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Need a camcorder recommendation (by 30/04/09 preferably)

My girlfriend has dropped heavy hints about wanting a camcorder for her birthday. Additions Direct are giving 30% off first orders if you've never used them before until Thursday (30th), which seems to be a good chance to make a saving.

As such I'd be grateful if any camcorder experts out there could advise me as to which would be the best camcorder to buy out of these. I don't think she needs something that is utterly top of the range and in HD. She will almost exclusively be using it to video dance routines (ballet, streetdance and hip hop). I understand that some camcorders come with hard drives now, but that's not particularly a requirement providing that it will take an SD card (or equivalent) that is a decent size. Good battery life is always a bonus, as is ease of use (i.e. just plugging into a laptop to get the files off it would be best).

So I leave it up to you, residents of the MSE Techie World, to advise me. Go.
"MIND IF I USE YOUR PHONE? IF WORD GETS OUT THAT
I'M MISSING FIVE HUNDRED GIRLS WILL KILL THEMSELVES."

Comments

  • Crazy_Jamie
    Crazy_Jamie Posts: 2,246 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Actually, they would appear to have a lot more camcorders than that, so any general recommendations are welcome.
    "MIND IF I USE YOUR PHONE? IF WORD GETS OUT THAT
    I'M MISSING FIVE HUNDRED GIRLS WILL KILL THEMSELVES."
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
    Actually, they would appear to have a lot more camcorders than that, so any general recommendations are welcome.
    ... and there lies the problem. You haven't given any sort of clue on your budget or anything else really.

    All I'd say is steer clear of models using tapes (if they are still made). Those that use mini dvds are more likely to actually result in something being watched - usual is a load of short clips get transferred to the PC with the intention of editing them and producing a DVD later but it never happens.
  • Crazy_Jamie
    Crazy_Jamie Posts: 2,246 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    kwikbreaks wrote: »
    ... and there lies the problem. You haven't given any sort of clue on your budget or anything else really.
    Fair enough. I am by no means clued up on the main features of camcorders, so this may be a bit hit and miss. I think realistically the budget would be in the region of £300 (so in the region of £200 when the 30% discount is applied). I could afford more than that if something absolutely unmissable came along, but I don't think she wants or requires something that costs an outrageous amount of money, hence the limitation on price. I think a hard drive would be nice simply because she will want a lot of storage on it, and a direct USB connection for ease of transferring files would be something of necessity. I'm not sure if sound quality is normally an issue, but as she would be recording dance routines sound quality is obviously quite important. Size wise it couldn't be too bulky. Equally she doesn't need something that size of a matchbox, so something that fits comfortably in the hand and is suitable to be carried in, say, a handbag or sports bag pocket would be ideal. Chances are she may want to upload videos to YouTube at some point, and I believe newer camcorders have 'YouTube capture mode', so that could be useful, though is strictly an non essential extra (if indeed it's an good at all).

    If more specific details are needed, just let me know.
    All I'd say is steer clear of models using tapes (if they are still made). Those that use mini dvds are more likely to actually result in something being watched - usual is a load of short clips get transferred to the PC with the intention of editing them and producing a DVD later but it never happens.
    I think realistically she'd want a hard drive or a big SD card at the very least. Transferring to her laptop would be the first port of call, as she'd no doubt build up something of a dance archive for future reference. She is actually a dancer and will soon be training to be a dance teacher, so the videos will certainly get used either way.
    "MIND IF I USE YOUR PHONE? IF WORD GETS OUT THAT
    I'M MISSING FIVE HUNDRED GIRLS WILL KILL THEMSELVES."
  • Crazy_Jamie
    Crazy_Jamie Posts: 2,246 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks for that. Looks useful. I'll have a glance over it later on.

    Turns out that the 30% discount has been withdrawn for electricals, so I've got more time on my side now.
    "MIND IF I USE YOUR PHONE? IF WORD GETS OUT THAT
    I'M MISSING FIVE HUNDRED GIRLS WILL KILL THEMSELVES."
  • johnmcgrath
    johnmcgrath Posts: 37 Forumite
    You may want to consider Samsung SC-DX205 Hybrid which fits under your budget. With it you can record to either DVD, Flash memory or SD/SDHC card, also offers a USB 2.0 port, 2.7-inch LCD and a 34x Optical Zoom. You can also take a look at other Samsung camcorders to help you narrow down your search to a particular model.
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