Camcorder recommendations

ericlast wrote on 4/30/2011, 11:52 AM
At the end of a recent trip, the LCD touch screen on my old standard def, miniDV Sony camcorder gave out. At this point not worth the price to repair, so I'll be in market for new camera....will be used for vacations, family events, school shows, and the like to be edited in Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0.

Any recommendations on camcorders liked by forum members would be appreciated....don't want to break the bank, not sure if I really need HD for what I'm shooting, and don't need anything overly fancy. Thanks!

Comments

Eugenia wrote on 4/30/2011, 2:21 PM
The cheapest Canon AVCHD camcorder at $350 is fine for your needs then.
richard-amirault wrote on 5/2/2011, 6:50 AM
The cheapest Canon AVCHD camcorder at $350 is fine for your needs then.

IF you have the computer power to edit it.

Do you want to stay SD or do you want to move up to HD? Unlike SD there are many different HD formats out there to choose from.

ALSO .. do you want to stay with tape, or go to flash memory or Hard Drive?

These all can effect your choice of new camera.
Byron K wrote on 5/2/2011, 12:12 PM
These threads may be of some help.

www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=722820
www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=729178
ericlast wrote on 5/3/2011, 9:00 AM
I'm leaning towards HD...found a Canon HFM301 for $350, so it's AVCHD format. Of course, I recently upgraded my computer hardware, so I'm wondering if my hardware will support AVCHD. The new computer is:

Lenovo Z560
Intel Core i5 480M(2.66GHz)
4GB DDR3 RAM
5400RPM HDD
Dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 310M video card with 1GB video memory.
Steve Grisetti wrote on 5/3/2011, 9:22 AM
I would recommend an i7 processor for supporting AVCHD -- and a desktop rather than a laptop.

But you may be able to work on shorter projects without too much lugging.
Eugenia wrote on 5/3/2011, 9:34 AM
This is the best consumer camcorder today:
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/vixia_hf_g10#Specifications
but this one is a good camcorder you can get for less for non-semi-pro usage:
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/vixia_hf_r10#Specifications

Personally, if I had no other HD camera, I'd go for this instead though:
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/digital_cameras/powershot_sx230_hs#Specifications
The quality on that digicam is as good as in 24mbps AVCHD camcorders with its 38mbps h.264 bitrate, it does true 24p and true 30p, it has exposure lock and color controls. Video sample: And it doubles as a pretty good 14x digicam.
ericlast wrote on 5/3/2011, 10:44 AM
Any recommendations if one were to go the standard def route (both to save money and because I'm worried that my new computer - which has worked beautifully with my old miniDV standard def material - would be made obsolete by going the HD route)?
Eugenia wrote on 5/3/2011, 11:03 AM
There is absolutely no reason to go to SD. Your PC is fast enough for HD, and HD cameras are cheaper than SD these days. For example, the Canon A1200, costs just $110, and it does 720/24p at 21mbps, offering WAY better quality than ANY SD consumer camera, plus it's cheaper too. Here's a test video from that camera: http://vimeo.com/23108643
richard-amirault wrote on 5/3/2011, 11:19 AM
In addition to what I mentioned above...

Some folks have a problem with the limited continuous recording capability of flash memory based camcorders. There are workarounds that some have had success with.

Others have a need / desire to have a camcorder with the ability to use an external microphone (not all have that feature) and headphones (again, not all) ... and still others need a longer (optical) zoom than what comes on most units.