buying new camcorder

[thekoolkolodny]

ive been searching for anew camcorder and have been stuck….can anyone telll me the quality diffence between hdd and mini dv…..which one is better for begginers ,etcs….my budget is 500-600 tops

[ralck]

Thebiggestdifferences between HDDand miniDVis thecompressionalgorithmsusedto storethe videoand how you capture it to your computer.

With miniDV it uses a DV codec which is much less compressed than the HDD mpeg2 codec. This means that if you plan to edit your footage, it will be a bit easier with miniDV as the compression is a little more geared towards editing. I like miniDV’s compression myself because I like to edit my footage (though someone just filming home movies might not care enough).

Also, miniDV needs to capture in real-time meaning if you record an hour of footage it takes an hour to capture that footage. A HDD cam is limited by the connection to the computer, usually USB 2.0, so an hour of video should only take several minutes to transfer. Personally, I like this “con” of miniDV because I sit at my computer and log my footage as it captures (make notes about where certain clips are time-wise and what can be fixed up, etc).

Ofcourse,thereare otherthingsto look atinacamera, suchaszoom,manualcontrol, sizeofthecamera, microphoneinput justtonameafew.

Now, withoutknowing what you wanttodo with acamera,it’shardtorecomendwhich formattorecord onas well as whichcamera for youtobuy. If youare unsure of what you want/needin acamera,take a lookatthe thread titled “Here Be Answers About Cameras, Editing Software, etc”foundhere:
http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/here-be-answers-about-cameras-and-editing-software?replies=30

If youareconfusedatwhichfeatures youneed,etc, youcan letusknow what you plantouse thecam for and wecan help you findthe rightcamerafor you. 🙂

[thekoolkolodny]

im using it for home movies… and a video class im taking… ill bee doing chorma key and i want editing but lately the mini dvs that have came out go upm to 300 and skip to 1000..i dnt wnna spend 1000 cuz i dnt have the money and im afraid of hd lol(editing and burnning).im looking at the dcr-sr65 which is a sony and a canon zr930 but the but i like the sony better

[no1sgoneb4]

I am in a similar situation. I am looking to purchase a second camcorder for my small videography business. I just do special events such as weddings, family reunions, and church anniversaries, etc. I currently have a JVC HDD 30 gig, but I am not very happy with the picture quality after it’s rendered. It’s an older model though so I’m hoping to get a new camera with better picture quality without going HD. My price range is about the same… $500 – $600. I prefer the hard drive cameras myself. I’m leaning towards the JVC mg255 or the Sony sr200. They both have 2100 pixels which I hope will produce the picture quality I am looking for. The JVC has 1 CCD, the Sony has 1 CMOS. Which is better? Is the poor picture quality of the JVC somewhat in part due to its proprietary .MOD HDD format? Anyone’s input would be greatly appreciated (smile)! Thanks

[Anonymous]

Go to http://www.camcorderinfo.com and look at the reviews.

I’d also look at Consumer Reports.

You have to be careful these days as some camcorders format – AVCHD won’t work easily with some Editors.

Buy your camera some place you can easily take it back if it won’t work with your computer software.

[ralck]

Hi,

I’m still not really sure what you want to do with the camera. You mentioned home movies… do you plan to shoot outdoors in the sunlight or inside in low light conditions? What will you be learning in this video class you’ll be taking?

Have you taken a look at the thread I listed for you. Reading through that should help you start to get some ideas on what features you will need in a camera. From there you can start looking at cameras in your price range that have these features to find the camera for you.

It’s really hard for me to tell you the best camera for your needs. It can almost be like asking me which food you like better. 😛 What you might want to consider is calling up a store like B&H Photo and Video (stay away from places like Best Buy who will just want to sell you the most expensive) and talk with them about what you need in a camera. They are trained video specialists that help people every day pick out camera equipment (I’m just a college student).

[thekoolkolodny]

i looked at the forum u gave me it was helpful but a little vague i will be shotting indoor and out door….recording my self playing baseball and sports. in video class i will be studying teqniques and writing and making alot of movies…thankns for all your help ralck

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