Camcorder help............

[cougarfreak]

Ok, the mrs. is expecting in April, and I guess a logical buy on that crazy shopping day tomorrow for us is a camcorder. Can someone point me in the right direction? Do DV camcorders plug into the tv and play? I'm clueless. I'd like to get something I can burn with a dvd recorder on my tv, or if I have to get a dvd burner for the computer I can do that.

[QuikSand]

I'll be watching this thread, too. We haven't bough one yet... have some ideas, but nothing ironclad quite yet. I'm watching for deals, too... if something strikes me, I'll share here.

[QuikSand]

Right now, we are looking primarily at two Sony models:

#DCR-DVD92 (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=ELEC&pid=00356015000&subcat=Camcorders)

#DCR-HC32 (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=ELEC&pid=00356010000&subcat=Camcorders)


We have gotten pretty good feedback on the Sony brand overall. I actually am leaning toward the second model there (a bit cheaper) since it has the ability to save stills to a computer, which seems like a nice feature.

I've been shopping at the Sears website a bit, as we have some gift cards to use there, and they have a pretty good price match policy (115O of difference, as long as it's the exact same item and available through a retailed in your area... prices from places like BestBuy.com and WalMart.com are fair game)

[QuikSand]

For what it's worth, here is the price match policy from Sears:

We'll Match Any Price Plus...
If you find a lower price on an identical branded item with the same features currently available for sale at another local retail store, Sears will match that price plus give you 10% of the difference. Just tell your sales associate at the time of, or within 30 days after, your purchase.

If you find a lower price (including shipping, handling and delivery) on an identical branded item with the same features currently available for sale and delivery in your area from a local retail store's online site, Sears will match that total price Plus, give you 10% of the difference. Just print the ordering page, including shipping, handling and delivery, and bring it to your Sears store at the time of, or within 30 days after, your purchase. If you are purchasing the item from sears.com, email the information to [email protected]

Exclusions
Sears will not match competitors' bonus or free offers, special offers, rebates, financing offers, clearance or closeout prices, or prices on used, damaged, returned, open box or display merchandise, service contracts or automotive services, or installation, delivery, or assembly services. Sears will not match competitors' prices that result from a price match.

Sears Price Match Plus Policy does not apply to parts, Sears licensed partner websites, digital services, "Sears Presents" and Shop At Home catalogs.

Stores in Puerto Rico, Alaska and Hawaii will not match any online prices.

[QuikSand]

From the public access area of Consumer (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/camcorders/camcorders/features/important-features.htm) Reports:

Important features Camcorders

A flip-out liquid-crystal-display (LCD) viewer is becoming commonplace on all but the lowest-priced camcorders. You’ll find it useful for reviewing footage you’ve shot and easier to use than the eyepiece viewfinder for certain shooting poses. Some LCD viewers are hard to use in sunlight, a drawback on models that have only a viewer and no eyepiece.

Screens vary from 2 1/2 to 4 inches measured diagonally, with a larger screen offered as a step-up feature on higher-priced models. Since an LCD viewer uses batteries faster than an eyepiece viewfinder does, you don’t have as much recording time when the LCD is in use.

An image stabilizer automatically reduces most of the shaking that occurs from holding the camcorder as you record a scene. Most stabilizers are electronic; a few are optical. Either type can be effective, though mounting the camcorder on a tripod is the surest way to get steady images. If you’re not using a tripod, you can try holding the camcorder with both hands and propping both elbows against your chest.

Full auto switch essentially lets you point and shoot. The camcorder automatically adjusts the color balance, shutter speed, focus, and aperture (also called the “iris” or “f-stop” with camcorders).

Autofocus adjusts for maximum sharpness; manual focus override may be needed for problem situations, such as low light. (With some camcorders, you may have to tap buttons repeatedly to get the focus just right.) With many models, you can also control exposure, shutter speed, and white balance.

The zoom is typically a finger control--press one way to zoom in, the other way to widen the view. The rate at which the zoom changes will depend on how hard you press the switch. Typical optical zoom ratios range from 10:1 to 26:1. The zoom relies on optical lenses, just like a film camera (hence the term “optical zoom”). Many camcorders offer a digital zoom to extend the range to 400:1 or more, but at a lower picture quality.

For tape-based formats, analog or digital, every camcorder displays tape speeds the same way a VCR does. Every model, for example, includes an SP (standard play) speed. Digitals have a slower, LP (long play) speed that adds 50 percent to the recording time. A few 8mm and Hi8 models have an LP speed that doubles the recording time. All VHS-C and S-VHS-C camcorders have an even slower EP (extended play) speed that triples the recording time. With analog camcorders, slower speeds worsen picture quality. Slow speed usually doesn’t reduce picture quality on digital camcorders. But using slow speed means sacrificing some seldom-used editing options and may restrict playback on other camcorders.

Disc-based formats have a variety of modes that trade off recording time for image quality.

Quick review lets you view the last few seconds of a scene without having to press a lot of buttons. For special lighting situations, preset auto-exposure settings can be helpful. A “snow & sand” setting, for example, adjusts shutter speed or aperture to accommodate high reflectivity.

A light provides some illumination for close shots when the image would otherwise be too dark. Backlight compensation increases the exposure slightly when your subject is lit from behind and silhouetted. An infrared-sensitive recording mode (also known as night vision, zero lux, or MagicVu) allows shooting in very dim or dark situations, using infrared emitters. You can use it for nighttime shots, although colors won’t register accurately in this mode.

Audio/video inputs let you record material from another camcorder or from a VCR, useful for copying part of another video onto your own. (A digital camcorder must have such an input jack if you want to record analog material digitally.) Unlike a built-in microphone, an external microphone that is plugged into a microphone jack won’t pick up noises from the camcorder itself, and it typically improves audio performance.

A camcorder with digital still capability lets you take snapshots, which can be downloaded to your computer. The photo quality is generally inferior to that of a still camera.

Features that may aid editing include a built-in title generator, a time-and-date stamp, and a time code, which is a frame reference of exactly where you are on a tape--the hour, minute, second, and frame. A remote control helps when you’re using the camcorder as a playback device or when you’re using a tripod. Programmed recording (a self-timer) starts the camcorder recording at a preset time.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I just got a camcorder for Christmas (not a Sony, but the brand doesn't make much difference to this discussion). Anyway, in general, you should be able to play recordings from a MiniDV tape directly to your TV through the camcorder. Just connect the camcorder to the the inputs on your TV (or DVD recorder). Then you hit "play" on the camcorder and "record" on the recorder, and that's it.

I plan to record from the MiniDV tape to my computer, so I'm going to go through FireWire. I just need to get a FireWire card for my computer, which I will do tomorrow.

[cougarfreak]

I just got a camcorder for Christmas (not a Sony, but the brand doesn't make much difference to this discussion). Anyway, in general, you should be able to play recordings from a MiniDV tape directly to your TV through the camcorder. Just connect the camcorder to the the inputs on your TV (or DVD recorder). Then you hit "play" on the camcorder and "record" on the recorder, and that's it.

I plan to record from the MiniDV tape to my computer, so I'm going to go through FireWire. I just need to get a FireWire card for my computer, which I will do tomorrow.

That's what I decided on as well. I bought this one:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/JVC-Camcorder-GR-D270US-/sem/rpsm/oid/116326/catOid/-13063/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[Flasch186]

I just got the HC42 and while not having a ton of time to play and edit stuff, I did some quick reviews and posted on here to see if anyone had any complaints about it (if they had one) and it seems to be good.

[pbot]

Right now, we are looking primarily at two Sony models:

#DCR-DVD92 (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=ELEC&pid=00356015000&subcat=Camcorders)


I have the DVD101 version of this camera, purchased two years ago the day after my daughter was born. Pictures are crystal clear (looks great on both my 27" analog tv and my in-laws 55" HDTV), sound is awesome. You can get either R or RW disks for recording. The best picture quality setting means a max of 20 mins per disk, but if you go to someplace like Walmart you can get the regular R disks for about $2 apiece. The only time the 20 minutes became an issue was recording my brother-in-laws wedding...ceremony was approx 25 minutes so I did have to make a quick switch in progress. I paid $800 two years ago...it has been well worth the money.

[Pumpy Tudors]

That's what I decided on as well. I bought this one:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/JVC-Camcorder-GR-D270US-/sem/rpsm/oid/116326/catOid/-13063/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
Haha, that's the exact same one that I have. Once I get my FireWire card, I'll be happy.

[oliegirl]

Bump.

We just calculated our tax refund, and of course, I am already thinking of ways to spend the money :) One the things I thought of it is a camcorder, I remembered this thread and figured it was worth a bump to see if you are all still happy with your purchases and what (if anything) you would change or recommend.

The main thing I want is to be able to play it over the TV easily, and to be able to load it onto the computer easily so we can share with family/friends who are out of town.

I know pretty much nothing about camcorders, so don't get too technical on me :)

[cougarfreak]

Bump.

We just calculated our tax refund, and of course, I am already thinking of ways to spend the money :) One the things I thought of it is a camcorder, I remembered this thread and figured it was worth a bump to see if you are all still happy with your purchases and what (if anything) you would change or recommend.

The main thing I want is to be able to play it over the TV easily, and to be able to load it onto the computer easily so we can share with family/friends who are out of town.

I know pretty much nothing about camcorders, so don't get too technical on me :)

You cannot transfer this model's recordings to the computer w/o a firewire. Just letting you know.

[oliegirl]

You cannot transfer this model's recordings to the computer w/o a firewire. Just letting you know.


Good to know, but since I have an iPod, I have a firewire card on my laptop :) But that is the kind of info I was looking for...

Do you like that camcorder? Have you gotten a lot of use out of it?

[Flasch186]

well i DID upload with USB BUT the quality sucked and it was a pain in Z ass. this was w/ my Sony.

[QuikSand]

We bought the Sony -92 model Handycam... so far, it has been very easy to use, but we have yet to delve into playback, etc. So an incomplete but positive review thus far.

[cartman]

I have the Sony DCR-IP1. I bought it a couple of years ago, but I still love it. It is really small, so I can pretty much take it anywhere. In fact, at the time, it was the smallest tape based camcorder. Not sure if that is still the case, though. It is smaller than my digital still frame camera.

A lot of people don't like it because of the MicroMV tape format. It does limit your options for aftermarket video editing software, but the package I use is Pinnacle's Studio 10, and it has no problems pulling the video off of the camera.

[cougarfreak]

Good to know, but since I have an iPod, I have a firewire card on my laptop :) But that is the kind of info I was looking for...

Do you like that camcorder? Have you gotten a lot of use out of it?

Haven't used it much........just trying it out here and there, my first child's due in April, I'll used it alot then.

[Barkeep49]

Thought I would bump this again. I am looking to get a camcorder which will be used nearly exclusively to record sports on a tripod. Would anyone recommend their camcorders for this use?

[stevew]

I'd look into a HDD camcorder, perhaps the sony SR42 (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Cameras+%26+Camcorders&pid=00356087000&vertical=ELEC&subcat=Camcorders&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes)

The HDD camcorders have the longest record time. For a lower priced option I would suggest a MiniDV one, as it is economical and has a good recording time. I don't think I would recommend miniDVD, just cause the format is limited to 30mins of recording on a normal small dvdr, and it's very expensive to keep up with.

[Senator]

I use this HDV one and I really like it.



http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,133382/article.html

[JetsIn06]

bump

I'm having some trouble with my MiniDV camcorder. Is it possible to use a memory stick to record video? I just tried it, and when I put it on my computer no video shows up, only audio.

I'll probably have a lot of questions coming. I'm not very good at this camera stuff.