I have a 10 month old daughter and I am going to start looking to buy a video recorder that allow me to record hi definition video of her.
What do you recommend?
Thanks
What do you recommend?
Thanks
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HD video camera
- Thread starter McGiord
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Just got a Canon HF100 for my wife's last trimester and it seems great. I use 8GB HCSD cards and burn it to dual layer DVD's for backups when the card is full. Also have Elgato turbo to convert the clips to my ipod in almost real time.
You need an intel mac to work with AVCHD and it doesn't play on standard DVD player though. Waiting for Bluray support on a mac!
I will be ready when she's here
You need an intel mac to work with AVCHD and it doesn't play on standard DVD player though. Waiting for Bluray support on a mac!
I will be ready when she's here
This isn't a recommendation, per se, more of a description of what I'm thinking about doing in the next couple of years. I currently have an SD miniDV camcorder, but it gets very little use these days. We upgraded to a Canon Rebel dSLR for photos, but when the little ones are being cute, we always grab the camera, not the camcorder.
At parties and such, it's such a hassle to try and balance both the camera and camcorder.
I'm waiting for a dSLR that does great photos and great video. We're on the verge of that right now ... but not at prices that I can afford. Nikon's new D90 does 720p video (m-jpeg) and the results are pretty good. Certainly better than most miniDV camcorders, but not quite as good as an HDV/AVCHD camcorder. Canon has announced their 5D MkII that does 1080p (h264) and the video that this one does is amazing. The fact that you're using SLR lenses makes the video from this camera beat just about any regular camcorder. You can do stuff that you couldn't do with a camcorder.
So here's what I'm going to do.
1. Keep the miniDV camcorder for a while.
2. Wait for Canon to filter their movie-mode down to their consumer level dSLRs.
I'm just tired of having to choose between photos and video. I want one device that does both. But I won't settle for a device that does one well and the other lousy (or worse yet, does both lousy). I want excellent photos and video, but I need it to reach a lower price point. Hopefully, that's sometime in 2009.
ft
At parties and such, it's such a hassle to try and balance both the camera and camcorder.
I'm waiting for a dSLR that does great photos and great video. We're on the verge of that right now ... but not at prices that I can afford. Nikon's new D90 does 720p video (m-jpeg) and the results are pretty good. Certainly better than most miniDV camcorders, but not quite as good as an HDV/AVCHD camcorder. Canon has announced their 5D MkII that does 1080p (h264) and the video that this one does is amazing. The fact that you're using SLR lenses makes the video from this camera beat just about any regular camcorder. You can do stuff that you couldn't do with a camcorder.
So here's what I'm going to do.
1. Keep the miniDV camcorder for a while.
2. Wait for Canon to filter their movie-mode down to their consumer level dSLRs.
I'm just tired of having to choose between photos and video. I want one device that does both. But I won't settle for a device that does one well and the other lousy (or worse yet, does both lousy). I want excellent photos and video, but I need it to reach a lower price point. Hopefully, that's sometime in 2009.
ft
Would recommend this... http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/c...categoryid=144&modelid=17630#ModelFeaturesAct .
My wife has the 3IS and takes great photos AND video. This and the G10 are the replacement for the 5IS. And its affordable. Now, no camera can replace a dedicated camcorder BUT they are getting close. I would suggest going the best buy and put this in your hand and take some sample photos and video, bring them home and see if it works for you. I tried to get the wife to consider the rebel XSI but she loves the ease of use of the IS family of cameras. Never heard of the 5D Mark II having the video option so will have to look at that myself. I myself enjoy caming with my Sony SR11. She does the photos, I do the caming. Good luck on your search.
Just to add, here is a site with good info... http://www.dpreview.com .
My wife has the 3IS and takes great photos AND video. This and the G10 are the replacement for the 5IS. And its affordable. Now, no camera can replace a dedicated camcorder BUT they are getting close. I would suggest going the best buy and put this in your hand and take some sample photos and video, bring them home and see if it works for you. I tried to get the wife to consider the rebel XSI but she loves the ease of use of the IS family of cameras. Never heard of the 5D Mark II having the video option so will have to look at that myself. I myself enjoy caming with my Sony SR11. She does the photos, I do the caming. Good luck on your search.
Just to add, here is a site with good info... http://www.dpreview.com .
I second the nomination for HF100, the cheapest HD camcorder on the market that performs well under low light. It's currently $600 at Amazon. Pair it with high performance 8 GB or 16 GB SDHC memory card (Adorama is having a special on SanDisk Extreme III 8 GB SDHC with USB reader for only $24 after mail-in-rebate) and you have an excellent consumer-grade AVCHD solution.
Although HDV-based camcorders such as Canon HV30 are more post processing friendly, there's no significant advantage to using HDV over AVCHD camcorder under iMovie '08 (which I suspect you will be using). Unlike Final Cut series, iMovie converts both HDV and AVCHD footage to Apple Intermediate Codec, which is less taxing on the computer at the expense of larger footprint. So you might want to stock up on beefy external hard disk as well.
Although HDV-based camcorders such as Canon HV30 are more post processing friendly, there's no significant advantage to using HDV over AVCHD camcorder under iMovie '08 (which I suspect you will be using). Unlike Final Cut series, iMovie converts both HDV and AVCHD footage to Apple Intermediate Codec, which is less taxing on the computer at the expense of larger footprint. So you might want to stock up on beefy external hard disk as well.
We like the Canon HG10
My family has had one for almost a year now. It works great for grabbing quick vids of our son and other family stuff. I haven't tried to burn anything to disk yet for playback so I can't comment on the DVD player compatibility mentioned earlier. You will need HD space, but when importing to IMovie 08 you can select your quality which may help with space. It also works great just hooking up to our HDTV directly via HDMI. With any photo/video product you do need to go check out your options though. Nothing beats holding the camera in your hand and trying it out. I've seen lots of products online that looked great, but when I got them in person there were little things I didn't like about the look, feel, or operation. Best of luck in your search and let us know what you decide.
My family has had one for almost a year now. It works great for grabbing quick vids of our son and other family stuff. I haven't tried to burn anything to disk yet for playback so I can't comment on the DVD player compatibility mentioned earlier. You will need HD space, but when importing to IMovie 08 you can select your quality which may help with space. It also works great just hooking up to our HDTV directly via HDMI. With any photo/video product you do need to go check out your options though. Nothing beats holding the camera in your hand and trying it out. I've seen lots of products online that looked great, but when I got them in person there were little things I didn't like about the look, feel, or operation. Best of luck in your search and let us know what you decide.