Looking for a nice Camcorder

[Bubbleman]

What should I be looking for in terms of quality, less than 400 dollars.

optical zoom and digital zoom? which is more important? ect

[airbornflght]

okay, here is the scoop...I guess.

You want a camera that records on the miniDV format, afaik, it is the best format right now. Optical zoom is better than digital zoom.

Optical zoom uses glass in order to zoom in. usually a camera with couple optical and digital zoom, so that say upto 14x is optical, and then after than is digital.

When you see a camera that says say 150x zoom, disregard that, you want to read the fine print that will say something like 15x optical, 10x digital. optical zoom times digital zoom is the total zoom, but digital zoom negates image quality, and I usually just turn it off on my camera's. because after 5x power, you are gonna need a tripod anyway.

There are hd cameras out, which is what I would save up and buy, but they are very expensive, probably 800-1000+ dollars. Also, dont just buy a camera because of a lens, you also want to look at the sensor size, and how many sensors, the bigger the sensor/the more sensors, the more data the camera can pick up, and this is generally indicative of a better camera, but not always, because image processing is also important. I would suggest reading reviews as I am not up to date currently.

[Bubbleman]

ahhh ok thanks I was looking at some camera at compUSA

had a hardrive camera with 30xOptical/800 digital view i think.


Ill look around for reviews

[airbornflght]

Ive seen some hard drive cameras, I forgot about those, I havent seen anybody that actually has one though, so I cant vouch for their performance one way or the other, but I think that they would do fine.

[Bubbleman]

so mini is prob better quality, and the more optical zoom is better?

and how do i check for quality of the pictures, what components.

[airbornflght]

Well, really, past 15x or so optical, it isnt going to matter much, because you wont be able to hold the camera steady. I doubt you rarely go past 8x.

Look for the image sensor size. a 1/3" CCD is bigger than a 1/6" CCD iirc, and if I am still up to date, the biggest and baddest have a 3 - 1/3" CCDs; that, and read reviews, because image quality is only one thing, if the camera is not comfortable, or the controls are ackward, than it is better as a paper weight, and everyone is individual, so I advise you go to Circuit City, or BestBuy and try out the cameras, find one that you like the weight/feel/interface of, and then look at the specifications. You will almost definately have to compromise somewhere though, because they arent gonna custom make your dream camera, though you may get lucky and find one that is exactly like you wanted.

Take for instance that I photograph for my yearbook at highschool about 5 hours or so a week. Well, she finally decided to get me a camera to use, and since I am gonna be the one using it, I went to oklahoma city, and went to all the camera stores, and looked at all the camera's in the $1k pricerange and found the one that I like the controls/performance of the most, and then told her what camera/lenses I would like, as well as 4x256mb cf cards, (smaller cards can store pictures faster), very important when I am photographing sports. And she got it, though I hope the people after me have similar tastes.


Case in point, get the camera that you like, and are comfortable with, dont get a camera because Joe the salesman says that it is good.;)

[bothered]

I bought a camcorder last year and did a lot of research first. The thing that became obvious, again, is you get what you pay for. I ended up with a Panasonic NV-GS250. It's a three CCD camera boasting 'broadcast' quality video. It may be more than you want to pay but I always find compromise leads to dissapointment later on so get the best you can. This Panasonic is brilliant. Excellent quality video and I can take stills even when videoing, the memory card can hold over 3,000 pics! Very well placed controls and small size make the camera value for money.

[edcentric]

airborn, watch the flash memory speed issue. In SD cards the bigger ones are almost always faster. Sometimes a lot faster.

Bubble, At $400 I would guess that you are going to working onto tape.
JVC makes some cute cameras (GR-Dxxx), but they don't fit my hand.
There are also the Cannon ZRxxx.
Mine is older so I am not sure what the current not one is.

Go to the store and handle them a lot. If it doesn't feel good you won't use it.

[Bubbleman]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7605861&type=product&cmp=++&id=1130983361174

[Bubbleman]

this is what ive been looking at. think i could get any better for my buck? im going out to check it out today in store

[airbornflght]

Looks like a nice camera. it hase 3 1/6" sensors, not as big as 1/3" sensors, but not near the cost either, I think you will do well with it.

[Bubbleman]

so 3 1/6 are better than 1 1/3?

[airbornflght]

well, if you are doing the math, 3, 1/6" sensors should equate to a 1/2" sensor, but im not sure if it does or not. The best currently available I think is 3, 1/3" sensors.

[Mt_Goat]

I see that it also has "Image Stabilization". You definitely want to make sre any camera has that. It is amazing how shakey even the steadiest person is.