Which camcorder do you use for video?

[verdantsound]

There's been much debate over whether video belongs on the SLR. For those who think that they're two separate entities, which camcorder would you use for video (ideally pocketsized and not too expensive :cool:)

[jeepster]

Canon HV30. :)

[SYS]

Canon HG10.

[tcats14]

the JVC Everio HD6.

[Zepher]

Canon HV30. :)

Great little camera.

[bswallace1000]

canon xl1s and panasonic dvx100b. the panasonic is much better in low light but the canon does just as well if you give it just a little light. its pretty good for a 10 year old camera. neither one is pocket size unless you are Shaq.

[Rainyday]

I just bought the Canon FS200. It's new but not HD. However, it's very small and easy to use and I think it'll do fine.

[ayman86]

Canon HG10.

yep me too, only cuz i got a killer deal on it.

[dipps]

canon optura 40

[iqbal624]

how is the canon HF10?

[_aravena]

JVC Everio

[osv]

how is the canon HF10?

xlnt bang for the buck... check out the camcorderinfo review on it.

[sfaust]

Have Canon XH-A1s for everyday stuff. Use Sony DSR450WS for most professional work.

[charl1e]

Canon HV20!

[KJCSPhoto]

Good Afternoon,
I am a still photographer by trade, but I have dabbled with video, and what I have done has been really great, and I am not talking about birthday parties or soccer games, but daily mundane things (coffee perking for example), movement in nature, video loops. Since the tax man has been rather generous I have some money to put toward a cheap video camera (under $300), need to save the rest, I am looking at the Canon ZR960 which comes out in May I believe. I would love a HD camera, but they are out of my price range, and I like some of the features that are on the Canon ZR960. Any other thoughts or suggestions would be great.
Peace & Happiness,
Kevin

P.s I guess it is out now

[motoroller]

Sony TG3 (until mine got stolen!)
Sony HC7 (I have one)

Canon HV20 (great camera!)
Canon XH-A1 (I have one)

[Drozz119]

Canon XL2

[milleker]

HV30 here, love it.

[Matthew Craggs]

If it has to be picket size and inexpensive, a canon HV20/30/40. There's just no better bang for your buck for a personal camera. Easy to use, focus wheel, Av & Tv modes, sleek black finish (except the HV20 version). It's an awesome camera.

[corosario]

Canon HF100

[jklewer]

Another HV30 with a WA thread on, hood, and shotguner. Sweet little camera

[tcats14]

How do you guys upload your video to your computer? Do you use firewire or like a hdmi input.. My cameras file system isnt compatiable with my video editer so I need to use the advc 110 to rca to firewire in.. I'm Sure I loose quality down converting to rca. Just wondering what you guys do in terms of getting footage in for editing.

Thanks

[jklewer]

How do you guys upload your video to your computer? Do you use firewire or like a hdmi input.. My cameras file system isnt compatiable with my video editer so I need to use the advc 110 to rca to firewire in.. I'm Sure I loose quality down converting to rca. Just wondering what you guys do in terms of getting footage in for editing.

Thanks

I just plug in the firewire to the butt of my HV30 and open imovie. Imports right in.

[Bubble]

Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM EX HD here.

[Laramie]

Tagging this thread for further reading. I tried the Kodak Zi6 HD. The video was nice, but low light sucked and with no image stabilization, the shakes were horrible.

I'm now looking at the Canon HG10 but open to others.

[KoolaGirl]

HG10

[WMWARD2]

HF100 Love it!

[milleker]

I used HDVSplit for importing from my HV30 through Firewire. It splits my scenes and dumps the files onto my hard drive in a folder (and with a naming convention) of my choosing. I understand that this is one of the few ways you can import 60i from the camcorder - allegedly most pro programs (like Premiere Pro) will not import it as 60i.

Of course I haven't tested it, but it sounded logical and that's how I do it.

[kimmylixx]

HV30 great lil video cam!

[Alexajlex]

Panasonic TZ5 (~$249)....

The technical stuff.
9MP pics.
10x OIS (28mm-280mm)
Pocket compact
720p 30fps movie mode.
OIS works in movie mode.
Zoom works in movie mode (more for people that like to zoom a lot, not my cup of tea).

I like it because it does a lot of functions reasonably well.
The 28-280 with OIS and video mode are hard to beat in such a small compact size.
The 28mm end is wide enough (just like putting on the Tammy 17-50 on my 40D).
I carry with me nearly all the time. Certainly a lot more than I do my 40D.

What I don't like is the audio sound (noisy, poor pickup pattern).
Then again I normally use dedicated audio recording with separate mics when I do something that is important.
Overall the audio is decent once you run it through SoundSoap or Audacity or whatever you use for audio work.
Battery life is not so good. I got an aftermarket battery with 1400 Mah that is a lot better

This has been surpassed now by the Panasonic Zs3 which offers 12x + 720p in AVCHD Lite (smaller files, less processing, uses less battery juice). Better audio

This goes for $399 which is a bit hard to swallow ($150 difference between Zs3 and TZ5).

[tcats14]

I used HDVSplit for importing from my HV30 through Firewire. It splits my scenes and dumps the files onto my hard drive in a folder (and with a naming convention) of my choosing. I understand that this is one of the few ways you can import 60i from the camcorder - allegedly most pro programs (like Premiere Pro) will not import it as 60i.

Of course I haven't tested it, but it sounded logical and that's how I do it.
THANKS ill have to test this one out...

[rklepper]

Canon HV30. :)

+! Excellent Cam

[Paco43]

I have the HV30,my old camera a non HD would let me capture my video in Movie Maker or Prem Elements.I have to capture the whole tape with Movie Maker or if I use Elements I can't view ,I have to use the camera screen.Is there an easier way to "Capture a scene" using some other program? Thx

[jklewer]

I have the HV30,my old camera a non HD would let me capture my video in Movie Maker or Prem Elements.I have to capture the whole tape with Movie Maker or if I use Elements I can't view ,I have to use the camera screen.Is there an easier way to "Capture a scene" using some other program? Thx

I use iMovie (on Mac) and it is VERY easy to import HD onto the computer. If you have a Mac, you can simply plug in your HV30 via firewire and launch iMovie and it will popup ready to import right away.

[Paco43]

I wish I did, I have Vista

[Allen Newt]

I am very new and inexperienced! I am looking to produce a good quality do-it-yourself DVD to sell in the retail market. There will not be a lot of rapid motion in the video, but still want to get a video camera/camcorder (don't know the difference) that will produce a high quality and professional result. I will be using my Mac to do the editing and soundtrack work.

[jklewer]

I am very new and inexperienced! I am looking to produce a good quality do-it-yourself DVD to sell in the retail market. There will not be a lot of rapid motion in the video, but still want to get a video camera/camcorder (don't know the difference) that will produce a high quality and professional result. I will be using my Mac to do the editing and soundtrack work.

If the lighting is right, even a decent PS will work for that. Otherwise you could get away with one of Canons flash memory camcorders since you won't get any motor noise of anything from it. John

[Whitlam]

Sony SR-12, (120Gb hard drive) - transfer files to PC via USB cable, takes only a few seconds.

[davidd10]

Canon HF10

[jmckell]

Just bought a Canon HV30 for my upcoming trip to Disney World.

[naqs]

Sony EX-3 is a great camera! but not pocket sized by any means...

[Zephyrize]

my friend and I are using HV30 for shooting movies,
we're planning to get a Letus35 with Canon EF mount,
anyone here tried the Letus with a Canon lens?

[thrash_273]

JVC everio HD

[jklewer]

my friend and I are using HV30 for shooting movies,
we're planning to get a Letus35 with Canon EF mount,
anyone here tried the Letus with a Canon lens?

No, but Im definitely jonesing for one. The only drag is that the HV30 is so poor in low light situations, I just would hate to expect perfection from a Letus and solid quiver of lenses and get NOISE NOISE NOISE in the evening!! Enjoy that (if you get one) and let us know how it goes! John

[Vndcatr]

Sony HDR-XR500V .. excellent quality0

[cwr89]

the Red One http://www.red.com/cameras/

I've only had the opportunity to play with one once but it was AMAZING.
I shoot on a Canon ZR800 and get fairly decent video. If you're willing to put a bit more money in check out the Sony PD150. its a good knock around camera. it's what I get from my school's teleplex and it does a wonderful job.

[bluemotion]

i have both a canon xha1 and a hv30 but i wanna sell the xha1 to buy another 5dII..

[Zephyrize]

the Red One http://www.red.com/cameras/

I've only had the opportunity to play with one once but it was AMAZING.


Lucky bastard :D
If you're willing to put in a bit 'more' money, wait for the 120fps Red Scarlet that's coming this fall

[davidfig]

...... I have some money to put toward a cheap video camera (under $300), need to save the rest.......

There is a new sanyo FH1 which is about $550, but its predecessor is going for under $300.
http://cameras.pricegrabber.com/camcorders/Sanyo-VPC-TH1-HD-Compact-Flash/m714828868.html/search=sanyo%20TH1/st=product/sv=image

That's HD for under $300.

[Allen Newt]

If you have a firewire port on your computer (or if you are willing to add one if needed), best quality video comes from miniDV tape based camcorders storing in DV format on the tape. All readily available video editing applications can import and edit DV video. In the high-definition format of HDV, most of the editors can handle that, too.
If you have only USB, the mid range hard drive or flash memory camcorders provide next best video quality. The MPEG2 format compresses more than DV, hence the reduced quality. On the hidef side, AVCHD is not living up to its hype and while some video applications can handle that compression method, they might not handle all cameras that store using AVCHD. AVCHD just compresses too much. The trick is to compress as little as possible during the capture process - then compress whatever you want at the tail end. When you compress up front, all that video (and sometimes audio) is lost and not recoverable.
DVD based camcorders are just a bad idea and should not be sold. Existing DVD camcorders should be recalled, recycled and the folks who bought them should get their money back.

[Bruce Foreman]

Allen,

You don't have some of that quite right. You state that MiniDV is the best quality video when it is actually at the bottom of the quality scale these days. It is 650x480 or 720x480 (standard definition) and is NOT the best quality.

It may be the most convenient or easiest to work with for folks who only have DV cams and not state of the art computers.

HDV is next up on the scale, usually 1440x1080 and most fast dual core processors can handle it. As far as AVCHD not living up to "it's hype" that is about as incorrect as can be. The image quality is often stunning in the faster bitrates (17Mbps and now 24Mbps). Yes it takes a really stout computer to edit and play it, quad core processor at 2.66Ghz clock speed MINIMUM to do it smoothly. Most NLE vendors now have some way of dealing with it. (I use Pinnacle Studio 12 which handles AVCHD natively with no transcoding. Cost these days seems to be around $100 for the Plus version or sometimes even the Ultimate version. I don't recommend the basic version as it has only one video track).

I have been working with AVCHD for about a year now and when I compare HDV and AVCHD side by side the AVCHD at 1920x1080 17Mbs is visibly crisper and more detailed even despite the compression and decompression. Standard Definition DVD's I burn from material recorded at 1920x1080 17Mbps looks noticeably sharper than SD recorded on DV media.

For those getting started, I recommend either HDV (tape based) for now, or one of the lower priced Canon flash memory (AVCHD) options. In the Canon line all of these come with external mic inputs (if you don't need that now you will if you get at all serious about quality. Audio is 60% of what we "see"), and external headphone jacks (absolutely essential for knowing what audio is going to be like.

And in this time of rapidly changing technology I recommend a very fast quad core based computer. Seems like I'm experiencing an annual computer purchase to keep up with video advances, 3 purchases in 3 years.

[bswallace1000]

Allen,

You don't have some of that quite right. You state that MiniDV is the best quality video when it is actually at the bottom of the quality scale these days. It is 650x480 or 720x480 (standard definition) and is NOT the best quality.

It may be the most convenient or easiest to work with for folks who only have DV cams and not state of the art computers.

HDV is next up on the scale, usually 1440x1080 and most fast dual core processors can handle it. As far as AVCHD not living up to "it's hype" that is about as incorrect as can be. The image quality is often stunning in the faster bitrates (17Mbps and now 24Mbps). Yes it takes a really stout computer to edit and play it, quad core processor at 2.66Ghz clock speed MINIMUM to do it smoothly. Most NLE vendors now have some way of dealing with it. (I use Pinnacle Studio 12 which handles AVCHD natively with no transcoding. Cost these days seems to be around $100 for the Plus version or sometimes even the Ultimate version. I don't recommend the basic version as it has only one video track).

I have been working with AVCHD for about a year now and when I compare HDV and AVCHD side by side the AVCHD at 1920x1080 17Mbs is visibly crisper and more detailed even despite the compression and decompression. Standard Definition DVD's I burn from material recorded at 1920x1080 17Mbps looks noticeably sharper than SD recorded on DV media.

For those getting started, I recommend either HDV (tape based) for now, or one of the lower priced Canon flash memory (AVCHD) options. In the Canon line all of these come with external mic inputs (if you don't need that now you will if you get at all serious about quality. Audio is 60% of what we "see"), and external headphone jacks (absolutely essential for knowing what audio is going to be like.

And in this time of rapidly changing technology I recommend a very fast quad core based computer. Seems like I'm experiencing an annual computer purchase to keep up with video advances, 3 purchases in 3 years.

I think you and Allen are having two very different discussions. Allen is talking about capture and nothing to do with resolution. However, Minidv is not limited to 720x480 anyway.

[jklewer]

I think you and Allen are having two very different discussions. Allen is talking about capture and nothing to do with resolution. However, Minidv is not limited to 720x480 anyway.

True. HDV is recorded on MiniDV ALL the time.