Anyone has a suggestion on where to start?

I am looking on purchasing an HD camcorder that is easy to use and uses the least amount of resources when transferring to PC and burning into a DVD.

I was looking at the Canon HV20 which uses HDV on standard miniDV tapes. A big plus as I can playback standard definition "legacy" mniDV tapes.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

 

HDV sucks

Look into Panasonics AVCHD camcorders. They use SD cards to record. This will make importing into your computer BY FAR the easiest. Some models even had HD's built in, but I would go for one with a straight SD slot.

I dislike Canon video products, and Sony is not a company I have a lot of love for anymore, but some of their products are still better then the competitors. But right now in home video Panasonic is one of the best.

 

I thought the compression used in AVCHD was fairly lossy compared to HDV. Not correct?

 

Found this site: www.camcorderinfo.com

Not sure what your needs are, but I have a friend who is quite happy with this Panasonic S100

 

If you have a Borders/Barnes N Noble near you, go pick up a Maximum PC magazine. They were reviewing some HD camcorder. They rank the Panasonic pretty high.

 

its supposed to be less lossy in theory. Not as much compression as needed to go to tape. Plus you dont have to worry about tape drop outs which causes a loss of at least 15 frames with hdv.

 

makes sense, i had that issue pop up once in a while when i used to do video editing back in high school.

question thou, wont you need a huuuge SD card? how big are the files?

 

a 4-8gb card should be fine. or at least two of them.

Any issue you had in video editing in school with SD tapes and drop outs would only cost you one frame...easy to deal with. Try 15 frames.

 

Thanks for the responses.

I do have a standard def Panasonic camcoder right now and I really like it (besides the fact that I've had 2 LCDs cracked already).

Sarlacc, If I do a straight copy paste from SHDC to PC, can I playback the clip(s) with Winamp or Windows Media Player? Or do I require a more Pro Software.

I need something wife-proof

Thanks.

 

I have the HV20 and love it. Whenever I show people the playback they are always impressed with the quality of a sub-$1000 camcorder.

If you are interested in more info about that model: www.hv20.com

 

I dont use windows, so I know nothing about that. But its all designed for ease of use for consumers.

 

There is stuff besides Windows?

 

yeah and its all better.

 

The cons I see with AVCHD is that once you run out of space you need to offload it to a laptop and/or PC. Having that my wife is traveling with 2 kids, it is not going to be feasible for her to do so, whereas using HDV, you swap the tapes and voilà.

Also, the ability of playing back standard def miniDV tapes is a plus too.

Will see, I will continue reading.

Thanks for the responses!

 

BTW, I just picked up a 16GB SDHC card for $140 for my Creative Zen. A couple of these would work nicely, if they are fast enough.

 

The Sony SR1 that I have has a 30G HD, that can store 4-11 hours of HD video or 7-20 hours of SD, depending on which quality you use. After having two miniDV drives give out on me, I thought I'd give this a try. Though I haven't used it much.

 

You can always get more cards for not so much money.


Here are cons of HDV:

super high compressions

tape format (moveable parts that can break, or get clogged, heads that wear over time.)

tape format (having to sit there and digitize the footage, which blows. Also, you have to use your camera as a deck which is bad for the heads.)



And what is this about playing back tapes? with SD cards the set up is like a digital camera, you select the clip you want and watch it instantly. No rewinding/fast forwarding crap. And you'll only be able to play back in SD if you shot SD. otherwise youll have to import hd into your computer and downres it.

 

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/d/Revie...level_c=HD.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVCHD

 

Just 3 more questions.

How much does a 4 GB SDHC card cost and how much time can I store in it.

Assuming my wife has a basic laptop, will she be able to playback the AVCHD files just by double clicking?

I am not worried about authoring. I have done it 3 times in the last 5 years. No time. I stick with the unedited versions of the video.

 

You'd have to look at the specs of the camera to see how much footage can be stored on a card at whatever format you shoot.

You'd also have to look in to the cost of 4gb cards. but I bet there a lot of deal to be had...check out techbargain.com

The files should record as mp4 files, so yes, provided you have the right viewer or patch...you should just be able to play them without anything proprietary.

 

Thanks Sarlacc

 

I'm very much Pro-get rid of tape.

But, in the end you get what you are most comfortable with.

 

FAQs for HD Camcorders



http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...PRD_CNT_002051

 

See, that is just dumb.

I can and have edited full res panasonic P2 format HD on my old G4 powerbook. This is MUCH more intensive then AVCHD. So, why can't a normal windows machine handle it?

What specs is it saying it requires?

 

And WM blows, use quicktime for that stuff.

 

I personally use WinAmp. They do not specify the kind of machine you need.

 

They are pretty much covering their ass with questions # 2. They are correct that MOST PC wont be able to handle your HD playback because the amount of money that needs to be invested may not be worth it. I am certain that you CAN get it to play with the following:

- Mid to higher end video card (8800 series video card)
- A LCD that support resolution of up to 1920x1080. (Depending on the spec, it might just be recorded in 720p, which is 1280x 720p)
- Mid to higher end processor (Q6600 and higher)

Just those 3 components will cost you over a grand, hence, the reason most user will not be able to playback HD on their PC.

 

Sarlacc, there seems to be a way of playing Back AVCHD with WMP tho

http://forum.videohelp.com/topic327850-60.html

Anyways, I got the Canon HV20, but of course, I can return it to Costco anytime before 90 days. I have not received it yet.

I am debating on getting the Canon HG10 instead. 40 GB AVCHD based camcorder. Seems to be recording @ 1080p. It support miniSDHC too. Firewire is a goner though. It seems that USB is all you need.

Panasonic, I like them, but they dont seem to have Hard Disk Based cameras for under $800

Any input?

 

HG10 might be the way to go with the HD.

But if you like and are comfortable with the 20 when it arrives, enjoy it.

 

I was going through some standard def videos yesterday and I really hated the idea of rewinding/forwarding tapes.

I am with you regarding Random Access Memory. Very convenient plus its just like a digital camera. Drag & Drop to the PC. Edit and voilá.

 

I had the Canon HG10 for some time, but I have finally settled with the Panasonic HDC-SD9. Great Compact Digital Camcorder, SD based.

 

That camera looks suite!

 

Looking to buy a camcorder next week. Its is dumb not to get an HD one since I plan on getting a nice HDTV etc? I want something small and recording to flash memory is probably best for me since I will probably load it on to the PC. Any recommendations (looking under 800ish)?

 

Cliffs:
A) Pretty much everything in the consumer HD cams that shoots to flash or hard drives is using AVCHD.

B) AVCHD is a computing resource hog.

C) The current consensus seems to favor either the current flash based Canons (HF10/HF100) or the hard drive based Sonys (SR11/SR12).

I posted more detailed tech info in the other camcorder thread.
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...9&postcount=40

 

whisky, I plan to pick up a $300-400 standard def Flash cam and wait for this HD stuff to sort itself out and more importantly, drop in price. IMO, watching home movies is good enough in standard def, at least for now. I'm not Speilberg.

 

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921665291500

spend the extra

 

it records in 1080p??

 

To watch his son blow out B-Day candles?

Waste of money IMO. Especially considering the time involved getting it off the camera and onto a DVD.

Just my of course.

 

One minor warning on the Sony SR11/12. They have a 10K foot altitude limit due to the hard drive.

 

camcorder to mac....import straight in to iMovie....iMovie does the rest including making the DVDs.

Couldnt be easier.