Camcorders

[JoyJoy]

I am interested in buying my husband a digital camcorder for Christmas.

I don't want to spend over $500.00. I would appreciate your recommendations.

Thank you.

[Broken Arrow]

For $500 and under, Sony is a good brand to start out your search....

Of course, the issue of camcorders is more than just selecting a brand.

If you can provide more details, it will help to narrow down what is the best type of camcorder for your needs. For example, what will it be mostly used for? Will there be editing involved? Do you want a point&shoot, or do you want more manual control? How do you plan to show the footage? (TV only? DVD?) Etc etc.

[MonkeyMama]

I will ask my hubby. He is in the know in the stuff and knows what the best deals are. He is the biggest video snob but "cheap" too so he knows the best deals. Are you opposed to buying from the internet? If you do often you can call and ask for a discount, etc. We have a professional camcorder he got a great deal on, I know he will find you the best under $500. Do you have any particular features in mind?? (See Borken Arrow's post...)

I'll ask him the best deal in-stores and the best internet one and get back to you.

Send me an e-mail if I forget to get back to you. ; )

[MonkeyMama]

Check out this website:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

Check out this list - it is from end of 2005, but still holds pretty true - and prices may have come down:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...elect-2005.htm

My hubby said to avoid DVD-based and HArd-Drive based camcorders. The media is expensive, and not of good quality, not good for editing. You can only fit 20 minutes per DVD or something like that. Stick with tape.

& he would never buy anything below a 3 CCD. But I am not sure if you will find that in your price range. If you can, it is good advice.

That is from Mr. Video Editor video snob, I am sure you probably don't care about all that. I know I wouldn't - LOL. But the camcorder site certainly has good info. & the media heads up may save you some headache.

[Broken Arrow]

Heh heh. Yes, he IS a camcorder snob....

But he's my kind of camcorcer snob.

I owned a Canon GL-1 when they first came out.

[fake_usa]

panisonic makes great camcorders in this price range,

Check out this site: http://www.dvspot.com this guy does GREAT reviews.

Also check www.beachcamera.com for prices they are very competitive, I bought two cameras from them, I live 2 minutes from their store, just don't let them quick talk you into add ons, and know exactly what you want before you buy anything from them, I don't know how good they are with returns.

[JoyJoy]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

For $500 and under, Sony is a good brand to start out your search....

Of course, the issue of camcorders is more than just selecting a brand.

If you can provide more details, it will help to narrow down what is the best type of camcorder for your needs. For example, what will it be mostly used for? Will there be editing involved? Do you want a point&shoot, or do you want more manual control? How do you plan to show the footage? (TV only? DVD?) Etc etc.

I am not well versed when it comes to camcorders. I do know how much I want to pay and what kind of tapes I would prefer to buy.

Needs: Will be used mostly for family and friend gatherings and trips.

Recording format would be atleast 60 minutes which I believe the MiniDV and D8 cassettes would suffice on our budget as opposed to the 120 to 300 minutes of recording on a Hi8 cassette.

Point and Shoot seems the easiest to use over the manual control I would imagine.

I appreciate knowing what brand to start with. Sony sounds good!

Thanks for your input Broken Arrow!

[JoyJoy]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

Check out this website:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/


That is from Mr. Video Editor video snob, I am sure you probably don't care about all that. I know I wouldn't - LOL. But the camcorder site certainly has good info. & the media heads up may save you some headache.

Wow this IS valuable information and I am going to print it out and use it. Thanks, thanks, thanks!!

P.S. Editing wouldn't be a big priority. Buying from the internet is fine. Tell hubby thanks for his input as well.

[JoyJoy]

Originally Posted by fake_usa

panisonic makes great camcorders in this price range,

Check out this site: http://www.dvspot.com this guy does GREAT reviews.

Also check www.beachcamera.com for prices they are very competitive, I bought two cameras from them, I live 2 minutes from their store, just don't let them quick talk you into add ons, and know exactly what you want before you buy anything from them, I don't know how good they are with returns.

Thanks for the information.

"know exactly what you want before you buy anything from them...". This is my reason for asking the well-informed on Savingadvice FIRST!!

I am armed with some good information now so I can go into the store and act like I know what I'm talking about lol. Some salespeople see a woman coming in and she becomes easy prey for an item that she truly doesn't need or is too costly. I don't want to appear lost lol.

Thanks everyone I have the information to get started now!

[MonkeyMama]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

Heh heh. Yes, he IS a camcorder snob....

But he's my kind of camcorcer snob.

I owned a Canon GL-1 when they first came out.

Oh geez, he had to buy a professional 3CCD camera 4 years ago when we were expecting our first baby. HE assured me it would last a long while (no immediate upgrade) and paid for it with wedding jobs - he does video work on the side. Anyway, I have not heard the word "upgrade" once in 4 years and the video is pretty sweet. So I am not sure it was the worst. But come on, how many people have fancy camcorder on theiur new baby checklist? LOL.

But beyond that I think he was the first person in our state to buy a DVD player when they came out. Okay, certainly the first poor college student. I remember him coming to my house and refusing to watch vhs. See what I put up with.

As long as he makes money from this hobby I guess it evens out...

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by JoyJoy

Needs: Will be used mostly for family and friend gatherings and trips.

This would stress portability... which is true for practically all consumer level camcorders... so this shouldn't a problem.

Recording format would be atleast 60 minutes which I believe the MiniDV and D8 cassettes would suffice on our budget as opposed to the 120 to 300 minutes of recording on a Hi8 cassette.

Hi8 is analog and the usual recording time in SP mode is 60 as well. Longer can be had at a lower quality. D8 is digital information imprinted on that same Hi8 format, but squeezes out a mere 40 minutes. However, I'm recalling this off the top of my head, so I may have it incorrectly.

In any case, I think the ideal format for your needs is most definitely MiniDV.

Point and Shoot seems the easiest to use over the manual control I would imagine.

Again, something that most camcorders are capable of today, though I think there is a variance in its competence. Still, I don't think this is an issue either....

Wow, except for your budget, your needs are actually very flexible. Just about any entry level consumer camcorder (in MiniDV) can fit the bill. I'd go to a brick and mortar electronics store and handle as many as you can get your hands on to get a better impression. Still, brand-wise, I'll stick with my initial recommendation of looking into a Sony.

Oh geez, he had to buy a professional 3CCD camera 4 years ago when we were expecting our first baby.

Hehe. He might have the same one I had too then. At the time, Sony and Canon (and possibly Panasonic) were among the first to offer a prosumer level camcorder with 3CCDs (for under 3k anyway). I went with Canon.

[MonkeyMama]

Sony - I think it was $1500, at most. But if we bought something cheaper it would have been upgraded at least once (if not more) by now... I am not sure what the model is - I rarely get to touch his baby.

Oh yeah - that's the word - prosumer. See he would like this board - LOL. Oh yeah, we have been too poor to buy stuff like that in a while, but he is itching to buy something I Am sure, and I will be complaining here soon enough. ; )

(Sorry to hijak the thread).

[Broken Arrow]

I don't know if anyone's interested, but Camcorder Info did their awards things, and the Canon Elura 100 won both the under $400 category and camcorder of the year.

Link for the full award list.

[JoyJoy]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

I don't know if anyone's interested, but Camcorder Info did their awards things, and the Canon Elura 100 won both the under $400 category and camcorder of the year.

Link for the full award list.

Well I am interested and will definitely check this one out. I haven't purchased my husband's gift yet as I was saving the best (him) for last!

Thanks very much Broken Arrow as your post came just in time!!!

[Broken Arrow]

And thank YOU for making my day.