Lookin for a Camcorder

Anybody out there have a really good camcorder that they got for a...relatively...good price?? Im not looking for a REALLY cheap one from some unknown company that has its parts made by penguins in Antarctica, but from a good company like Sony or JVC. Iv read alot of reviews from different camcorders, but they vary so much, and I just wanna know about some of yalls Camcorders. Its gotta have good sound, great clarity and quality. Im not sure of what the regular resolution for a Camcorder is, but I'd like it to be atleast that.

Sooo....anybody?

[edit on 2-5-2005 by dreamlandmafia]

If you seriously don't care how uncool you are for not getting the latest greatest smallest digicam out there...

Go to your local crack head pawn shop and pick up a mid 90's Sony Super 8. You can still buy the little tapes some places. It's it's own VCR. And it shouldn't cost much at all.

Wish I still had mine.

Stupid crack.

Originally posted by RANT
If you seriously don't care how uncool you are for not getting the latest greatest smallest digicam out there...

Go to your local crack head pawn shop and pick up a mid 90's Sony Super 8. You can still buy the little tapes some places. It's it's own VCR. And it shouldn't cost much at all.

Wish I still had mine.

Stupid crack.

Announcer 1: And the award for the least helpful comment this year goes too.
Announcer 2: Im so excited Bob, I cant WAIT to see who it is.
Announcer 1: Its Rant!!! Come on down and claim your prize! Youv won yourself...A DANCING BANANA!!!

Dude!

I was serious. It's a good camera. If you don't go for Super 8, you're going to have to shell out hundreds more for digital.

It's just the only place I know of still selling the old format would be a pawn shop.

But I could even play mine directly to my laptop and record files from it, so it's not like Super 8 can't be transfered to digital.

Ex girlfriends beware!


[edit on 5-2-2005 by RANT]

The fact that you said Mid 90s shows that its peak is being a door stop.

When I said relatively cheap, after looking at prices of Camcorders, I meant about 500$, within my grasp. Preferably MiniDV or even Digital8.

Oh....and Pawn Shops dont like me around here for some......odd....reasons.

[edit on 2-5-2005 by dreamlandmafia]

Originally posted by dreamlandmafia
The fact that you said Mid 90s shows that its peak is being a door stop.

When I said relatively cheap, after looking at prices of Camcorders, I meant about 500$, within my grasp. Preferably MiniDV or even Digital8.

Ahhhhh. Alrighty then. My bad. I'm just all about the street hustle. Was trying to hook you up for a twenty spot.

Try eBay for used if you've got that kind of bling. Might just pick up the really high end stuff for that amount.

[edit on 5-2-2005 by RANT]

Well, for $500 bucks you can get sufficient quality for home video-type stuff, but it isn't going to be great. There are a couple of options, tho'. I have used the Sony Handycam HC40 & it is a pretty good value in your price range. The picture quality is pretty good & the sound is what you would expect for any camera with an on-board microphone. Even the $4000 high-end DV cameras don't have such great built-in sound--you have to attach an external mic. Unfortunately, many cameras in lower price ranges may not have an external jack.

However, if you can go for a few bucks more, you should look at the Canon Optura 30. The picture quality is much better, it has a better lens, and you can shoot in lower light situations. Sound quality is a bit better too. If that is too pricey, you might also look at the new Canon Eluras that are coming out this month, which should be in your price range or lower. Canon has great lenses & the cameras typically come with lots of bells & whistles.

Hope this helps!

I was looking at the Optura 40, which seems to go for about 750$, roughly. Which I could afford in a few weeks. And the Optura 30 is about 200$ cheaper at most places.

I needa get another job, got fired from Best Buy a few weeks ago for not selling people #ty Dells, HPs, and eMachines.

I looked at both cameras right before Christmas & the only significant difference between the Optura 30 & 40 is that the 40 is better in low-light situations. It has a a few night modes & a built-in lamp. If you are going to be shooting in lower light conditions, you might want to spend the extra $200.
There are only a few other minor differences--The 40 has a 14x zoom lens vs. a 12x zoom on the 30--but in general, zooming will degrade the picture quality significantly, so that isn't something to pay up for. The microphone on the 40 is also slightly better, but not by much.

Otherwise, 30 & 40 are pretty much identical.

FYI, Canon is currently offering a $100 rebate on the Optura 30 (until 3/31/05). Is is currently $569 ($469 w/rebate) at my favorite electronics store, B&H photo (www.bhphoto.com).

(BTW, if you happen to be in NYC, I know that B&H is always hiring--it seems like it would be a cool place to work because they deal mostly with professionals--and you always get to leave early on Fridays, have Saturday off, and in addition to normal holidays, you get every Jewish holiday off--the owners are Hasidic...)

I know a great deal about such things. So, whatever you get, make sure you pay attention to these points:

#1 Optical Zoom good, digital zoom bad. The higher the optical zoom the better. Compact cameras can have as little as 10X. Thats not terrible, but its not high. 8mm cameras can have as many as 25x. 18-20 is excellent.

#2 Get digital, even if its digital 8. Nearly double the quality as analog and cheap tapes.

#3 Some cameras have a night time mode. Read about these as they all dont work the same. Sony's night shot is generally the best. It sacrifices a little color for sharpness and smooth motion. JVC uses a method of slight over exposure. It maintains the color, but the vidio is slow and twitchy.

#4 BATTERY BATTERY BATTERY!!! The batteries in the box will get you about 30-40mins. Thats it. You MUST have additional batteries. Some add on batteries can get you as much as 12 hours!!!

Having said all this, Sony makes a few digital 8's still around $300US. best Buy, Circut City, they all have them. You should have no problem getting one at that price with 20x optical zoom. Also: Sony makes the biggest selection, and the best batteries around. They are EXPENSIVE, but worth it.

Hope this help....And no, I dont work for Sony!

Getting a HD camcorder is taking a step backward in Video Quality. HD camcorders Interpolate the video, which means of every 25 frames of video, 4 or 5 frames are taken by the lens assembly, the other frames in between these are filled in by the camcorder inner circuitry, thus giving you not true video. This happens in every video they take. I will not mention any thing, other than to say, getting a HD camcorder, make sure you have the computer that handle HD video, one clue, You need a multi core processor and both an audio and sound card also. Any thing less and you will have problems with the footage a HD camcorder makes. And Windows Maker does not work with HD video. Try amazon or ebay to have your HD camcorder.