cheap video cameras?

jeffy22

nothing flash, just something for homevideos, but will show up decently when shown on 42"tv.
Don't really know anything about video cameras so what sort of specs should I be looking for?

isofa

Lots of consumer reviews cutting through the jargon here: http://www.gadgetshow.five.tv/gadgets/audio-video/cameras/camcorders

Marty_J

The Flip cameras are very good. I have a Flip Ultra HD, and I love it.

Fifer

We're looking for something similar for FIL to use. Inexpensive, pocketable and very simple to use. Argos are doing the Creative Vado for £39.99 right now which might be suitable.

Marty_J

Fifer wrote: »

We're looking for something similar for FIL to use. Inexpensive, pocketable and very simple to use.

Why don't you get him an iPod Nano?

Argos are doing the Creative Vado for £39.99 right now which might be suitable.

The Flip Ultra HD won out for us as it shoots in HD, it has a reasonably large storage capacity (8 GB, which is about 2 hours of footage), it records in Mac-friendly h.264 mp4, it has an HDMI out, and it can use AA batteries. The video quality was also superior in all the reviews I saw. We also looked at the Sony Webbie and the Kodak Zi8, but felt the Flip Ultra HD was the best choice.

£39.99 is a good price for the Vado though, and would suit someone who isn't fussed about HD and just wants to capture some video.

jeffy22

How good is the Vado? and whats the cheapest I can get a flip? any offers/ discounts/ vouchers on at the moment?

Marty_J

jeffy22 wrote: »

How good is the Vado?

The Vado in question doesn't shoot in HD, so its picture quality will be nowhere near that of the Flip Ultra HD (which has absolutely stunning video for something that fits in a coat pocket).

If you're not bothered about shooting in HD though, the Vado could be a very inexpensive solution.

and whats the cheapest I can get a flip? any offers/ discounts/ vouchers on at the moment?

It's £124.91 from Amazon (as opposed to £159.99 from Argos).

jeffy22

does HD make a massive difference? I don't have HD tv or blueray or anything like that. Would the Vado be really grainy when played back on my TV (remembering my old video camera from when I was a kid)

Fifer

Marty_J wrote: »

Why don't you get him an iPod Nano?

What on earth would he want with an unneeded music player.

Marty_J wrote: »

The Flip Ultra HD won out for us as it shoots in HD, it has a reasonably large storage capacity (8 GB, which is about 2 hours of footage), it records in Mac-friendly h.264 mp4, it has an HDMI out, and it can use AA batteries. The video quality was also superior in all the reviews I saw. We also looked at the Sony Webbie and the Kodak Zi8, but felt the Flip Ultra HD was the best choice.

£39.99 is a good price for the Vado though, and would suit someone who isn't fussed about HD and just wants to capture some video.

FIL won't be to fussed about HD. For us, I went with the Toshiba Camileo S10 which Tesco are now doing for £99 (we paid more months ago). We're pretty pleased with it and pleasantly surprised at the still picture performance.

jeffy22

also need something that would be compatible to Mac and PC

Marty_J

jeffy22 wrote: »

does HD make a massive difference? I don't have HD tv or blueray or anything like that. Would the Vado be really grainy when played back on my TV (remembering my old video camera from when I was a kid)

Here's a video shot with the Creative Vado:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw-wjDN3kOY

and here's one shot with the Flip Ultra HD (don't forget to click the "HD" button):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpHLEoxQsrQ

You can see the Flip Ultra HD pretty much blows away the Creative Vado as far as video quality is concerned. If you don't have an HD TV, it might be less of a concern for you, but you can upload HD videos to Youtube and whatnot these days, so a lack off HD TV doesn't mean you can't use your HD footage.

jeffy22 wrote: »

also need something that would be compatible to Mac and PC

The Flip Ultra HD is fully Mac compatible; it even includes a Mac version of its FlipShare software on the camera itself. Though if you have a Mac, you already have better software anyway.