dv camcorders

[your_comforting_company]

Ok, I admit my phone takes crappy pictures and you don't even want to try to watch a video recorded with it.
My wife has a Kodak camera that takes good pics but there is a delay in the audio if you try to take video with it.
I'm on a limited budget.. basically I have no money to spend on a dv recorder. To buy one means I'm not gonna have the money for something else when it comes around. BUT christmas sales will be coming up shortly and maybe I can spring for one and just do without something else for a while. I'm probably gonna call it my wife's christmas present and let her run it. She's the shutterbug in the family.

Anyone who knows a lot about dv cameras.. please give me some direction. I want to make good quality videos. I'll get a lapel mic for better audio. It would be nice if it took still pics too. I hope I can get the whole deal for less than 100 bucks. I'm open to suggestions that fall under those requirements. Size isn't a concern for me. The camera should be able to take some abuse too.. remember I'm the guy that beats rocks together for fun...

Thanks in advance
Your Comforting Company

[Rick]

I think you want to look at digital cameras that also take movies rather than a digital recorder.

I have a Canon Powershot A570 IS that I really like. It's the one I take to the field with me. All my woodsy photos that I've posted on here were taken with it. It takes both still and video and does a pretty good job of it. Here's a review on it from CNET

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-came...-32314644.html

I did a search on thefind and found one for $90., which is an incredible price. They are normally around $200 but you can usually find them on sale for less. I did find a couple in the $115 range. I don't know anything about this store. I've never dealt with them.

http://digitalelectronics4less.com/d...canon_a570.htm

[crashdive123]

I don't own a digital recorder, but the ones I looked at seem a bit spendy (I'm sure there are less expensive ones out there). You may want to pm Pict and Erunk to find out what they use to make their videos. Sales are just around the corner - a good time to buy.

[your_comforting_company]

how's the audio delay on the vids, and can I add a mic to it? I read the reviews, but didn't see any detail on those aspects. since u own one, I thought I'd ask.
Thanks Rick. I'll be giving this one some consideration.

[Rick]

There isn't any. The only problem you'll run into on video is the amount of data the card can hold. The camera comes with a 16M memory card. That's pretty small for today's needs but about average for any camera you purchase. I've upgraded to a 4Gb card so that tacks on $20 or so. Frankly, I don't know about an external microphone. I've never used one.

I think you'll get much better video quality from a video recorder but you'll pay much more, too. That being said, there's nothing wrong with the video quality of this camera. I think your limitation will be on how long a video you can make and that will be dependent upon the size of memory card you have.


Here is a link to the manual if you want to read more. Just scroll down to the manual section.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=14905

[preachtheWORD]

I have a Canon Powershot A630. My wife bought it, but I think it was in the $300 range.

It takes OUTSTANDING still photos and has a fairly good video recording function. I have made many videos of my "adventures" with it. It is not really designed to withstand rough treatment, but to my surprise, it has survived a lot of unintentional abuse.

The memory card that came with it holds practically nothing. When I started to make videos, I had to get a 1GB memory card, which will hold about an hour of video.

It has served me well, but is limted in many ways. For example, if you try to zoom while taking video, the shot becomes pixilated very quickly. It doesn't do this with still shots, even at full digital zoom.

[Rick]

It takes a lot of horse power to record video so you won't find a lot of bells and whistles on a digital camera that also does video. The extras are geared toward still pics. However, you can get the job done in the price you want.

Another thing to consider are the batteries. I use NiMH batteries from Radio Shack. I loath buying them because they are exorbitantly expensive but they last the longest of any rechargeable battery I've tried. I, too, would be open to suggestions in this category. Radio Shack should choke for what they charge for batteries.

[your_comforting_company]

rat shack should hang for every blasted thing they sell. I was gonna buy pliers and cable ends for a cat5e that needs fixing... 35 bucks for the pliers and 16 for 8 ends... thats 50 bucks for a 10 dollar cable. GRRRR.

so i went to wally world and got a cable. I stay away from rat shack

my wife's camera is a Kodak easyshare C340. She said they took some videos that were ok, but there was a delay on the audio.
I might try it again doing something just to see.

thanks for the inputs guys. sorry i'm working with such a limited budget.. makes the selections pretty narrow

[Rick]

Hey, no need to apologize. We all do what we can. Just hope we were able to help a bit.

[Rick]

Hey, YCC, I set up my camera in video mode this morning and just let it run to see how long it would record. It lasted about 30 minutes before the memory card was full. I started with an empty card so 30 minutes, on that camera, seems to be the ceiling for a 4Gb card. The good news is the batteries are still good.

[your_comforting_company]

So, it's coming around again, and I still don't have a video camera.. I'm committed this time.. I've been saving a dollar here and there, and this year, by golly, I'm getting a DV camcorder.. Found a few on sale, thought I'd ask opinions before I buy one.
Samsung is a reliable brand, right? I found this one for $100 http://www.circuitcity.com/applicati...&Sku=S203-2928

and a Kodak which I trust more for pictures. Reliable brand, and not too far out of budget http://www.circuitcity.com/applicati...4&Sku=K23-4422

and lastly a new brand to me, but I have seen commercials for it on TV. Anyone own a Flip? HD and 8gb and only $20 over budget.. much more doable IF it is as reliable as the commercials say. http://www.circuitcity.com/applicati...&Sku=P229-1058

Last years models have dropped price significantly and I'd really love to get a camera for hunting season and for all the "goofing off" I do around here. (and who is gonna teach me how to get them on the interweb?) Thanks in advance!

[Rick]

Here's a Consumer Reports article from October, 2009:

Pocket camcorders are ideal for those who want an alternative to a full-sized camcorder. At $100 to $200, these minimalist models are significantly cheaper than their larger siblings. They're also smaller, lighter, and easier to use, with fewer controls or buttons. Plus they often have onboard software for easy editing and sharing of videos. The downside is that video quality has been middling at best.
Now a new crop of pocket camcorders has arrived, claimed to be high definition. We tested six to see if they could compete with the quality of traditional HD camcorders. The video quality of all six models was inferior to that of full-sized camcorders, though the Creative Vado HD, $100, and Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra HD, $200, performed better and were easier to use than the others.
They can record video at high-definition resolution, but that's only part of the picture. For example, the video quality of tested pocket models was far softer than that of any HD camcorder we've tested. Most decent standard-definition camcorders produced video that was much clearer in detail than the pocket HD models. And in low light, the pocket models performed far worse than the full-sized models.
Bottom line

Pocket camcorders can be handy for grabbing video when you don't want to take along the full-sized setup. But you don't need to pay extra for an HD version if a standard-definition version will do. A pocket camcorder can be fine for posting Web videos but probably won't land you a Hollywood contract.

[crashdive123]

YCC - your Nikon Cool Pics should work. That's what I'm using for my Youtube stuff, albeit a newer model.

[welderguy]

My local big lots has a jazz dv cam regular price is like 69 bucks on sale for 39.99 .

[your_comforting_company]

I'll give the CoolPix another try. Seems like there was audio lag? and I'll check more into the non-HD pocket cams. No sense paying for 2 letters if the definition really isn't any better than standard. Thanks guys.

[Scaru]

i realize this may be more than you want to spend (its around 200 dollars) but is an all around great camera i have it and everything about it has been satisfactory it has 70x zoom and a 60 gigabyte built in hardrive(hours of video) and can still take great picture. Heres and example of what 70x zoom ishttp://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SDR-.../dp/B001P3P3LC (scroll down it has a pic of a bald eagle)this price is expensive and you can find it for less else where.

[rwc1969]

YCC, I'm kinda new to the vid thang, but, I have noticed a few things that may help with your decision making.

Consider the quality of the vid and uploading it to the web together, also consider the amount of time it will take to edit it, convert it, upload it, etc. etc. It can take a long, long, LONG time to save, edit, and or convert, and upload a small 10 minute video.

I use a Kodak easyshare z740. It's 11 frames per second with 640X480 pixel view. That's weak!

A 2 GB card, which is the max it can use, it will record roughly 2 hours of video. It takes me a long time to save, edit, save again, and finally upload a vid to youtube. The vids are usually around 250MB and 10 minute in length. I have a 1 and 2GB card.

Brand new recently charged 2500 mah nimh rechargable Energizer batteries get me about 1 hour of video. I have 2 sets.

If you make high res or HD vids they will be much much larger. You will likely need a good storebought and expensive video editor and/ or compressor/converter, a 32 GB card or better, and longer lasting lithium batteries or the like. If you go to high res or HD video and expect to upload it to the web in any reasonable amount of time you might want to think again.

With my Kodak the quality is not top notch, but not too shabby either. The 10X optical zoom only works before you start recording, not during. If I move the camcorder fast or from dark to light areas the video suffers and takes a moment to adjust. I just move it a little slower to compensate. The sound is not delayed, but does pick up ambient and high pitched sounds more than my voice, especially if I'm more than 5 or so feet away from the camera. It does not have a mic in, only a built in mic. Ican always add still photos to the video if I want to show details of plant parts and the like. The camera takes highly detailed stills and extreme close up shots using only 5 megapixels, more than enough to show the pollen on the hairs of a bees body if conditions are right.

One hour worth of vid usually gets me 10-30 minutes of half way decent edited video. I can use Windows live movie maker, which is free, to edit the vids and I do not have to convert them. The camera uses Qicktime and Windows automatically converts it to Windows Movie File upon editing, "With Windows 7". Windows movie maker for XP does not, they must first be converted to a format the editior can recognize. Windows live movie maker does not work with XP. The videos grow in size upon editing as well, sometimes they double in size. Why? I don't know, I'm new at this!

If your intent is to upload videos to the web you might be better off using a lower end model as the vids will upload quicker and people will be able to view them quicker as well. Consider the audience! and the capabilities of their computer and internet connect.

Some of the HD vids I watch on YouTube take a long time to download and the folks who post them have commented it takes hours to upload a small 10 minute or less HD video with a high speed upload connection of 6+mbps.

It takes me about 1/2 hour to upload a 10 minute vid using a slower upload speed of 768kbps, that's roughly .768mbps, if my math is right. LOL! Either way it's a much much slower upload speed than 6mbps. Also, I believe YouTube limits the upload and download speed of all it's users to much less than 6Mbps. Not to mention my 512MB dedicated video card and 1.66 Ghz CPU is seriously taxed and regularly overheats and causes the system to freeze up.

My camera and computer is seriously dated now being three or more years old, but, it serves me well and I'm sure if you look around you could find a similar camera used for well under 100 dollars.

I don't think you'll find a camera or other electronic device that will withstand the rigors people like you and I will likely throw it's way, without paying for it. I am very careful with mine and it has been sent back once already. I keep it, cards and batteries in a ziploc bag. I use a sock or Crown Royal bag to cover the camera when hiking and I have it strapped over my shoulder with tripod attached for easy deployment. LOL!

I hope my newbie camera woes and such have helped. I'd hate to see you buy a real nice recorder only to find out you can't edit or upload the videos, or to find out you can only record a coule minutes of vid beofre the card is full or batteries die. 2GB cards are less than 10 bucks online and I can buy as many as I feel I need.

[your_comforting_company]

That is some really good information RWC. That will help me decide for sure...
I don't really think I need HD for my purposes, but it's definately something the wife will want to consider, especially if she wants to upload any to the net for family.
Mostly it will be stationary while I do whatever I'm doing, but I'd also like to use it to record wildlife while I'm hunting or fishing.
I'm on DSL whatever speed that is, I have no idea. I can watch vids on youtube pretty quick. I'll do some more checking on that stuff.
I'll have to show this to my wife so she can help me decide. I'm sure she'll be using it too. Thanks for the info. that helps a lot!

[rwc1969]

Most DSL is asymetrical, probably spelt that wrong. It means you most likely have a much slower upload speed than download. Typically, around here it is 768 kbps upload and 3-6 mbps download. Download is roughly the same as cable, but upload is much, much slower.

BTW, you're welcome!

[canid]

most internet services period are asymetrical, as average home, and much business use has a far greater need for download than upload bandwidth.

for example: the HTML sent for this page was 172Kb.
the external stylesheet was 3.2Kb and who knows how much in the several external javascrip file[s].

in contrast, this form when i post it will be uploaded to the WSF server somewhere less than 1Kb.

in the light of the growing trend for internet media sharing, service providers are going to have to rethink thier way of doing things sooner or later.