Camcorder Question

[gsganzer]

I think I'm going to buy a Camcorder for Christmas. I have a question regarding buying a camcorder with MiniDV format or splurge (Extra $100 - $150) to get one that records straight to a DVD.

If you have MiniDV, how do you then get the video saved to another format for storage and sending to other people? Is it a pain? Would I be better off to buy one that uses DVD format? Any benefits that one has over the other that I'm not aware of? The MiniDV seem to be the most popular, mainly due to price, but the new DVD format might be the way things are going with the newer models.

I'm looking at either a Sony DCR-DVD105 (DVD Format @$399) or a Sony DCR-HC36 (MiniDV w/memory stick DUO@$309.00) or Sony DCR-HC26 (MiniDV @ $269)

Anyone's advice is appreciated. Any other models I should consider?

 

[jwstewar]

OK, I just recently order my Christmas present - haven't opened it yet, but I'll tell you what I learned. I ordered a Hitachi DVD camcorder w/ widescreen - regular $399 and got it on black Friday for $299. Hitachi-Camcorder

I went with the straight w/ DVD for convenience. Techinically the miniDVs give a better picture. They record to digital tape. You then either have to buy a player or use your camcorder to watch your "movie." You then have to "capture" this video to your computer to edit it. However, since it doesn't do any compression it is better for editing. However, one drawback to this is, it has to be captured in real-time - meaning if you have 60 minutes of video, it takes 60 minutes to capture.

With the DVD camcorders, like you know, it records straight to the DVD. It does compression on these at capture time that can result in quality loss. However, you also have a file on the DVD that you can just copy to the computer in just a few seconds. I've purchased 10 of the mini DVD-RWs. (Got them for $9.99 at Micro Center) I will then copy the video from these to the computer and write 3 or 4 of them to a standard DVD-R that you can buy a 100 of for < $25.

If you are wanting to do editing and looking for high quaility go for the mini-DV. If you are looking for convience and speed go for the DVD.

 

[EddieWalker]

Does it have to be Sony?

I have several Sony products and for a time, I thought it was a good brand, but no more. Nothing made by them seems to last. My $300 DVD player lasted just over 2 years, but my $50 Panasonic replacement is 3 years old and still working. I've had stereo's, TV's and other electronics with my bigscreen the only thing that's still working. It did go out on my for about a week, but magically started working again. When it dies, I won't have any more Sony!!!!!

Eddie

 

[Bird]

Eddie, I, too, always thought Sony made good products. However, the reason I have an Olympus digital camera is because I first bought a Sony direct from them on the Internet. It was defective when I got it; the flash would not work. It took a lot of time and headaches to ever get it returned and get my refund, and by the time I got through dealing with Sony on that deal, I had decided there will not likely ever be another Sony product in my home.

 

[rswyan]

Techinically the miniDVs give a better picture.

True.

However, since it doesn't do any compression it is better for editing.

Not quite correct - mini-DV is a compressed format - the compression occurs at the time of recording onto the the tape. During the "capture" (or more accurately "transfer") process to computer (or to another mini-DV tape) there is no (re)compression - so it is essentially a "lossless" transfer - exactly what you recorded is transferred.

Edit: I should have said that the above applies provided that you are using a IEEE 1394/Firewire digital connection for the transfer.

If you then edit your captured material on a computer there is no recompression (quality loss) - if you are only using cuts. If you do anything else in the editing process (dissolves, transitions, special/fx, color correction, etc.) the portion of the program where these occur must be recompressed and there is some quality loss, although it is fairly minimal.

 

[randy41]

i have a canon mini-dv camera...the bottom of the line. we got it because my wife needs to record herself performing vet procedures for her online classes.
it is very easy to use. a tripod is a necessity. you will need an IEEE 1394 connection to your computer to upload it to edit. you will need compression software if you want to turn your movie into a dvd that can be watched on a regular dvd player. the camera has been trouble free.

 

[heehaw]

good choice: Hitachi makes some of the best equipment i have ever messed with, and i am like some of the others, no more sony for me. they are living on their name.
heehaw

 

[SkyPup]

I've got a SonyDCR-HC96 miniDV. It is awesome. I would not get a DVD or Hard Drive unit due to their being more fragile and also the compression onto them is not good. MiniDV tape is the highest consumer data capture you can get, 13GB per hour - make for extremely high resolution recording.

 

[Chuck52]

I thought about a camcorder for my son who has a new baby. Then I got all tied up thinking about which kind to get. It seems to me that camcorders may soon go to the solid state memory devices....there are a few out already. You can get a 2GB memory card pretty cheap now, and they just keep getting higher capacity and lower prices. I wish all these @#$%^ devices used the same format memory. It would be neat to be able to just stick your USB thumb drive in your camera and record. Then take the same device and dump the files to your computer. Then use the same device in your MP3 player. Perhaps there are speed problems with USB for recording movies? Most of that stuff can already be done with the SD cards, and probably the other formats, but standardizing it would make life easier for old godgers who don't like to use up brain cells remembering which cards, etc, go with which devices.

Chuck

 

[SkyPup]

My Sony DCR-HC96 has a 2GB Memory Stick in addition to the high quality miniDV tape, but the video quality from the flash memory is only good for watching on a computer, since the video is only 320X 240 pixels.

 

[gsganzer]

I ended up buying a Canon Elura 100 Mini DV. I didn't get good vibes about any of the DVD models. The DVD models have a slightly lower picture quality due to the compression and I just think that the DVD writer might be more prone to failure, due to how new they are for the camcorder application. The mini DV has been around a while and they must have it figured out by now to make it reliable. Bird and Eddie also jogged my memory about some past Sony products that I've been disappointed with (auto CD radio and a digital camera). I've been pretty happy with canon camera's and this model seems to be the latest and greatest that they offer in the price range I was looking at.

You'll about drive yourself silly trying to compare the dang things, features, price, gidgets, gadgets etc. etc....

Thanks everyone, for your help.

 

[SkyPup]

The Canon Elura 100 Mini DV is a real nice rig, I think they just came out with one in High Definition that records even high density AVI files for HDTV.

The best software for video editing and DVD creation that I've been using have been:

Roxio Media Creator 9 - about $100 and very good at most everything

Adobe Premiere 3.0 - Extremely powerful but more difficult to learn

MicroSoft Movie Maker - easy to use, quick, and free

Apple QuickTime Pro - excellent low cost all around editior