Which camcorder???

Question

Hi all,

I want to buy a camcorder but know near nothing about them.

I want to purchase an SD/Flash type so i can recored directly onto a card. My budget is £200 - £300. Not fussed about HD. What things should i be looking for?

Any advise on zoom, resolution, brand file transfer etc would be great! Also any particular models to go for, websites to use, sites for research etc.

I also have the opportunity to purchase from the US or Canada (gf is cabin crew) are their any probs with buying from abroad?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer 1

Flash card cameras tend to be very limited in capacity at the cheaper end of the market. I'd have a rethink and go for 8mm or digital tape. No point having a camcorder that runs out of space after 10 or 15 minutes. Have a look at Hard Disc cameras like the JVC models, they're getting cheaper all the time and a 20gig drive gives you about 5 hours of recording time in decent quality.

Zoom levels on digital cameras are so high they're virtually unusable, my own camera can zoom to 800x digitally ... anything over 20x is difficult or impossible to hold steady without a mount that'll cost more than the camera. Digital zoom is achieved with electronic witchcraft, it's the optical zoom number that counts, 10x is more than adequate for everyday purposes and because it's achieved with the lens itself the picture quality is retained.

Don't see any problems with buying abroad, just make sure the charger unit will operate in the UK. (240v ac @ 50 cycles) some USA stuff is 110v @ 60 cycles, which would probably start a reasonable sized fire if used here.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

JVC Everio series are really good & the menu allows you to specify NTSC or PAL/Secam recording as well as widescreen, letter box etc, also Dolby or 5.1 surround etc. they are well within your budget. You get good optical zoom ranges and also lots more on Digital zoom.

Answer 3

You probably want to purchase in the U.K., you're on the PAL system with european power outlets.

I prefer Sony camcorders and Adobe Premiere for editing.

One note of caution...you may rethink the HD, once you get hooked into creating your own movies - Good luck!

Answer 4

First of all you should write down the key features you want in your Camcorder and than you should go for some reviews in review sites and than you should look for price and product comparison from comparison sites and then you can select the best deals for you.

Answer 5

You may want to start with some reviews:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/d/Reviews&l...

Answer 6

I'd go for any Sony camcorder that fits your spec. Sony use the best lenses with their camcorders and it makes a big difference.