Friday, June 27, 2008

Camcorder Search

And here I turn to our intelligent readers for some advice…

We’re in the market for a camcorder.  It’s a technology about which I know little.  We don’t really need anything in DVDs or tapes, because the vast majority of our videos will probably be played on a computer.  I’m thinking a flash or hard drive camcorder would be best, but am open to persuasion.  We’re also not looking to spend more than $500 or so. 

Any suggestions?

(8) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1701 hrs
Technology

  1. If you want to go really cheap and have YouTube quality there’s the Flip. You would even feel comfortable giving it to the kids to run around with.

    Posted by Sean Hackbarth on June 27, 2008 at 1704 hrs


  2. The Flip is a fine little gadget and, as I’ve learned, you can drop it on concrete and not kill it. It comes in fashionable colors (mine is orange) and can easily fit in a pocket.

    It take better-quality video than you might think and it’s sound ain’t bad, either. I would recommend spending another hundred bucks or so on an editing software package. I’ve had difficulty with the Flip software (which resides conveniently in the camera) and my work computer.

    A Flip that can hold up to an hour of video costs about $150—throw in the software and you have a decent package for about $250.

    Posted by Gretchen Schuldt on June 27, 2008 at 1802 hrs


  3. How about something a little more upscale/higher quality?  We plan to use the camera for the kids, political stuff, and general use.  I want to make sure we have something good enough to zoom in from the bleachers, if you know what I mean.

    Posted by Owen on June 27, 2008 at 1816 hrs


  4. Wow, great topic, just today I was thinking of buying one also.  Like Owen, almost all of my video would be used on the computer.  But I do think I’m lokoing for slightly better quality than youtube-ish type.  (but I will check out the flip) Any suggestions would be great!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 27, 2008 at 1817 hrs


  5. Most newer digital cams have a video feature. We have a kodak 710s and it does just fine with the video recording…

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 27, 2008 at 1905 hrs


  6. Take this for what it’s worth since I do not have a video cam (it seems ridiculous to me for you to be at an event and watch it “live” on a 2” screen - I’d rather watch my kids), I would buy either a Sony or Canon cam with a hard drive.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 27, 2008 at 2016 hrs


  7. It has been years since my last purchase, but a site I used to help choose was this one.

    I eventually went with a Sony TRV-27 and wasn’t disappointed.  If you’re thinking about transferring to the computer firewire is a must, but I think most DVcams come standard with it now.  Just something to look out for.

    As for editing packages I’m not up to speed on the consumer end of them as I have always used a higher end package that was originally created in our own backyard in Madison by a company called Sonic Foundry and was later sold off to Sony named Sony Vegas Pro.

    I occasionally do family videos…..sort of a fun hobby….

    Posted by Pete Fanning on June 28, 2008 at 0756 hrs


  8. Just to clarify one thing in my last comment, Sonic Foundry is alive and well in Madison…they only sold off the video and audio software side of their business to Sony….they stayed put and got into the Media Content delivery biz…

    Posted by Pete Fanning on June 28, 2008 at 0758 hrs


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