Camcorder Questions
Man...where to start? There are just way too many electronic recommendation systems out there and, in the end, I prefer going to the good old fashioned store and picking stuff up, playing around, getting some one-on-one advice...asking a friend who knows about this stuff to come along...
...but because time is of an essence right now, I went to Amazon, where I've seen a funny recommendation or two, and gotten a little more confused about what does what. Here are some of our options:
Toshiba Gigashot GSC-R60 60GB 2MP Hard Disc Drive Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
Amazon description here.
This one has a hard disk and seems pretty simple to operate. Has that steady hand thing that I desperately need. I really prefer this ergonomic model and it's fairly light to carry around as we travel. Problem: there are no reviews thusfar. What does that mean?
Sony DCR-PC1000 3CCD MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Amazon description here.
Advantages to this one: hotfoot for a light (for those low light situations - may or may not use it, but it's nice to have). Carl Zeiss lens (you can get add-on lenses, too, but I have those for my digital camera and I rarely use them). Disadvantages: a little pricier. Doesn't look like great Mac compatibility.
Panasonic SDR-S100 3.1MP 3CCD MPEG-2 SD Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom (Includes 2GB Memory Card)
Amazon description here.
Advantages...super light (3 lbs) and small. I don't know about the disadvantages. I don't know enough...other than it has less MP for the camera part.
Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 5.1MP MPEG-4 High Definition Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
Amazon description here.
Advantages are that we know many videobloggers that swear by this camera. It's sleek, ergonomic and really simple to use. Plus, it syncs nicely with the Mac (according to review). Disadvantages: bad in low light. I don't know. I'm having the same issue with not knowing enough about needs here...and I just don't have the time to really research what a CCD is or AAC is.
Samsung SCX105L MPEG4 Sports Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
Amazon review here.
Advantages...cool...it has a headcam. Disadvantages. I don't know. It isn't as cool as the Xacti, but that headcam...
So...I'm confused. There are probably a gazillion other choices that are better. We don't want to spend over $1k (we are unemployed, right. ;)). We need to make a decision fairly soon. I have no idea what I'm doing.
Advice?
...but because time is of an essence right now, I went to Amazon, where I've seen a funny recommendation or two, and gotten a little more confused about what does what. Here are some of our options:
Toshiba Gigashot GSC-R60 60GB 2MP Hard Disc Drive Camcorder w/10x Optical ZoomAmazon description here.
This one has a hard disk and seems pretty simple to operate. Has that steady hand thing that I desperately need. I really prefer this ergonomic model and it's fairly light to carry around as we travel. Problem: there are no reviews thusfar. What does that mean?
Sony DCR-PC1000 3CCD MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Amazon description here.
Advantages to this one: hotfoot for a light (for those low light situations - may or may not use it, but it's nice to have). Carl Zeiss lens (you can get add-on lenses, too, but I have those for my digital camera and I rarely use them). Disadvantages: a little pricier. Doesn't look like great Mac compatibility.
Panasonic SDR-S100 3.1MP 3CCD MPEG-2 SD Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom (Includes 2GB Memory Card) Amazon description here.
Advantages...super light (3 lbs) and small. I don't know about the disadvantages. I don't know enough...other than it has less MP for the camera part.
Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 5.1MP MPEG-4 High Definition Camcorder w/10x Optical ZoomAmazon description here.
Advantages are that we know many videobloggers that swear by this camera. It's sleek, ergonomic and really simple to use. Plus, it syncs nicely with the Mac (according to review). Disadvantages: bad in low light. I don't know. I'm having the same issue with not knowing enough about needs here...and I just don't have the time to really research what a CCD is or AAC is.
Samsung SCX105L MPEG4 Sports Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Amazon review here.
Advantages...cool...it has a headcam. Disadvantages. I don't know. It isn't as cool as the Xacti, but that headcam...
So...I'm confused. There are probably a gazillion other choices that are better. We don't want to spend over $1k (we are unemployed, right. ;)). We need to make a decision fairly soon. I have no idea what I'm doing.
Advice?
15 Comments:
Depending on where you plan to do most of your recording you may find the option to add an optional wide-angle lens on the front to be useful. Especially if you'll often be shooting indoors where the camera will be in close proximity to the "subject".
With those vertical style camcorders I'd also defenitely reccomend hitting up your local big box electronics store and actually try holding them and getting a feel for them - I've personally always found them really uncomfortable to use... in general it's good to make sure your hand fits the device regardless of form factor - some cameras and some hands are just not meant to work with each other...
I agree with Ryan, go to a store and play with them, see how they fit in your hands, see if you can use it comfortably.
I did that with digital cameras, the one I liked on paper, just did not work in my hands (ok they are big and I am left handed), the ergonomics were are wrong for me, I could not use the various buttons and switches. A different camera felt right in my hands and that was the one I bought, and been happy since.
I have actually tried holding many of the cameras and prefer the ergonomics of these types.
I don't like the 'regular' types any more.
I'm just trying to decide right now which one to go for. Someone just emailed me and said the Xacti sux and that Sony and Panasonic are the best cameras...?
T.
I haven't tried any of the models you've listed there but I've mucked around with lots of different Sony cameras over the years and always liked them.
Tara, don't get sucked into spec-obsession - it's sooooo attractive, but most of the differences between all these models probably aren't really all that important to you when you're out with your cam. That's not to say that you shouldn't look at the specs just that there are some bits imho that are most important.
When I started videoblogging, I just picked up the family camcorder and put up with the crap. When I buy next time, these are the things that I'll be looking for:
1. ease of transfer and shortness of time between finishing shooting and having footage sitting in my editor ready to be tinkered with. Anything that involves me having to wait for a real-time transfer is waaaaay too long.
2. ability to plug in an external mic (I don't know how common this is). built-in mics pick up too much of the operating sound of the camera and (in an interview situation) the voice of the person holding it rather than the noises that the subject is making.
3. comfort in the hand - as ryan and nick have said - and weight (including battery).
4. length of battery life - I've run out of power far more often than I've run out of tape (though recording capacity is important too)
5. ease of zooming while shooting hand-held - is the zoom button handy and usable without making it look like your shooting a remake of Earthquake!
BUT ABOVE ALL REMEMBER that it is not the camera that makes the video it is you. You already have the advantage of being a super-good story-teller and that's what counts.
Talk to Gia about her experience. I'm pretty sure she has a Xacti - and anyway if you two ain't talking to each other already you should be.
I would go with a JVC Everio. It is TINY, feels good in the hand, and is hard drive based. We use them at Gear Live, and they are perfect. Your files are recorded in MPEG format, so you j ust plug it in to your computer, and then simply drag and drop. It also holds up to 30 hours of video :)
Good advice about hefting each to see how they feel. Lighter isn't necesarrily better as they show up any hand movement more easily.
My ha'pence worth: The glass on the front is the most important thing, these cameras compress the picture to buggery to squeeze it into a small format, so the better the image to begin with the more likely you'll end up with something that looks reasonable.
Don't get carried away with claims of HD, while it might have the right number of pixels, it is always going to look pretty rubbish on an HD display because of what happens in my previous paragraph. Better to go with good SD pictures.
Sound is always the big problem. Mics on cameras pick up all the handling noise and whine from auto-focus motors and zoom etc. If the camera has a socket for an external mic you can try that later if you're unhappy with the onboard mic.
Finally, while aimed at broadcasters, you might find some useful nuggets of info on the BBC DV Camera Shooting Guides page. Scroll down and you'll find .pdfs that give some hints and tips. Good luck!
Sony cameras are the best I've used - I'd go with the Sony, and I can't foresee any Mac conflicts. Anything with firewire (ie everything) works fine with my Mac. Still worth checking though.
Tara,
another consideration is to ensure that the camera has DV in and out.
A CCD is a chip that records video. If you have 1CCD, you get one chip and if you have 3CCD, you get three chips. The more chips, the more resolution you have.
The Panasonic PV-GS500 is my favorite. You can get one on Amazon for about $680.
Good luck!
Hi Tara,
Congrats on thinking about the camcorder. I have to concur with all that's been said about vertical camcorders. I'd forego them for now and go for the more traditional tape based ones (miniDV).
The Panasonic 3CCD ones (GS-120/500etc) are amazing. I have one and the quality of the resolution is amazing and it has a 1-3 MP still camera as well with removable media. What you will notice is that the footage looks more like FILM than VIDEO with a 3CCD camera. You need good light though, as if you have bad light you must use a secondary source of light. 3CCD cameras are more 'professional' and require a bit more setup, but the end result is better footage.
The thing about cameras is the lighter they are the easier they are to jostle around and frankly the heavier they are the better shots you'll get. There is a trade off with portability but the horizontal style cameras are and probably will always be a better way to go in terms of quality of shot.
Also something to remember which is important: Hard Drive and DVD based cameras compress the signal to fit on such a small space. That means you are not recording true miniDV, uncompressed DV stream which is REALLY large. The compression therefore will introduce artifacts and when you export to your editing software you will not be working with DV footage. It will be something compressed, MPEG2/4 probably. You may not care, BUT what if you want to turn your masterpiece into something else? A real movie, a DVD to produce? The mastering software and most editing software require a full DV stream before editing (30 fps), then can recompress into just about anything including a postage size stamp and still have good quality. If your original footage is a bit crappy to start with (due to compression to fit on an HD or the small DVDs they use) then when you edit and RECOMPRESS you will get crappier still footage. You will only find this out when you start acquiring to computer. Check carefully what is being recorded on the HD/DVD -- it must be full blown NTSC-DV at 30fps (29.97 actually or somethign like that)...
The final thing to know:
Digital video applied with standard DV/DVCPRO compression (standard miniDV) takes up about 250 megabytes per minute or 13 gigabytes per hour. You need some serious diskspace for editing, storing and archiving... To edit you need 2x the space of the original video. For 1 hour you need about 30GB of space and then when you are done you can archive the raw footage (or delete) and be left with whatever you need. Running out of diskspace during a project is probably next to the worst thing that can happen - corruption of your project (in a crappy Windows video editor for example), is #1. That is worse than opening a word doc with gobbledy gook in it. Once it is toast, you're edits are wasted and all creative energy goes out like a deflated balloon. I have had it happen, it's bad :(
GOOD LUCK!
I have a Panasonic SDR-S100.
I know the Panasonics SD series pretty good.
Their previous models very ok technically, but clearly this is the model where they finally went for quality.
First of all its ergonomics are very good. It's designed for one hand usage, you can reach every function with the fingers of your holding hand.
It is very light too, but not too much (their previous model was so light, you couldn't really hold it steadily).
It has superb quality Leica optics with 10x optical zoom and optical image stabilization, so your videos won't shake.
It really surprised me, but it has very good sound quality. It recorded whispers and deep bass sounds truly and with little noise. However it doesn't have an external mic option.
It can record in either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio.
It's (widescreen) display has so beautiful colors that I'm usually disappointed when I see the recordings on my computer.
The camera's colors are converging the natural ones from the washed out side. Personally I don't like it, but it may be a question of taste.
Despite the 3 CCDs its low light performance isn't breathtaking at least.
It records to an SD card in MPEG-2 format, which is very practical. In fact you need some workarounds if you don't want to use its supported software in XP. I don't know about macs.
It's battery isn't a champ with its 45-60 mins. A second one comes handy usually.
If you follow the link I gave as my homepage, there are some photos taken by this camera by me.
I had the Sanyo at BarCampTdot and I was totally impressed. My only complain is sound quality but you can hook up an external mic.
It isn't a 3CCD but honestly it had a nicer picture then the 3CCD JVC Everio. The fact that the Sanyo is MPEG4 though makes it a little hard to work with as opposed to MPEG2 which the JVC and Panasonic do.
If you download the quicktime of my BarCampTdot post.
The video intro is shot with the Sanyo.
i'm a huge sony fan when it comes to digital cameras, camcorders or tvs so my first instict would say sony...but my friend just picked up the same sanyo you have listed here of ebay about a week ago and he loves it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7626657501&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1
Picture Quality should be #1. If U end up with Video or Photos U can't use or are displeasing to look at U prolly won't use yer cam as much. I find there's way too much focus on all the bells & whistles of these digital cams & not on the end Photo or Video.
My sis just emailed me pix of their dog - sadly most look like crap. Issues U raised like Steady hand or Anti-shake are critical with these new cams that are typically held away from the body to frame the shot. Unlike Old Fogies like me who use the Optical Viewfinder which seems to be all but disappearing off cameras. ;))
again I think Image Quality should be priority #1.
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