Need Camcorder!

[TK2K]

Hey,
So I am looking for a pretty good camcorder, i would love 720P ability.. But i do not know how much more that would cost....

What would you guys recommend?
the major uses would be snowboard footage, zoom is not a huge issue, ability to capture action would be nice, and some sort of USB or Firewire dump to a laptop is a must.

 

[xfile]

Unless you want to pay HiDef prices, MiniDV can't be beat. A lot of it comes down to number and size of CCD's when you are talking about quality. I have a Panasonic GS500 and it is excellent.

 

[TK2K]

If i'm not mistaken, that upwards of $750.

As it is, I don't want anything too expencive, mostly because my main avinue is still photography, i have a digital reb XT + 4 lenses for it.

If this was in terms of computers, think mid range gaming system? maybe on the light end

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: TK2K
If i'm not mistaken, that upwards of $750.

As it is, I don't want anything too expencive, mostly because my main avinue is still photography, i have a digital reb XT + 4 lenses for it.

If this was in terms of computers, think mid range gaming system? maybe on the light end

"I don't want anything too expensive" <> HDV.

The best bet going might be the Canon HV-10. $900 right now at B&H Photo. It is 1080i and MiniDV. It is suitable for everything except extreme sports (no helmet cams, ski diving, mounting to race cars or bikes - has a very nasty element shake if used for extreme sports POV).

 

[BernardP]

Take a look at the upcoming canon PowerShot DX1 do-everything.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0702/07022203canontx1.asp

 

[TK2K]

Any idea on price for the TX1?

is it worth waiting 2 months for if they'll be about the same price

 

[TK2K]

TTT

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: TK2K
Any idea on price for the TX1?

is it worth waiting 2 months for if they'll be about the same price

"Your internet skills are weak old man."

B&H Photo here has it listed as $499.95 and coming soon. Not taking orders yet.

Edit - Direct link to TX1 page

 

[TK2K]

Alright, I just looked a bit more at that camera..

As it is, a 8GB memory card can only hold about 22 mins of footage.... That seems really really poor...
HDV is the same as DV..

Am i missing something? This seems like a major downfall of this camera

 

[gsellis]

If you can, do the HV-10 if you want HDV. Pocketable for the most part and great pic.
The stills kick too. Try here for some pro and prosumer discussions about it (and the new HV20 which is more).

 

[TK2K]

Well it just seems that I couldn't get enough recording time out of the other one....

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: TK2K
Well it just seems that I couldn't get enough recording time out of the other one....

The solidstates are nice, but still a little lacking on the picture quality and short record times for usable resolutions. I also don't like AVCHD at the moment because you cannot edit it (yet). Plus, erasable media (including HDD) means that you cannot keep a copy of it. Digital photos fit on DVDs in original format fairly cheaply. But video is still huge. It is nice to have the magnetic media handy if you later want to try something new with.

 

[TK2K]

Well is there any reason to think the HV10 would drop in price? amazon has it for about $840 which seems to be a pretty good price... But if it'd drop when the TX1 hits...

 

[gsellis]

It may drop a little more after the HV20 is out, but most of that is here now. Sanyo also makes a small HDV. Like the TX1. Go to the above link and back up one to the consumer cam link.

Here is the Samsung topic section

 

[Johnbear007]

panasonic g300

 

[FireChicken]

This is the best camcorder review site that i have found.

Everything you need to know is here

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
panasonic g300

Great camera for the $ (listed as one of the top SD cameras at camcorderinfo - price for performance makes it one of the best deals). The original request was 720p and the 300 is 480i. Fits the $ amount that TK2K would like to spend, but not the definition.

 

[FireChicken]

I think it will be near inpossibe to find an HD camera around the same price as a gs 300

Cheapest HD i have seen is the The Sony HDR-UX1 which is $750

 

[TK2K]

Well I'm seriously considering the HV10. Are there any major downsides to the camera?

 

[gsellis]

The HV10 does not do well in extreme sports use. The elements shake if you use it skydiving, mounted on a vehicle or in similar very shaky environments. For HDV, you need to make sure your software and system can handle the additional horsepower requirements. Otherwise, great video, great stills, easy to take along.

 

[TK2K]

Well my rig is a Macbook Pro with 2GB of ram, final cut express so I should be fine on the comptuer side.


Hmm.... Well no extreme sports, but some sports footage... the HV20 has IS, right? but it's also $300 more

 

[gsellis]

Both have optical IS, so it is a win. Recording sports is not the same as recording sports while participating, so it should be good. Did you go to the DVinfo links? In the root forum, the News section has some stuff on the TX1 with first looks by a view folks.

 

[TK2K]

Alright, thanks a lot for your help