Would you guys recommend me an HD camcorder?

[Joeytpg]

I'm going to Egypt (Yeah!) and I wanna buy a good HD camcorder

So far I've been pretty loyal to Canon, so a Canon would be my first choice but I'm open to other possibilities...

I'd like something that'll cost me less than 800 dollars if possible, it'll be used for trips, recording music performances (I'm a musician, so I'd like to record myself playing and during my performances).

what can I get?

 

[TheStrudel]

If you don't mind messing around with tape, the Canon HV series represents excellent value for money, still - an HV30 would probably work well for you. I recommend using whatever money you don't spend on the camera to get a decent external microphone to use for recording your performances, a shotgun mic from Rode or so forth. I think the HV30 does have the stereo input jack, so either get a microphone that uses a minijack or convert an XLR mic to stereo mini.

Whatever camera you do get - and there are quite a few good ones at that price point - you will want to get an external mic.

 

[Joeytpg]

thank you. I actually wanna move away from tape, I wanna use SD cards or internal memory


which one you recommend?

 

[UltraNEO*]

thank you. I actually wanna move away from tape, I wanna use SD cards or internal memory


which one you recommend?

Currently I'm using a Canon HF11.

It's a has 32Gb ram fitted internally and has a SD slot allowing another 32GB via a class6 SD card (not included). At it's highest setting (MXP 24Mbps) I'm still able to record up to 5 hours of footages on the (internal memoy), adding the additional SD card, you'll effectively double it's capacity. Plus, it offers 3.2MP still camera, oporational whiles in and out of video campturing mode.

Sadly however, the default battery doesn't allow five hours continous recording but there are larger batteryies avaliable, and if your willing to invest, there's even a battery belt.

HG20 and HG21 are hybrid HDD/SDHC card AVCHD models, offering a storage capacity of 120Gb, again it uses the same batteries as above.

 

[Joeytpg]

Interesting.....what's the advantages on going FLash or Hard Drive?


I'm not into the video world so I don't really know how big are the files......for exmaple, 5 hours of 24Mbps how many GB are we talking about here ?


What I don't like about Hard drives is that it could **** up and the problem is much worst. If I have a Flash based cam. I just need to get a few SD cards to be safe

but my question remains, Flash Vs Hard Drive?

 

[Tallest Skil]

Hey, do any 1080p camcorders support SDXC cards yet? I want to get one (at least 1080... Super Hi-Vision would be nice...), but I don't want to have a billion memory cards hanging around everywhere. 64GB minimum.

I'm not into the video world so I don't really know how big are the files......for exmaple, 5 hours of 24Mbps how many GB are we talking about here ?

It absolutely depends on the encoding, resolution, and filetype chosen. You can't just arbitrarily give a file size without knowing a little more.

 

[thomahawk]

if you move around a lot using a flash memory is better since it wont get all jubmbled around. harddrives can become corrupt or broken if shaken up too much.

i'd go for a flash memory since i wont have to worry about it breaking. the only i have to worry is the life longevity

 

[mchalebk]

I can't give you specific advice on models, etc., but here is the best website I've found for researching camcorders:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

The Canon models generally rate at or near the top in their reviews, so you're in good shape if you're already leaning that way. Their reviews will tell you how many hours of video you can record on different sizes of media.

 

[Joeytpg]

Currently I'm using a Canon HF11.

It's a has 32Gb ram fitted internally and has a SD slot allowing another 32GB via a class6 SD card (not included). At it's highest setting (MXP 24Mbps) I'm still able to record up to 5 hours of footages on the (internal memoy), adding the additional SD card, you'll effectively double it's capacity. Plus, it offers 3.2MP still camera, oporational whiles in and out of video campturing mode.

Sadly however, the default battery doesn't allow five hours continous recording but there are larger batteryies avaliable, and if your willing to invest, there's even a battery belt.

HG20 and HG21 are hybrid HDD/SDHC card AVCHD models, offering a storage capacity of 120Gb, again it uses the same batteries as above.

btw, forgot to ask....how much did you pay for the HF11, it's the one that attracts me the most right now

 

[Joeytpg]

I can't give you specific advice on models, etc., but here is the best website I've found for researching camcorders:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

The Canon models generally rate at or near the top in their reviews, so you're in good shape if you're already leaning that way. Their reviews will tell you how many hours of video you can record on different sizes of media.

thanks, very helpful, I'm reading already.

 

[fireshot91]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/706900/


If you have access to the Marketplace.

 

[Joeytpg]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/706900/


If you have access to the Marketplace.

thank you very much, but I'm in Europe

 

[gr8tfly]

Another vote for the Canon.

I recently bought the HF-10 after much research. Aside from the video quality, the Canon IS stabilization system was a big selling point for me, as I have several IS lenses for my DSLR.

 

[TheStrudel]

Hey, do any 1080p camcorders support SDXC cards yet?

Nope. Spec's too new. Though theoretically compatibility could happen with a firmware update, but that doesn't really happen at that price level for this sort of equipment. It'll happen soon enough, but SDXC cards won't be cost effective for some time. Also, it's worth pointing out that you really wouldn't want higher resolution video than 1080p - at that price point, the cameras are high resolution but handily outperformed by SD cameras with 3 CCDs or less aggressive compression. (AVCHD < HDV < other HD formats)

 

[VirtualRain]

Another vote for the Canon.

I recently bought the HF-10 after much research. Aside from the video quality, the Canon IS stabilization system was a big selling point for me, as I have several IS lenses for my DSLR.

+1... if you can still find an HF10 (last year's model)... buy it!!! Highly regarded & super good value now... essentially the same as the HF11 with less on-board memory.

 

[ErikAndre]

Buy Canon and avoid Sony HD camcorders at all costs.