Digital Camcorders

[anarchy]

I'm traveling to Asia next month for three weeks so I've been thinking about getting a digital camcorder.

What are some things I should keep in mind and which format would you recommend? I assume ones that take batteries would be a good idea so I don't have to charge it.

Should I be getting a MiniDV camcorder so that I can record as much as I want without having to upload? Or is DVD better?

And what about HD? Is that worth investing in right now?

[duffy]

I had an HD camera (not High Def, just used a HD). We filmed some offroading videos, one on that camera (a decent Sony), one on a DVD, and one on a MiniDV. the MiniDV was far and away the best quality, then the DVD, and the HD camera was terrible. I found it compressed the image too much even on highest quality. ended up taking the camera back and picked up a MiniDV, way better quality. Just my two cents.

[anarchy]

Originally posted by duffy
I had an HD camera (not High Def, just used a HD). We filmed some offroading videos, one on that camera (a decent Sony), one on a DVD, and one on a MiniDV. the MiniDV was far and away the best quality, then the DVD, and the HD camera was terrible. I found it compressed the image too much even on highest quality. ended up taking the camera back and picked up a MiniDV, way better quality. Just my two cents.

Good to know!
I've read that MiniDv is good because it's the most widely used format so you can easily pick some up while on vacation.

I'm a noob at this but once you've recorded it onto a MiniDV tape, how do you watch it on your computer/tv? Do you just connect your camcorder directly into your computer and then burn it onto dvd to watch on tv?

[duffy]

I put a firewire card in my computer. Then you just connect the camera to the card, open whatever software you want (either what the camera came with or something else), start to capture the video, and then once it's done you can burn it to DVD or whatever you want. The camera should also come with a RCA cord, so you can hook the camera straight up to the TV and hit play to watch everything.

The only drawback to these cameras is that the capture to your computer is realtime - if you've filmed 30 minutes, it will take 30 minutes to move it to your computer. I found the difference in quality was worth the wait - I just hit capture, walk away, and come back once it's done.

[anarchy]

So should I go with a MiniDV or is one with a hard drive better?
And what about chargers? In Asia I'll have to get an adapter to charge it unless it takes batteries right?

[duffy]

I would highly recommened the MiniDV. You can just swap tapes if you need more room, with a HD camera you have to move it all to a laptop or computer.

Just buy an adapter - any camera you buy will come with a batter and changer, just get the wallplug adapter and that should take care of it. The batteries don't last very long, so you'll need to charge it unless you're only over there a couple of days.

[Hash_man]

Mini DV is still the best quality... Hard drives have gotten better, but DVD sucks.

I'd say go minidv if you dont mind buying tapes as for about the same amount of money as a fairly basic hard drive camcorder you can get a really nice MiniDV one. Also... all will come with recharcheable batteries, definately get a spare... And think about something like a Panasonic camcorder for the fact that they come with chargers that charge off the camcorder, so you can have one charging in your hotel room while still using the camcorder out doing stuff.

And IMO high definition is cool... but unless you have an hddvd/bluray player and burner then it seems kind of pointless at this time.

[EG STyLeZ]

miniDV is the best bang for the buck. It's not that hard drive ones aren't as good quality, it's that you have to pay more for the same quality that you'd get from a miniDV one (ie. comparing entry-level hard drive to entry-level miniDV, the miniDV one looks way better).

no camcorder that i know of runs off of regular aa batteries or anything. you'll basically get a rechargeable lithium battery in the box that lasts about one hour. so get a spare battery. most chargers that come with the camcorders are dual voltage, so all you'll need is the tip adapter (no need for a voltage adapter)./

i would recommend spending a little more and going for a mid-end hard drive camcorder (~$8-900). in the long run, you don't have to worry about cleaning the head to maintain the recording quality (like a miniDV tape camcorder), downloading is faster and easier (don't have to worry about buying a firewire card or capturing software).