Sony DCR-HC28, HC96 (no manual audio control, but you can switch the mic gain from normal to low to do loud noises like bands without overdriving the audio auto-leveling circuit resulting in a pile of muddy audio.)

Canon HV20, HV30; Sony HDR-HC7, HD9 (have everything on the requirements list)

You should also include a firewire port addition to your computer (unless you are using a Mac - they have had firewire ports for years), firewire cable (USB will not work to transfer video from miniDV tape based camcorders), high capacity rechargeable battery, sturdy carrying case and tripod on your immediate shopping list... and start saving for external mics and lighting...

If you must, look into the hard drive cameras - but they, along with the flahs based cameras compress their video a LOT - which is why I cannot recommend them.

DO NOT BUY A DVD BASED CAMCORDER. They are worst video quality, the discs are a pain and editing their video is awful.

Answer 2

ww.frys.com

Answer 3

Canon HV20. The price is droping due to a new mdl coming out.

Answer 4

There are several points to look out for depending on what you want to do.

If this is for general use and you're not planning on making movies for college courses, then any camcorder will likely meet your needs.

For more serious work and college projects, I would recommend that you make sure it has the following good points.

Good optics - get a camera with a branded lens. Basically any company that uses quality optics in its products. Sony use Carl Zeiss lenses, Canon can also be considered - they use their own lenses. The optics will be more important than the CCD or image capturing device - they will help focus the image better.

Mic-in. Make sure you can use an external stereo microphone. This will reduce the 'concert hall echo' that many people get when using the internal microphones. There are projects on the internet to build stereo separation microphones to give excellent stereo results

DV-in. Some projects require that you submit your finished piece on MiniDV tape. Having a DV-in option on your camcorder will help you. You won't have to limit your editing to the video lab and you can do it all at home.

Also consider a good fluid-head tripod and a couple of long life batteries for your camcorder. The fluid-head will allow really smooth slow pans and slow tilts and the batteries will allow you to record several tapes worth of action and dialogue before needing to be changed. A cheap tripod will jerk at slow speeds.

Personally, I have a Cannon MV890. A bit old hat by today's standards but very serviceable. It has a mic-in socket and I use a fluid-head tripod and I have two long life batteries as well as the one that was supplied with the camera. Unfortunately it does not have DV-in and that is the only regret. Aside from that, I have had excellent results and my workplace is very appreciative of the final movies.

The MV890 has an 'auto mode' as well as manual control. So you can get good results while still learning how to get the best from your camcorder.

I would also encourage you to buy a book or enrol on a course at your local community college or adult education centre on making movies. There is an art to it and your movie will reflect this. I took a course of evening classes over a year. Best money ever spent.

Good luck!

Answer 5

One that actually works