Digital Camcorder?

nicks

Can anyone recommend a good Digital Camcorder please? SO many on the market, not sure what to look/go for. Round about the £200.00 mark (if poss....).

Thanks

Nicks

jmc160

I'm not sure about price, and I can't remember what I paid for mine, but I can highly recommend Sony's range of hard drive (HDD) camcorders.

I have the Handycam DCR-SR32 and I think I got it for a little over £250 but IMHO, they're well worth the extra money. Very easy to use (the LCD is also a touch screen and there's the obvious advantages of having the random access of the hard drive, rather than linear tapes.

They also have a great night vision function.

Mine stores up to 10 hours of video (30GB HDD)

nicks

Does these look any good?

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s73632/0/Camcorders/Sony/DCR-SR35-30GB-Hard-Drive-Camcorder/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&CatId=171&ManIds=1527,&SortBy=SkuOfferingPriceASC&IsInStockOnly=False&comp=y
or this
http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0167352631.1220637519@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeadefdehldglcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=10&sm=2&tm=0&sku=358060&category_oid=-31057

I did have the Handycam mini dv one, so I know Sony are good, but unsure of digital....

What's the benefit of the hardrive feature?

Nicks
xxx

mymatebob

nicks wrote: »

Does this look any good?

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s73632/0/Camcorders/Sony/DCR-SR35-30GB-Hard-Drive-Camcorder/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&CatId=171&ManIds=1527,&SortBy=SkuOfferingPriceASC&IsInStockOnly=False&comp=y

I did have the Handycam mini dv one, so I know Sony are good, but unsure of digital....

What's the benefit of the hardrive feature?



Nicks
xxx

mini DV is a digital format.

I have a Camcorder that takes memory cards and I just take them out and stick them straight in the PC for transfer and editing

nicks

That's what I am looking for - don't think it was the mini Dv then, but it used tapes.....

I have found this http://www.jessops.com/Store/s73903/0/Camcorders/JVC/GZ-MG330-Hard-Disk-Camcorder-(Silver)/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&CatId=171&ManIds=1292,&SortBy=SkuOfferingPriceASC&IsInStockOnly=False&comp=y

It's £50.00 cheaper than Curry's sell it for..... I just not sure what to look for in a digital one......

Thanks

Nicks

jmc160

nicks wrote: »

Does these look any good?

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s73632/0/Camcorders/Sony/DCR-SR35-30GB-Hard-Drive-Camcorder/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&CatId=171&ManIds=1527,&SortBy=SkuOfferingPriceASC&IsInStockOnly=False&comp=y
or this
http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0167352631.1220637519@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeadefdehldglcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=10&sm=2&tm=0&sku=358060&category_oid=-31057

I did have the Handycam mini dv one, so I know Sony are good, but unsure of digital....

What's the benefit of the hardrive feature?

Nicks
xxx

The first link is the same one I have. I've seen the JVC ones in shops but never tried one so I can't really say on that one.

The advantages of hard drives for me is that I do a lot of filming (days out, days in, milestones as my son grows, everything really) and with a HDD I never have to find a new tape or worry how much is left, or find a place on the tape where I'm not going to tape over something I haven't transferred yet. I just turn it on and hit record.
You can also view any individual films ( start recording, then stop recording = one film) in any order at any time with the touch screen. There's no fast-forwarding or rewinding to try and find a particular one.

I had a Mini DV camcorder before this one and it was great, but for transferring to the computer for editing, it took quite some time. I came back from holiday with 7 hours of film and it took 7 hours to transfer it. With the HDD camcorder, it would probably take about half an hour.

jmc160

nicks wrote: »

That's what I am looking for - don't think it was the mini Dv then, but it used tapes.....

I have found this http://www.jessops.com/Store/s73903/0/Camcorders/JVC/GZ-MG330-Hard-Disk-Camcorder-(Silver)/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&CatId=171&ManIds=1292,&SortBy=SkuOfferingPriceASC&IsInStockOnly=False&comp=y

It's £50.00 cheaper than Curry's sell it for..... I just not sure what to look for in a digital one......

Thanks

Nicks

That one seems to be getting good reviews. Maybe you have a local Currys or Dixons (other leccy stores are available...) where you could go and try them out?

See how they fit in your hand, try out the menus, see how user friendly it is...

missterial

I have been considering the Panasonic SDRS7 which seems to get good reviews (it looks really dinky and uses SD cards)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-SDR-S7EB-K-Camcorder-Black/dp/B0013XRSH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220683947&sr=8-2