Recommend me a good Camcorder for around £200 - £250 [Archive]

gohan2091

17th of June 2009 (Wed), 18:24

I was asked by my dad to select him a good camcorder but I'm not sure what to recommend as I know next to nothing about camcorders. We both live in the UK.

Can someone who understands camcorders link to me a few good one for around £250? It would be used for family use, day trips, holidays etc. It has to have good picture quality or good resolution and a fair amount of storage space (whether it's on the hard drive or giving him the option of a removeable memory card) I understand an HD camcorder may be out of his price range, so perhaps a standard definition one would be suitable.

Please can I hear recommendations? I've done a little bit of research but really, this is out of my league. Below are some camcorders I'm considering:

http://www.testfreaks.co.uk/digital-camcorders/jvc-everio-gz-mg630/

http://www.sony.co.uk/comparison/dcrsr37es.ceh/dcrsr77e.ceh/dcrsr57e.ceh

gohan2091

20th of June 2009 (Sat), 22:13

Looks like I'm going to have to recommend my dad a camcorder with very little to go by. I was really hoping for some suggestions from people who are experienced in this area.

Biffbradford

20th of June 2009 (Sat), 23:41

Sony HV20 or HV30. I have the HV20, I use it a lot, love it. For accessories I have the optional wide angle lens that helps widen it just enough when needed, the built in digital zoom (400x?) is incredible, and the picture quality is excellent. I also have a hot shoe directional microphone that works great. Sample of one my videos shot exclusively with the HV20 and directional microphone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmDtjz_bkdk

Actually, all my YouTube videos were shot with that cam.

gohan2091

21st of June 2009 (Sun), 09:25

Sony HV20 or HV30. I have the HV20, I use it a lot, love it. For accessories I have the optional wide angle lens that helps widen it just enough when needed, the built in digital zoom (400x?) is incredible, and the picture quality is excellent. I also have a hot shoe directional microphone that works great. Sample of one my videos shot exclusively with the HV20 and directional microphone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmDtjz_bkdk

Actually, all my YouTube videos were shot with that cam.

You said you have a Sony HV20? Do you mean Canon HV20? I cannot find the Sony HV20 on any UK retailers and all that comes up is Canon. If you did mean the Canon, it's double my price range. Thanks the Youtube link, I cannot really see how good your camcorder is as the compression on the video is strong, and any potential detail has been blurred/pixelated.