Camcorder Search

[Jayson Prentice]

So I'm finally looking for a camcorder that is good enough for both family needs as well as storm chasing as a bonus. I've read through some of the previous comments on ST, and elsewhere, to come up with some of the requirements I should be looking for. One of the first eliminators would be that I want something that shoots HD (full HD). Beyond that the next eliminator is definitely price, it'll be in the less than $600 or so mark for this budget buy. Beyond those two eliminators I believe I leave myself with only a few options for camcorders, and a few other choices.

The list I have at this point is: Panasonic HDC-SD series, Canon Vixio series, JVC Everio series, and potentially the Sony Handycam HDR series.

At this point is where I need some input of the members here that are the videographers. An important thing is the sensor, do I go with the 3CCD (Panasonic) or can I live with the newer CMOS? Should I definitely go with a lux rating of less than 1 (eliminating JVC)? How valuable is the difference between using tapes, cards, or hard drive? So videographers, state your opinions on which of these may be the better choice, or let me know if I'm missing a good option as well...

 

[John Wetter]

I personally think your HD requirement and your price point are mutually exclusive. That's a near-impossible segment to be in. More abstract though, the difference between the media: Tape: swappable, cheap, proven, pain to export from... Cards: slow, lots of swapping, quality issues for higher end video... HDD: limited space, some can't be swapped out, quality issues with the codecs.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

I have the Canon Vixia HV20 and I love it! I think you can grab one for around $550 if you look in the right places. You aren't going to find a 3CCD or <1 lux HD camcorder for your price range, but the HV20 has true 24p shooting mode which does help in low light. The specs. list 0.2 lux, but that's using super slow shutter mode which is choppy and very grainy. Using tape you'll be shooting in 1440x1080 which is slightly less than true HD, but you won't do any better shooting on tape and the differene is hardly noticeable.

 

[Dan Melby]

I just picked up the Panasonic HDC-SD9 yesterday at Best Buy In Ames. I wanted to get a canon HV, but for the price I paid for it I couldnt refuse. It is a 3CCd that retails for $699, I picked it up for $399! From what I can tell, with the little experience I have with it, that it looks a little grainy in low light(indoors). I tested it outside today in full daylight and it worked awesome. The optical image stabilizer function works really good. The 10x optical zoom is ok, wish it was a little better. Overall, it seems like a decent low end HD camcorder. It will replace the GL2 that I used to borrow from Iowa State so I hope it can hold up..

 

[Brandon Headley]

I have the HV20 as well. I love it! I would say for the money it is the best. I know the CMOS is not as good as 3 CCD, but for the most part it is a great camera and the picture is good. There are a few tricks to get the low light looking better, but it is still grainy at times.

I like having the tapes, personally. I can store them and then if I need to look back I can grab it and then look over the tape again. It is very important to properly label the tapes for easy access.

You might look around and see if you can find a HV30 for your purposes and right now would be a great time to pick it up with the prices dropping all around. B&H has it for just under your current budget and free shipping.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/539289-REG/Canon_2680B001_VIXIA_HV30_HDV_Camcorder.html

Good luck with the search.

 

[Jayson Prentice]

Thanks for the comments thus far... I've essentially narrowed my search down to either the Canon HV30, or the HF10. They both have great reviews throughout, with the HV30 having the slight lead as far as most review sites go. I'm truly in a stalemate as to which one is actually the better choice!

I've heard from a lot of people who have the HV20, but does anyone have either the HV30 or HF10/100 and can say something about it? The biggest dilemma I'm at right now is if I want to go with tapes or a solid state/flash combo... I could see the tapes as a nice thing as far as storage goes, otherwise I'll be buying another external hard drive each christmas from here on out. However, tapes are going by the wayside according to the 'experts', ahh what to do...

Opinions please?

 

[Derek Weston]

Thanks for the comments thus far... I've essentially narrowed my search down to either the Canon HV30, or the HF10. They both have great reviews throughout, with the HV30 having the slight lead as far as most review sites go. I'm truly in a stalemate as to which one is actually the better choice!

I've heard from a lot of people who have the HV20, but does anyone have either the HV30 or HF10/100 and can say something about it? The biggest dilemma I'm at right now is if I want to go with tapes or a solid state/flash combo... I could see the tapes as a nice thing as far as storage goes, otherwise I'll be buying another external hard drive each christmas from here on out. However, tapes are going by the wayside according to the 'experts', ahh what to do...

Opinions please?

I'd look at the GB/min ratio for recording with the non tape camcorders. If you feel that the majority of your video will be able to be burned onto a DVD then I think that would be a big plus for the solid state option.

For what it's worth... I'm pretty much in the same boat, looking at the same decision with my first digital camcorder purchase, likely. I really don't like the idea of having to use hard-drives to archive everything...

Another consideration is the sort of video you'll be dealing with for processing. AVCHD (hard-drive, flash) vs HDV (minidv)

I'd read the pros and cons of both, for sure. While I've never had a camcorder that records in those formats, apparently HDV format is a little friendlier to work with. (AVCHD needing more CPU processing power and editing tools to work with video)

 

[J Kinkaid]

Jason I picked up the Sony Handycam HDR-SR11 High Def for $686 with Tax from Dell last month and I would recommend this camera to you . The reviews say that it's one of the best cams out there in your price range. With today being cyber monday you should be able to find a great deal on one.

 

[David Hoadley]

Likewise, I have been in the same quandry for my first digital camcorder and done similar research. A close storm-chase friend and long-time professional photographer for a local network-affiliate TV station bought a Canon HV30 MiniDV for last spring's storm chase and thinks its great. I've seen his shot of the Hoxie wedge (May 22) from 2-3 miles east, and the telephone poles on the horizon are razor sharp (on his large 1080 HD TV). He believes the Canon also has a slightly better low-light pickup than the similar alternative -- Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV (also tape). Overall, he believes the tape based system delivers slightly sharper/better images than any of the smaller (under $1,000) pro-sumer hard-drive or flash card cameras at this time. Incidentally, the December, 2008 Consumer Reports also rates this Canon as its first choice for camcorders in that price range.

Being a computer novice, I have also read that it can be time consuming to download a full hard drive to a PC (which will also fill a large part of the PC's hard drive). My experience with computers is that glitches can occur at totally unexpected times, seemingly for no reason. I will feel more comfortable with a relatively less complicated tape-based system and eventually burning to a future Blu-ray disc (when those recorders enter the market) --with perhaps simpler editing. I realize it is a fading technology, but miniDV tapes will probably be around for many more years (can still even buy VHS from the local drug store!).

I will shortly be buying the Canon for daylight and early evening use, keeping my old Sony VX2000 as back-up for early evening photography.

 

[TimMezen]

camera

canon hv30 is your best bet, it costs close to $1000 but worth it, its tape and uses cmos which is awesome. if it shoots hd and is under $500 its a waste of money. good luck.

 

[Jason Boggs]

canon hv30 is your best bet, it costs close to $1000 but worth it, its tape and uses cmos which is awesome. if it shoots hd and is under $500 its a waste of money. good luck.

Close to $1000? B&H has it for $549 if this is the camera you are referring to.
HV30

 

[Chris C Sanner]

Yeah, the HV30 is a mere $570ish nowadays.

IMHO...it comes down to your computer hardware. If you have a computer which can handle AVC-HD with an editing suite that can edit it then you can't go wrong with an HG10 or HG20/21 either (basically the HDD versions of the HV20/30). You also never will have to worry about tapes or the video heads becoming dirty and ruining your great video, those two benefits are definitely money.

I'm making a commitment to go tapeless this year, as I think the camcorders are about the right price now. My master plan might be a Canon D5 MkII...but we have to wait to see how the whole personal finance situation works out

 

[Brandon Headley]

I am still using tape for a couple of reasons. The first is backup. Simply put I can store all my tapes and be done with storage. I still capture the parts of the tape I need to my hard drive, but this way if anything happens to my hard drive I haven't lost all my footage.

Also, I can browse the tape and decide that I just need a short clip. Instead of downloading the entire file. This saves a lot of space when you are working with HD.

Finally, depending on the format a hd cam will compress the footage down to save file space and allow you to get more hours of footage. This is great for space, but can degrade the video.

At some point I will probably go tapeless when the technology catches up. Maybe. To me there is just something about having a tape.

 

[Eric Wolf]

Oddly enough, I am finding the HG20 for less than the HV30 these days....

That's kind of interesting, considering the HV30 is the older model.