Comments

Eugenia wrote on 3/9/2011, 2:10 PM
Chances are you will have to upgrade to Platinum 10. See, it's possible you will need the Platinum version for HD, but also, since you will be probably buying an AVCHD camcorder, you will need version 10 for faster decoding anyway.

However, before you buy, let me try to save you some money. :-)
Do you really need a camcorder? Do you need to zoom while recording for example (instead of first zooming to the level you want, and then record)? If not, you can go by with either the Canon SD1400 IS (720/30p, $150) digital camera, or the new Canon Elph 100 HS (1080/24p, and 720/30p, $200) digital camera. Small, convenient, cheap, double as good still picture devices, do great video if you know how to properly shoot (tutorial: http://eugenia.queru.com/2011/02/13/how-to-shoot-video-with-canon-hd-digicams/ ).

Sorry if this reply sounds a bit weird, I just don't believe there's a big market for camcorders anymore, apart for event videographers. Digicams (and especially Canons, since they have more manual controls for videos than other cheap digicams) can shoot good video with a bit of care while shooting. Do you need more quality than this? youtube.com/watch?v=SimGrxghJcE&hd=1 (copy/paste the URL, this forum only embeds it and doesn't allow fullscreen). It will already be 3x better than your DV camera, without spending big bucks.
Eugenia wrote on 3/9/2011, 3:40 PM
BTW, I see in your PC specs that you have about 512 MB of RAM. This is not enough for HD. You will need to upgrade to 2 GB, or 3 GB if possible. Also, on your P4 at 3 Ghz, I can't suggest anything more than either an HDV tape camera (e.g. the Canon HV40 is the best consumer HD tape camera to date), or the SD1400 IS which only does 720/30p (still better than your DV camera, but even at 720p you won't get 100% preview speed on a P4 (even with Platinum 10)).

So, my suggestions are:
1. Upgrade your RAM to 2 or 3 GB, no matter what. Get Vegas Platinum 10 for HD.
2. If you want to keep your P4 and use HD, then you must go for the Canon HV40, or other HDV tape camera, forget tapeless, too slow of a PC for h.264/AVCHD.
3. If you do want tapeless and you don't want to buy a new PC, then best option is the Canon SD1400 IS, that does 720/30p (not as demanding as full 1080p HD). It won't be real time, but it's going to be somewhat close with Platinum 10 (you might need to preview at "draft/auto" to get close to real time).
4. If you do upgrade your PC (fast CPU, get 64bit OS, 4 or 6 GB of RAM), then you can get any h.264/AVCHD camera, but if you're not an advanced shooter, then the Elph 100 HS (1080/24 and 720/30p) should do well for that purpose. If you're a very advanced shooter, get either the Canon T3i dSLR with lenses, or for camcorders, the upcoming HF-G10.

Disclaimer: I'm not paid by Canon or anything like that. :P I always suggest Canons because they have the most manual controls and bitrate than their competition for similarly priced products. I have about 15 cameras here, from several manufacturers, Canons have the best video results (if you shoot right).
Steve Grisetti wrote on 3/9/2011, 3:49 PM
Once again, Eugenia, I couldn't agree more.

A Pentium 4 really is borderline for editing hi-def video. In fact, it may be borderline for editing even standard def, except for shorter projects.

And I very much agree with your recommendations to go with HDV tape-based hi-def if any -- until you can afford a quad core computer that can handle AVCHD. Otherwise, you're just setting yourself up for a lot of frustration and heartache.

And, yes, Canons are excellent choices for consumer hi-def cams!
alphalogan wrote on 3/10/2011, 3:04 AM
Many thanks, from what you say - food for thought.
TOG62 wrote on 3/10/2011, 3:36 AM
For what it's worth I have a JVC Everio camcorder that records onto a hard drive in either MPEG 2 or AVCHD. It also has a fair amount or manual control. It might be worth checking out their latest models as a route that would allow the easily processed MPEG 2 files now and the more space efficient AVCHD files if and when you get a more powerful PC.