Camcorder recommendations

chickaroonee

Hi there

We want to buy a small camcorder for when our baby arrives next year. Doesn't have to be too fancy but would be nice to get a fairly decent one that doesn't need replacing straight away.

I really have no idea what sort of things we should look out for, does anyone have any tips on what to go for?

Thanks

Millionaire

Whats your budget?

chickaroonee

Good question! Not too sure as I have absolutely no idea how much a decent one costs! Less than £200 I would say, not sure if that is realistic or not.

[Deleted User]

Slightly overbudget:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DCRSR37ES-Handycam-Camcorder-Built/dp/B001PGXA0K/ref=pd_ts_ce_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

Nice_guy

I could do with knowing this info too, our first baby is due in a coupe of weeks! yikes!

From my hunting around today I have found two camcorders that are supposed to be very good all round units (based on expert & consumer reviews):-

Samsung HMX-R10 - Approx £250
Sony HDR-CX105 - Approx £300

My budget was around the £200 mark too, but I am willing to spend a bit more on a decent bit of kit. Both the above are very compact in size, and are full HD. They both record to memory cards, the HDD camcorders are normally larger in size. The Sony model at sub £300 looks to be quite a good buy. The Sony model does come with 8GB of internal memory, but you have to allow to buy a card with the Samsung to record on to.

Hope thats of some help, any other recommendations are very welcome, been looking at this most of the day and my head is well and truly frazzled.

Nice_guy

BillScarab

I've just bought a Panasonic SD10 which is a HD model that records to SD cards. It cost £312 but I do need to buy a card for it as well.

You can get Standard Defintion ones for under £200 that should suit you fine.

Here are some reviews of memory card camcorders under £250.

This one on Amazon seems to get good reviews and is well within budget but you would have to buy a card for it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-SDR-S26-Flash-Memory-Camcorder/dp/B001QXDLDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260042283&sr=8-1

Marty_J

We have a Flip Ultra HD (£119 on Amazon), and we love it. It's really small, it can record 2 hours of HD footage, it can use regular AA batteries, and the video quality is absolutely fantastic.

Oneday77

The Flip camcorder is supposed to be pretty good if you don't want to spend a fortune. But it is light on functions but perfect for the pocket. Iread a review of it in CustomPC in a group test this month and the Gadget Show likes it too.

Oneday77

Damn it Marty, give me time to post will you

Do you have any non-descript anonymous clips on Youtube that would show the quality? If it's all family stuff don't post it.

Oneday77

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geUDwIP5LFI PC Mike review and link to his clips.

Nice_guy

Forgot about the Panasonic SD10, thats on the list too! choices choices! arghhhh!