Digital Camcorder

[small_dog]

Howdy all!
I'm looking to purchase a digital camcorder for approx £250 which is ideally straightforward to use and has a USB2 interface for my computer. Can anyone recommend a suitable camera please or say which brands are good/bad? I've got an Olympus camera and that's been great but unfortunately they don't do digital camcorders.
Cheers
Small Dog
I realise this is neither a computer nor internet issue so I won't be offended if this thread gets deleted by the mods :)
Ps I originally posted this on Jet Blast but only got jokey responses unfortunately.

[Jhieminga]

A short while ago I did some research on camcorders for the primary school that my gf works at. One thing I learned was that a USB2 connection on the unit is pretty useless. As far as I understood it transferring video through it will always cause quality loss as the camera will have to compress before sending it out. A Firewire connection on the other hand will be able to handle the full quality data stream, they are standard on the camcorders but you might need to get a Firewire card for your 'puter. They sell for peanuts compared to what the camcorder will cost you so there's no need to skimp on that.

The model we ended up with was a Panasonic NV-GS27. Small, easy to use and no unneccesary gadgets that they won't use anyway.

[small_dog]

Hey,

Thanks for that, I'll install a firewire card on my PC in the near future

Cheers for the help

:)

[Conan the Librarian]

Firewire card = dirt cheap and same for the Camcorder too. I got a JVC GRD70 two years ago for £199 and that is apparently excellent. So much so, that the family member that loaned it, has kept using it and I haven't seen it since!

Firewire is the way to go.

Conan

[Conan the Librarian]

Firewire card = dirt cheap and same for the Camcorder too. I got a JVC GRD70 two years ago for £199 and that is apparently excellent. So much so, that the family member that loaned it, has kept using it and I haven't seen it since!
Firewire is the way to go.
Conan

[planecrazy.eu]

If you step into a store that sells Camcorders, there are very little difference bettween a fair few of them.

The JVC one refered to is excellent, it was £550 when i started work, and it came down to 199.99...

When i used to sell these things, i always said Panasonic and Sony, they seem to be the best, but you cant tell much difference between the other makes.

I always told people/customers to pic the Camcorder in the budget that feels right in the hand.

Ie, Budget of 250 or less will give you a clear choice of 8 or 9 camcorders in most stores. Get them in you hand and find out which one feels the most comfertable, then pick on just basic features such as bettery life.

I also think zooms should be ignored, digital zoom is a waste of time, and optical zoom is good, but the higher optical zoom cameras normally have smaller sensors, smaller sensors are usually prone to more noise which looks like a grainy effect.

USB2 is not really a waste of time, but you are better going for firewire, its called a few different things on a Camcorder, i think Sony call it the I-Link and other called it DV, but its a 4 Pin firewire connection.

On you budget, i would recommend these,

SONY DCR HC24

PANASONIC NVGS27B

They are £200 or just under, the Sony is probibaly the better one, optics are better, but they both have two different ergonomics, so hold them and decide.

[small_dog]

Cheers for info!
I'm off into town on saturday to have a look at the recommended models, thanks once again for the guidance! :ok:

[MightyGem]

Go for a miniDV rather than CD/HD. DV tapes give better quality IMHO. Also go one with DV In as well as DV Out, then you can have the option of recording your edited movies from your computer back to your camera. Analogue connection for transfering any VHS material to DV and then to your computer. Have seen cameras with all the above starting at around £250.

[anotherthing]

Small Dog

I will not try to recommend a camcorder for you as I have not looked into the end of the market that you are aiming at... however save some money....... Jhieminga is giving you some slightly misleading info....

Firewire (IEE1394) is only of real benefit if you are recording in High Definition... which you will definitely not be doing with a camera at £250.

USB2 is not a waste of time and is perfectly suitable for what you will be doing - you will not see any noticeable degradation in quality.

If you find a second hand camcorder that records in HD (tho be wary of the source as that would be extremely cheap for a 2nd hand one at this time) then you will need firewire otherwise any recording you have made in high definition will (in laymans terms), be downgraded to standard definition when you export it into your computer for editing if you use USB 2.

[small_dog]

Cheers for all the info and advice, it's all been very useful and informative.
Thanks
:ok: