posted
I've decided to buy a new camcorder. I currently have a three year old Sony DVD Handycam. It's delivers good image quality, but I can't edit footage unless I jump through major hoops.
I have no clue whats going on on the camcorder world. MiniDV vs. HDD vs. HD vs. DVD means virually nothing to me. I know still cameras not camcorders.
Anyhow, I basically want high quality video, ease of transfer to PC, footage pre-formatted for editing, footage that is easily convertible to popular formats such as mpeg or wmv. Oh yeah, I want to keep it under 800 bucks if possible, 1000 max.
posted
I use a Sony Handycam as well which doesn't seem to provide me any problems with editing. However, I would look into the new cams with built in hard drives or that use memory cards and can record up to 7 hours of video. The problem with the handycam is it records on a mini DVD and at high quality can only hold 20 minutes of media max. Many of the major electronics stores have them on sale for a reasonable price these days.
posted
Thanks LeDaemon. Does your cam use tapes or mini DVD.
I heard the quality in hard drive cameras was poor relative to tapes or mini DVD. You heard this too, or know from experience?
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posted
You're going to get a lot of answers on this, most of them valid and good - the reasons will be as varied as the suggestions. Thanks to high technology, you can't really go wrong and that's the good news.
The news that is not so good, is the staggering (and sometimes confusing) variety of offerings. The camera you are using is a good one, and editing can be made simple by using a rudimentary editing platform such as the one built into Windows. For $99 you can get one of several excellent editing programs such as Elements, Corel, Nero, Roxio, Majix, etc.
Mini DV (tape) camcorders are very inexpensive and the tapes have also become inexpensive; what you can get for three-hundred dollars these days is remarkable. Make that about eleven-hundred for HD (Sony HDR-HC9 is a good example).
Editing will be the same process as that for Mini DVD, insofar as with either of these formats you would be importing the footage into your system via USB or Firewire and then using your chosen software to clip, title, transition, etc.
In a sense, footage will be "pre-formatted for editing", no matter which format you select - because the editing software will be handling these in the same way:
1. Import the video 2. Select which parts to include, clip, edit, add titles, etc. 3. Save finished product ... to WMV, AVI, DVD or whatever your preferred output format is. Whichever you choose for your finished product output file, it will remain convertible to any other format later, through use of software ... so your initial choice is not critical.
You wonder if the quality of Hard Drive camcorders is poor in comparison to Mini DV. In my view it is ... in a way, and that is due to the inherent fundamentals of the format itself.
Hard Drive Camcorder is a different breed, and this format brings with it, some interesting benefits (and other things). Fundamentally, it is different, as the footage is Data, rather than Video. It makes the transfer to your PC for editing easy - pretty much the same as transferring files of any kind as opposed to "importing video".
The reason some view the quality as being less than that of Mini DV, is due to the fact that is IS data rather than video. An oversimplified analogy ... Hard Drive (data) is to Video, what MP3 is to Audio (which is also Data, as opposed to audio wave forms). You will always have audio purists who are going to find shortcomings in MP3 audio - less discriminating people will neither hear (nor care about) the difference ... but it is there. Again, this is an oversimplified analogy.
This format has come a LONG way in a very short time. I recently picked up a Panasonic HDC-HS9 (which is also HD) for under a thousand dollars, and it is worth every thin dime. In this category, all cameras by all major manufacturers are excellent (Sony, Canon, JVC, etc.), so you can't really go wrong here.
My reason for the HDC-HS9 was based on the fact that it had a 3CCD Image Sensor, which (for me) has always been a primary requirement ... as was the last Mini DV camcorder I bought. Couple with that, the Leica optics and it is a glorious little package of technology.
To recap, I'll say again that you can't really go wrong here, as long as you steer clear of the Aipteks and cameras of that ilk (Aiptek does make HD cameras, but of a decidely different intent and target audience). It looks like you've got all the right ideas, and have set some fine criteria for yourself. Let us know what you decide and I'm sure you'll get plenty of help on the editing and production process as well.
[ October 08, 2008, 01:55 PM: Message edited by: Ben Del Amitri ]
-------------------- Respectfully,
Ben
Malory in Signature Posts: 5772 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Awesome Ben, Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to give such a comprehensive, informative, and objective response.
With respect to the editing criteria, I was under the impression that Mini DVD data are stored as Mpeg-2 and that most editing software only reads avi.
Factoring in my assumption that one would need special software to convert mpeg-2 to avi, and you can see how I could believe editing might seem tedious to say the least.
Anyhow, I thought your mp3/audio analogy made perfect sense. Being a more practical person, I would lean towards being less of a "purist" and more interested in efficiency and functionality. Therefore, I'm favoring HDD at this point primarily for it's simplicity transferring and managing files during post processing i.e. no tangible items to look after. I'm also figuring if your posting clips online (which I more than likely will do) the compression is going to degrade all mediums and they will end up looking more or less the same (as you pointed out).
I like Sony products in general. I'm eying the DCR-SR65 40GB Handycam. At 450 bucks it looks pretty good to me. Leaves me enough surplus in my budget to pick up a tripod, polarizing filter, extra battery, a case, etc and still stay under 800 dollars.
Still, I can't help but wonder how much I'm really giving up in video quality to have the ease of file transfer and to not have to deal with tapes or mini DVDs.
Thanks again Ben!
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