more digital camcorder ??'s

[s1120]

more digital camcorder ??\'s

I am looking for a digital camcorder, but I am also looking for one that takes stills. I have a new house, and a new baby on the way, so I need a camcorder.[it is a law you know./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif]but I also want to take digital stills to post on the web. Any one got any ideas? I know little about electronics, and don’t want to spend a ton of money.[the closer to $500 the better] I have been looking at the Sony Digital8 camcorders. Heres the link.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.sonystyle.com/digitalimaging/F_D8.shtml>http://www.sonystyle.com/digitalimaging/F_D8.shtml</A>

 

[webbmeister]

Re: more digital camcorder ??\'s

Hi Paul:

We buy digital cameras for student, researcher, and faculty field work all the time. In all these cases, we buy the Mini-DV type because of the excellent picture, compactness, and low cost of the media. Currently, we use the DCR-TRV17. It is rugged, has a very nice viewfinder, a memory stick for stills, and ... did I say "rugged?" We have had close to two dozen in the field for over a year, and no problems. They are priced between $825 and $1000 or so, depending on where you shop. More than you wanted to pay, I know, but the format is current, and it doesn't look like you get still photos in an 8 until you hit the 340 at $699. That's $125 between current and getting obsolete.

A note, though, on still photos taken with a camcorder. Camcorders are principally designed for shooting movies. Still shots are a secondary function at best, and the quality (low resolution) of the still shots is evidence of that. A cheap mega-pixel still camera will do a better job on stills than most camcorders. You might want to consider seperate devices for each task - stills and movies. If you do that, and budget is the issue, how about the Sony 140 and then a $200 still camera? Just a thought. If $500 really is the ceiling, how about the 140 and grabbing your stills from the video footage using a digital movie editing application like iMovie, or a PC equivalent? Again, not as good as a seperate camera, but it hits the budget and does the job.

If you do go with an 8, stick with digital 8 to stay near the state of things for as long as possible. Plain old Hi-8 is a dead end.

Good luck, and have fun picking your camcorder!

Jim

 

[Mosey]

Re: more digital camcorder ??\'s

Jim,

“we buy the Mini-DV type because of the … low cost of the media”. I priced the Digital 8 tapes vs the mini-DV tapes and found the Mini-DV tapes to be anything but “low cost”. Digital 8 tapes are $13 for a 3 pack and Mini-DV tapes are $15 for a 2 pack at Walmart (each will hold 60 minutes of video). Everything else you said makes sense.

“have fun picking your camcorder”. It’s been a headache for me so far! I’ve been looking for over a month and am still confused. I’m leaning toward Mini-DV because I don’t want to get something that will be outdated next year, but they are pricey. I’ve also been looking for something that will allow me to make copies of my existing set of VHS home videos onto whatever new digital format I get, but as near as I can tell none of the camcorders have that ability. Basically, I need to be able to copy from a VHS VCR to the digital camcorder. Will that movie editing software you’re talking about allow me to do that?

 

[webbmeister]

Re: more digital camcorder ??\'s

Mosey:

Maybe it is the number we buy (lots and lots at a time) but we only pay $3.27 each for the Mini-DV's. Sorry - got stuck in the "corporate mode" there.

Jim