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rdsii64

macrumors regular
Original poster
We all try to make the best of the equipment we can afford in our efforts to make the highest quality video project we can. Most of us owned our video cameras before we got a new mac, then paired the two as best we could. Well lets flip the coin over. I have a 24" imac with a 2.93 dual core processor and 4 gigs of ram. using the editing tools that come with the ilife suite along with a transcoder for file compatibility issues ( read mpeg stream clip). With a bias toward end product quality, what would be the best camcorder to purchase to make the best balance between end product quality and the price of the camcorder. I don't really want to put a price cealing on the question but at the same time I'm not going to rush out and by multi-thousand dollar set up either.

My purpose for a new camcorder is to chronicle my favorite hobby.( long range marksmanship) I generally set up one camera at the gun line and another one at the target. These are usually steal plates of various shapes and sizes placed at distances out to a max of 1000 yards. I also would like to video my F class matches so the abilty to zoom in on a target sled 1000 yards away is a BIG PLUS.
 
We all try to make the best of the equipment we can afford in our efforts to make the highest quality video project we can. Most of us owned our video cameras before we got a new mac, then paired the two as best we could. Well lets flip the coin over. I have a 24" imac with a 2.93 dual core processor and 4 gigs of ram. using the editing tools that come with the ilife suite along with a transcoder for file compatibility issues ( read mpeg stream clip). With a bias toward end product quality, what would be the best camcorder to purchase to make the best balance between end product quality and the price of the camcorder. I don't really want to put a price cealing on the question but at the same time I'm not going to rush out and by multi-thousand dollar set up either.

My purpose for a new camcorder is to chronicle my favorite hobby.( long range marksmanship) I generally set up one camera at the gun line and another one at the target. These are usually steal plates of various shapes and sizes placed at distances out to a max of 1000 yards. I also would like to video my F class matches so the abilty to zoom in on a target sled 1000 yards away is a BIG PLUS.

Well, I can't answer all your questions but I can tell you I love my Canon Vixia HV30. The HD video it shoots is jaw dropping and it's got a pretty good optical (ie. not digital) zoom with image stabilization. I think both of those are features you'll want to look for with your particular need. I don't know if any consumer models allow attaching a bigger lens, but that might be something you could use also. Anyway, I think Canon cameras in general play well with Mac software.

You mention end product quality but didn't say what the end product is, a disk or file or whatever. Some things are easier than others with ilife tools.
 
end quality target

Well, I can't answer all your questions but I can tell you I love my Canon Vixia HV30. The HD video it shoots is jaw dropping and it's got a pretty good optical (ie. not digital) zoom with image stabilization. I think both of those are features you'll want to look for with your particular need. I don't know if any consumer models allow attaching a bigger lens, but that might be something you could use also. Anyway, I think Canon cameras in general play well with Mac software.

You mention end product quality but didn't say what the end product is, a disk or file or whatever. Some things are easier than others with ilife tools.
Thank you for your comment. I supposed I should have explained what I ment buy end product quality. once I have the raw video transcoded into something that can be edited, I would like to produce two things from the master file. One would be a file that I could watch on a large size HDTV. The second would a file I could up load to youtube and still look good at full screen size. An example of the quality I am speaking of can be found at the link bellow. If its within my financial reach I would like do better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dU7R4KVKZc&feature=player_embedded
 
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