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OT: Can anyone recommend a Sony camcorder?

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tbnj

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Hi.

I need to get a new camcorder, and I'd like to make it as easy as possible to both view the video and import it onto my pc for editing, so I was leaning toward one of the DVD camcorders. I don't want anything with a hard drive, unless it also takes some other form of storage, because I don't want to be stuck having to download before I can take more video.

Anyway, I have no experience with the DVD camcorders and don't know anyone with one. Does anyone here use them? Have a particular model (or brand - doesn't actually have to be Sony) that you would recommend or steer clear of? Any issues with recording to DVD? Can they be slow or jumpy or anything? Looking for a midrange model. Obviously, the cheaper I can get something quality, the better.

Would appreciate any insight.

Thanks!
--
Tina

Everybody has to start somewhere. Here's my start.
http://www.captured-photo.com
 
tbnj said:
Hi.

I need to get a new camcorder, and I'd like to make it as easy as
possible to both view the video and import it onto my pc for editing,
so I was leaning toward one of the DVD camcorders. I don't want
anything with a hard drive, unless it also takes some other form of
storage, because I don't want to be stuck having to download before I
can take more video.
Click to expand...
I have an Hi-Def HD Sony camcorder for almost a year, and haven't used up the 30gb drive! Granted, I don't film for hours and hours, but unless you are shooting for hours at a time straight through, I wouldn't worry about it.
tbnj said:
Anyway, I have no experience with the DVD camcorders and don't know
anyone with one. Does anyone here use them? Have a particular model
(or brand - doesn't actually have to be Sony) that you would
recommend or steer clear of? Any issues with recording to DVD? Can
they be slow or jumpy or anything? Looking for a midrange model.
Obviously, the cheaper I can get something quality, the better.
Click to expand...
I had a friend buy a DVD Sony for just that reason and the DVD's didn't "finalize" and the video was lost. So there seems to be more risk there. I know I personally never have much trust for DVD reliability.

There is of course the risk of losing the WHOLE hard drive if you smash the whole camera, but even then, I bet it's not too difficult to pull data off the hard drive if only the camera breaks.

Regarding standard vs Hi-Def....Hi-Def is definitely the future, but it's a lot of processing to edit and view on the computer. My computer can't do either. You can always record in SD (standard DVD quality), and/or downres to SD in the computer to burn to DVD.

Greg
 
Since hard drive cammy's are out and I'm assuming you would like HD so your left with HDV or memory stick. HDR-SR7 was a decent model using Mini DV but it's being replaced with the HDR-SR9 so you might get a good price on the SR7. Then, there's the HDR-CX7 which uses memory sticks and AVCHD compression which may be a problem with slower CPU's when editing on PC's. I have the CX7 and it's very light so if you might need a monopod or something to keep your hand steady when capturing. So far the video is pretty good and you don't have a viewfinder so you have to use the LCD (good or bad to some)... but do check out camcorderinfo.
 
I have a Sony HDR-SR7 which has a 60 GB HD and records in AVCHD. I wanted it for the HD aspect and the AVCHD (smaller file sizes and more compression) as 99% of the output is for web viewing only with some going to the HD TV.
So far I love it.

One thing I dislike is it seems to focus slow, especially when switching subjects.

It also comes with a dock and when I hook it up to my iMac and switch to computer it is recognized my iMovie and it's pretty easy.

I am not a Sony DSLR user, so I thought my input may be valuable... if not just disregard.

--
Tim
E3 + 14-54 + FL50R
 
The camcorders mentioned above are great choices. I think for mini-DV(tape) Circuit City is selling one for less then $600 that is Hi Def, this week! But as mentioned you said that you didn't want a hard drive camcorder; I also use mini-DV and still use Hi-8 digital cameras. But for you starting out, I would suggest you look into the hard drive camcorders. Once you learn to (edit) them to DVD(the program comes with them (or I could suggest one) , you'll be on your way to happy times with video. The reason I would suggest a hard drive camcorder for you is the fact that is it easier and quicker to upload into a computer to make a DVD or VCD and also any other format that you would like to share the video with. You always have the option to erase the video from your hard drive as you see fit! As suggested the mini-DVD's have to be formatted before they can play in any other player and it causes problems as mentioned in the earlier post if you forget. Time is a factor on them also, whereas you would have to have enough media or double sided media to shoot for extended periods. Same goes for mini-DV tape but the time can be longer with these depending on whether you tape in standard or high def. With the hard drive you can put multiple shoots on the hard drive over time, but at some point they will have to be taken off or erased. You have several choices at this time. I've been at this for a while, so my preference is still tape, because I enjoy editing and adding transitions and such to the process. But for the casual shooter, you will have to decide what route you will go. And remember, whichever you choose, it always suggested that you make backups! the site mentioned is good for camcorder information, and also you may check out Videohelp.com to find out more information and links to other camcorder sites. C-Net is also a good place to compare features and prices.(hope I didn't break any forum rules) Good Luck!
--
Glenn

I'm kinda partial to video, but I'm hangin!
 
Thanks, Tim. The forum here as far as I know doesn't discriminate when someone genuinely asks for advice.
--
Glenn

I'm kinda partial to video, but I'm hangin!
 
I'm still in favor of using mini-DV tape, for no other reason than you've a much better chance of recovering from catastrophic failure than you do with either DVD or built-in hard drive.

A good friend of mine lost the contents of a mini-dvd when on holiday in the USA a few years ago, a lot of time and money was spent on trying to recover the data, all to no avail. Had he been using tape he might have lost a minute or two of recording, but the remainder would have been easlily salvageable.

I must confess to using Panasonic 3-CCD recorders for many years, the difference in chroma distortion (color smearing) is very noticeable compared with a single CCD sensor, but I'm sure the latest camcorders will all produce high quality results. Just be sure that you've a good bit of spare disk space on your PC. especially if you're going HD.
 
Hi, Greg.

Thank you for responding.
Gregory King said:
I have an Hi-Def HD Sony camcorder for almost a year, and haven't
used up the 30gb drive! Granted, I don't film for hours and hours,
but unless you are shooting for hours at a time straight through, I
wouldn't worry about it.
Click to expand...
Interesting. How many hours would you say it holds? Could I do 3 or 4?
Gregory King said:
I had a friend buy a DVD Sony for just that reason and the DVD's
didn't "finalize" and the video was lost. So there seems to be more
risk there. I know I personally never have much trust for DVD
reliability.
Click to expand...
It's things like that that are giving me pause, but I'd sure love to be able to pop the DVD out and just view the video.
Gregory King said:
There is of course the risk of losing the WHOLE hard drive if you
smash the whole camera, but even then, I bet it's not too difficult
to pull data off the hard drive if only the camera breaks.
Click to expand...
I agree that doesn't seem likely.
Gregory King said:
Regarding standard vs Hi-Def....Hi-Def is definitely the future, but
it's a lot of processing to edit and view on the computer. My
computer can't do either. You can always record in SD (standard DVD
quality), and/or downres to SD in the computer to burn to DVD.
Click to expand...
I've done a lot of video editing on the PC but never HD. Why is it a lot of work to edit and view on the computer? Sorry if that's a stupid question. :-)

--
Tina

Everybody has to start somewhere. Here's my start.
http://www.captured-photo.com
 
Hi, Tim.

I could care less if you're a Sony user. :-) Thanks for responding.
TimT73 said:
I have a Sony HDR-SR7 which has a 60 GB HD and records in AVCHD. I
wanted it for the HD aspect and the AVCHD (smaller file sizes and
more compression) as 99% of the output is for web viewing only with
some going to the HD TV.
So far I love it.
Click to expand...
Will check it out.
TimT73 said:
One thing I dislike is it seems to focus slow, especially when
switching subjects.
Click to expand...
These are the little details it helps to know. Thank you.
TimT73 said:
It also comes with a dock and when I hook it up to my iMac and switch
to computer it is recognized my iMovie and it's pretty easy.

I am not a Sony DSLR user, so I thought my input may be valuable...
if not just disregard.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Tim. I'm going to be looking into all of these suggestions.

--
Tina

Everybody has to start somewhere. Here's my start.
http://www.captured-photo.com
 
Hi, Glenn. Thank you for posting.

My reason for shying away from hard-drive camcorders is I'm afraid that I'll run out of time to download video and then not be able to record when I want to. It can take me quite a while to find time for some of those kinds of projects.

I have a mini-DV camcorder (although not a great quality one), and I find that I NEVER watch the videos from it, because it's a pain to hook up my camcorder to my TV. I guess I was trying to bypass the "import" stage for editing on my PC. I mean, I realize I'll still have to do that with a DVD, but I thought it would be faster and in the meantime, I could view the video easily, without hooking up the camcorder.

It's sounding like I might not be happy with the unreliability of DVD camcorders, so I'll do some looking into the hard drive models and maybe even some more mini-DVs. I was just hoping for a really quick and easy way to view the videos from the camera, without hooking up the camera.

Thanks again.
JusLookN said:
The camcorders mentioned above are great choices. I think for
mini-DV(tape) Circuit City is selling one for less then $600 that is
Hi Def, this week! But as mentioned you said that you didn't want a
hard drive camcorder; I also use mini-DV and still use Hi-8 digital
cameras. But for you starting out, I would suggest you look into the
hard drive camcorders. Once you learn to (edit) them to DVD(the
program comes with them (or I could suggest one) , you'll be on your
way to happy times with video. The reason I would suggest a hard
drive camcorder for you is the fact that is it easier and quicker to
upload into a computer to make a DVD or VCD and also any other format
that you would like to share the video with. You always have the
option to erase the video from your hard drive as you see fit! As
suggested the mini-DVD's have to be formatted before they can play in
any other player and it causes problems as mentioned in the earlier
post if you forget. Time is a factor on them also, whereas you would
have to have enough media or double sided media to shoot for extended
periods. Same goes for mini-DV tape but the time can be longer with
these depending on whether you tape in standard or high def. With the
hard drive you can put multiple shoots on the hard drive over time,
but at some point they will have to be taken off or erased. You have
several choices at this time. I've been at this for a while, so my
preference is still tape, because I enjoy editing and adding
transitions and such to the process. But for the casual shooter, you
will have to decide what route you will go. And remember, whichever
you choose, it always suggested that you make backups! the site
mentioned is good for camcorder information, and also you may check
out Videohelp.com to find out more information and links to other
camcorder sites. C-Net is also a good place to compare features and
prices.(hope I didn't break any forum rules) Good Luck!
Click to expand...
--
Tina

Everybody has to start somewhere. Here's my start.
http://www.captured-photo.com
 
I currently have the Sony DCR-DVD505 and enjoy it, with 2 exceptions. Recording time is limited to 20 minutes at the best quality, so you end up changing discs too often (the HD cameras are 15 min). DVD's are easy but, not very good for video editing. Standard DVD's are MPEG2, which is a highly compressed format and most video editors don't handle it well (Adobe's won't, Sony's Vegas will but that's a $500 program, not sure if Sony's Movie Studio will). And when the edited video is rendered to a new DVD, it is compressed again resulting in loss of quality. If editing is important and you want a standard video camera, stay with Mini-DV.

High Def DVD cameras will record in both MPEG2 and the new High Def format. You need a blue ray player, computer, or hook the video camera to a TV to view the video off the DVD if its recorded in high def. Prior posts go into the editing of high def, so I won't duplicate it.

For me, come marching band season (2 kids in the band!), I'm going to sell the 505 and buy a new high def hard drive camera. A 60 gig hdd is about 10 hours of video, more than enough time.

And a bit off point, but this is my first post and its about a video camera!
 
Welcome! So glad you decided to post.

Thank you for this info. From the posts so far, it sounds as though I should either upgrade my min-DV player or go with a hard drive. Glad I checked here first!
rkbrooks said:
I currently have the Sony DCR-DVD505 and enjoy it, with 2 exceptions.
Recording time is limited to 20 minutes at the best quality, so you
end up changing discs too often (the HD cameras are 15 min). DVD's
are easy but, not very good for video editing. Standard DVD's are
MPEG2, which is a highly compressed format and most video editors
don't handle it well (Adobe's won't, Sony's Vegas will but that's a
$500 program, not sure if Sony's Movie Studio will). And when the
edited video is rendered to a new DVD, it is compressed again
resulting in loss of quality. If editing is important and you want a
standard video camera, stay with Mini-DV.

High Def DVD cameras will record in both MPEG2 and the new High Def
format. You need a blue ray player, computer, or hook the video
camera to a TV to view the video off the DVD if its recorded in high
def. Prior posts go into the editing of high def, so I won't
duplicate it.

For me, come marching band season (2 kids in the band!), I'm going to
sell the 505 and buy a new high def hard drive camera. A 60 gig hdd
is about 10 hours of video, more than enough time.

And a bit off point, but this is my first post and its about a video
camera!
Click to expand...
--
Tina

Everybody has to start somewhere. Here's my start.
http://www.captured-photo.com
 
tbnj said:
Interesting. How many hours would you say it holds? Could I do 3 or 4?
Click to expand...
30gb is small by today's standards. I have the HDR-SR1 and supposedly can get 3 or 4 on highest mode. I think I run standard mode and will probably get 6-8.

Of course, I just found this. ;-)
http://sony.hdr.sr1.googlepages.com/

The newer models have a lot more features and bigger drives.
tbnj said:
It's things like that that are giving me pause, but I'd sure love to
be able to pop the DVD out and just view the video.
Click to expand...
Yes, but as said above, you can only do that with regular DVD unless you have a HD player and/or one that is AVHCD compatible. Don't ask...I can't keep track of all the technology. ;-) Analogously, the "standard" HD recorders use MPG2, same as normal HD DVD's. Less compression, less run time...like an audio CD. The AVHCD ones use MPG4....more compression, more runtime...like an MP3 CD. Some players used to not play MP3 off CD...now most do. Same with AVHCD.

I just play back from the camcorder...it plugs right in.
tbnj said:
I've done a lot of video editing on the PC but never HD. Why is it a
lot of work to edit and view on the computer? Sorry if that's a
stupid question. :-)
Click to expand...
Continuing from above, the AVHCD format is a LOT of COMPRESSED data. Your computer can't handle it well. I can't even play movies on my older computer...haven't tried on my newer. I just play back from the camcorder.

One hour of HD AVHCD is about 5GB. The same data on HD MPEG2 would probably be 30gb (a full blu-ray disc). Put it on the computer and transcode it (overnight!) to standard DVD, and it's still 5GB, but lower resolution MP2.

Yes, it took several hours to recode one hour of high-compression HD to low-compression SD. :-)

Hope that helps!
Greg
 
I am just about to spend the last drops of our 2007/08 office budget on a decent HD camcorder and I did a thorough research to conclude something that week ago I would think it is not possible: get the miniDV tape HighDef. HDD format (AVCHD) still lags in term of quality behind uncompressed, raw format that is coming from the tape, tapes are extremely cheap ($2 in costco), it is much easier to edit - any software such as Windows Movie maker will do it and you can control it from your computer via firewire.
I tried even JVC higher-end Everio ( 2k) and I found format impossible to edit.

Nightmare! And how much hard drives or blue ray disks (DVDs are too small) would you need to back up the material. You just need a permanent marker to write on the tape - and that's it!
Here is my recommendation: Sony HDR-HC9

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665294474

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogic
 
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