Help finding a camcorder

[CyrusTalon]

I'm in the market for a digital camcorder. I've started looking around, but find myself getting bogged down and in way over my head. So here's a few of my questions:

Which is the better (its subjective, I know, but give your personal opinion!) type of recording to use: Internal HDD, MiniDV, MicroMV, MiniDVD, DVD, Memory Card, Internal Flash Memory.

Versatility, easy to use, quality, etc, etc.

What sort of specs (optical zoom, still photo megapixtels, LCD size, Dolby 5.1 channel sound recording, lithium battery, NiCad, 16:9 capable, etc, etc, etc) should I be looking for???

Any and all suggestions are appreciated. I am also unbiased as far as brands, so please steer me in the right direction. Thanks so much.

 

[CyrusTalon]

Is there a good website out there where I might compare similar models / types side by side and see how they stack up??

 

[BMXTRIX]

Mini-DV is perhaps the most common.

Hard Drive based units have a big issue - if you fill it up, what do you do until you can download the video? Answer: Nothing! You are stuck. That seems like a no-brainer to me.

Flash based units are the same really. While you can change out the storage, there isn't nearly as much available and quality suffers big time. A few 6GB flash cards ain't cheap either!

DVD based technologies, while convenient, don't measure up to DV based technolgoies, so I would rule them out on quality alone.

MicroMV - sure, just a different way of doing DV... why bother?

Mini-DV is pretty much the standard. You can pick up extra tapes at most stores throughout the world. You have a phenomenal number of choices available to you, and the quality is production level.

Cameras like the XL-2 or GL-2 from Canon are truly operating at a professional level. I have gone to sporting events where there were 6 guys running around with Canon GL-2 cameras and that is what ESPN used to create a 60 minute sports show.

Best of all it is fairly easy to get it from the camera, to your PC at the highest level of video quality.

As for the rest of the specs? Well, you definitely want to lean towards larger lenses. The bigger lenses (all glass) let in more light and tend to perform better.

Optical zoom matters - digital zoom is worthless. I recommend you NEVER consider using digital zoom. It degrades the image. Search for a model with greater optical zoom.

Still photo is why you buy a digital camera... I would never consider the 'still photo' qualities of a camcorder above anything. I put it right next to 'digital zoom' in what a requirement is.

LCD size I do consider fairly important. But, not as important as the QUALITY of the LCD. I have both a Sony and a JVC camera and the Sony's 3" LCD is far brighter than the JVC's. It is easier to work with in the daytime which is what I need and the better image quality it produces lets me get the camera further from my body more easily. But, 2.5" is common and a fine size.

I guess some new cameras have 5.1... Haven't used it, so no comment.

Battery doesn't matter as you can almost always get a much better replacement to what comes with the camera. My 60 minute battery go switched out for a 10 hour model... yes, it actually worked about 10 hours. Unbelievable when you are using it.

No NiCad!

16:9 Capable is pretty common these days and I consider it a plus.

I also consider it a plus that you can now get cameras which can shoot in HD, which is a heck of a feature. If you know HD, you already know that HD trumps SD by a long shot.

Finally, Sony continually is recommended as an excellent brand at the low/mid/high level. While when you get up to the $3K+ level you may find the Canon models to be a bit more robust, and the interchangable lenses to be a bit better - at about the $500 -> $1K level, where Sony uses Carl Zeiss lenses, they have a phenomenal reputation. I know my Sony blows my JVC away for overall build and image quality and I would buy and recommend a Sony again based on that alone - but most commentary I hear follows along with that.

I am not aware of specific sites that can give you more info on camcorders - and budget really does mean a lot.

 

[CyrusTalon]

Thanks so much for the info and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I guess with your info I will look towards a MiniDV. Thanks again.