Camcorders

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » February 26, 2007, 2:08 pm

i'm looking for a camcorder with a hard drive. i'm pretty lazy, so it needs to be lightweight. other than that i don't really have a preference. any suggestions or experiences with camcorders are appreciated.

Post by **Xouqoa** » February 26, 2007, 2:20 pm

I have the Sony DCR-SR100 (30gb hd) and it works really nice. It was expensive, but worth it. Be sure to get an extended battery off ebay though, the one they ship with it doesn't last long.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » February 26, 2007, 5:32 pm

Any particular reason you want one with a hard drive? From what I read while investigating my purchase, they were less than desirable (speed, resolution, etc). Same with the DVD ones, especially with their limited 30 minutes of recording time.

I got the Panasonic PV-GS500 and love it. I didn't want HD because I didn't want to bother down sampling for family members who don't have HD, and I also didn't want to deal with the huge increase in time to edit the movies that I'd read about. Anyway, I love the GS500.. if you change your mind about a hard drive camcorder, check out the reviews for it.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 26, 2007, 6:32 pm

Get HD. Always take pictures/videos in the highest quality and then worry about size reduction later. You're kids aren't going to understand why you took such grainy, crappy pictures and videos years from now when TVs are twice the resolution current HDTVs are now. Take the best that you can at the present time.

I mentioned a Video Camera awhile back that's worth considering:

http://www.veeshanvault.org/forums/view ... hp?t=18716

Siji · Post by **Siji** » February 27, 2007, 12:11 am

I'd hardly call the picture I get on my GS500 to be grainy or crappy by any means conceivable. As a matter of fact, when reviewed it did as well or better in several areas than other HD cameras it was compared to. (Specifically the Sony ones) The only gripe I've ever seen in a review was that it didn't have all of the features that the 450 (400?) used to have.

As for the one you referred above by Sanyo, a quick investigation of a few review sites give it mixed reviews at best. I can't imagine it being very comfortable holding it with the body being vertical instead of horizontal, but I've never held one like that so that's just assumption.

However, the camcorder does not deliver anything near the quality most people would expect from an HD camcorder. We’re here to warn you: the VPC-HD1 is a bad buy.

Video performance was the clearest indication that the VPC-HD1 is not up to snuff. Despite a large 1/2.5” CCD with 5.36 gross megapixels, the picture could not come close to the sharpness of shots from Sony's HDR-HC1, another, more significantly expensive, consumer HD camcorder. Even worse, the Sanyo could not match the quality of comparatively priced standard definition camcorders. Oversaturation, noise, and sharpness all plagued the Sanyo’s picture.

The VPC-HD1 did not rank highly in our Ease of Use section either. Unlike almost every other consumer camcorder, the Sanyo has neither an Easy mode nor even a clearly defined Auto mode. Newcomers to the video world will be frustrated by the joystick, a terribly foreshortened nub on the rear of the body. It moves in five directions – up, down, left, right, and inwards, the last movement functioning as the “enter” button. Nearly 50% of the time, though, our attempts to move it up, down, left, and right were interpreted as moving it inwards. This is a terribly frustrating process.

This brings us to the third major handling problem, one which is inexcusable. As you make changes to exposure, shutter speed, and filters, the LCD does not show you how they affect the picture. Unlike every other camcorder, the VPC-HD1 offers no "live view." What does the picture look like with an exposure compensation of +2? Change the setting to +2, hit record, and look at the image. Then hit stop. You cannot see what the changes are without doing this. Sanyo should be ashamed that they brought a product to market without this sort of basic functionality.

If you want an HD camcorder, I'd wait a year or so myself. But it's not my money you're spending! Just do lots of research and you'll be fine I'm sure.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com
http://www.easycamcorders.com/

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 27, 2007, 3:29 am

VPC-HD1 != Xacti HD1a

As for camera feel in your hand, that's a matter of personal opinion and various models should be tried in person. Fry's Electronics has a ton camcorders to pick up and play with.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » February 27, 2007, 11:57 am

Winnow wrote:VPC-HD1 != Xacti HD1a

Well, there's that. It's still ugly!