Camcorders (MiniDVD?,Hard Drive?)

[joebuck]

I have not bought a camcorder in 10 years...Wow, the 20 year old at Circuit City made me feel like an idiot! I want to spend in the 3 figures but don't need HD..Debating Mini? or Hard Drive?....Kind of leaning Sony DVD 508 or Sony SR 42..any advice

[Tim Fishell]

My wife and I just went through this debate a few months ago.  We ended up the the hard drive type.  It just seemed more versitile than the dvd or mini types.  We got the Sony Handycam with the 60GB hard drive and we can put up to 14 hours of video on it.  The problem with the Mini DVD is that you can only fit like up to an hour on a disk.  So for taking anything longer than that you will need to swap out disks.  With the hard drive style you can load videos directly to your computer and if you have a dvd burner you can burn right to a dvd and get the same results.  This is just what we found.  Good luck on your search I dont think you can go wrong with either one.  

Tim

[joebuck]

Thanks Tim, do you know if there is any quality as far as filming a movie between the 30Gb and 60gb? I bought the Sony CR 42 ( 30gb) and pics look a little grainy but i love the size. i have 12 days to return it ( circuit city0 don't mind spending a couple $ for a little better picture..what yours thought ..thanks again

[Tim Fishell]

The 30GB and 60GB is the same camera except for how much video they can hold.  One thing I learned is make sure you have the digital zoom turned off.  If you use the digital zoom it will start to pixilate your video and it will look grainy.  Plan with the options and features and you will get it figured out.

Here is a clip I took with mine a few weeks ago at deer camp.  
 

[Tim Fishell]

I should say that this is looking out the windsheild of my truck so the quality is not as good as it should be.

[12ringman]

If you are going to use it specifically for hunting you should save your money and get a Sony PD-150 or 170 or a Canon GL 1 or 2.They are high but if taken care of they will last a lifetime.

Robert

[joebuck]

Thanks Robert 90% hunting..I'm looking at the SR200 HD Sony right now...I want it small though to fit into fanny pack...i want the highest resolution without HD....that probably sounds stupid but i don't own a HD TV!..what do you know about the Sony sr 200?..thanks again

[Tom Mussatto]

Joe, if you intend to do any editing with your footage I would strongly suggest you stay with tape. You will be working with very lightly compressed video in AVI format and easily edited in a lossless fashion.

DVD would be your last choice here as it records in highly compressed MPEG2 codec. A real hazzle to work with in an editing suite and you will lose quality in the footage during the process. Great if all you want to do is record and then pop your disk in the player to view but not good for much else.

Both the harddrive cams and the DVD cams are consumer grade and lacking very important features you will find you need for good outdoor videography.

When you say 3 figures are you wanting a cam under $1000 or in the $3000 limit. If the latter you have many good options in this price range and all the better ones aquire in miniDV and/or DVCAM format. For $1000 or under Panasonics GS500 is about the best out there at $700.

[joebuck]

Thanks Tom, that is really good advice...I'm working under a 1000. I'm mainly concerned about size since I tote way too much in the woods. I mostly want to film turkey hunting and some tree stand hunting. I'll shop around for the Panasonic. I'm such an easy target for "marketing" and always fall back on Sony but I'll shift gears on your advice and look at the Panasonic. Thanks again for your advice.

[12ringman]

Joe,
 The problem you run into with the cameras like the Panasonics GS500 and the Sony SR 200 is the objective end of the camera is so small if the light is not perfect you will get poor quality images. And you know in the woods there is never the perfect shot on camera or game.Blinds will give you problems too. You can pick up a GL1 for around $750 and the GL2 for 1-1500. You will be way better off getting a camera that is a 3ccd and is a miniDV. Go to a popular auction site and look under the camcorders under miniDV and then type in 3ccd. There are several panasonics worth the doe and they are not bad either. After you see those you will get the idea.

Robert

[joebuck]

Thanks Robert...there is a Panasonic 400 on **** with high reviews.. so your saying buy quality but used?..I like that... I don't have to have new...so your with Tom and go miniDV..any auction sites besides ****?  thanks for info...ya'll sure are patient..I'm learning!...I'm looking at the Canon HV20...any thoughts..good,bad ,ugly

[MI_Bowhunter]

Something else to think about.  

I found that with the hard drive cams you have to offload your video to a PC periodically.   With a tape you can just keep swapping tapes and keep shooting until you have the time to edit all of it.

Just something to think about if you are in the bush or at a cabin w/o a computer to offload your video to.  The hard drives fill up faster then you think.

[12ringman]

Here is something you should check out. Most of these guys are just like you and me and lay down some great footage with the Canon GL's and Sony PD's. Cool site too:

 http://www.huntingfootage.com/index.php

[joebuck]

Thanks Robert for the advice. Thats a awesome site. That tree tripod is the rig. I'm going to have to save my scratch feed. Thats is the way I want to go. I'm going to borrow your ear when I get there. I'll have to train on some economical models first. But I am going to definitely tape..thanks guys

[12ringman]

That guy is asking $160 for that camera arm. the only thing you will need to get a borge fluid head tri-pod attachment which would prolly cost as much as the arm.

Robert