HD Camcorders - Formats best for computer editing at home

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abecedarian

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Jul 17, 2005
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As you probably know, you can buy Camcorders that record in High Definition (HD).  I want a camcorder I can use for family vacations and such but also for making music videos for work, live band video/audio recordings while on a gig and ultimately posting on YouTube, etc.  In other words, take a stereo out from the board and feed it into the camera while taping.

I read Consumer Reports and basically there are many good cameras they feel are safe buys.  It boils down to what format you want to record in and ofcourse, price.  But price aside, there are High definition camcorders that record in these formats :High-definition hard disk models, combination DVD and flash memory models, MiniDV models, High-definition flash memory models, and combo High-definition hard disk drive and flash memory models.

Any advice on which I should choose? For the most accurate frame editing, the HD MiniDV models provide the best accuracy. But my old standard MiniDV camcorder is a pain to deal with when trying to get the video taken, into my computer for editing. 

Thank you in advance!
 
Can't help with which is the best format. But every review I've read on editing software says you need a *very* powerful computer to do HD editing without taking all night!
 
My advice is to look at the new SLR cameras from Nikon and Canon.  They are SLR cameras BUT they can also record HD video.  This way you have a dual purpose camera.

There is a company that sells rigs to turn the canons into full HD video systems for shooting movies..

 
The HD standards are fixed (lines, frame-rate, scan, etc.) but between the cameras they will compress them differently. This is probably worth looking into. 20Mb/s MPEG4 is a decent transmission quality for 1080i. Not sure what bit-rate and codecs the current cameras will offer, and that may vary with your media choice.

Glass quality between the big Japanese names should all be good for that resolution, but I'd consider the equivalent zoom range (remember the equivalent lens length varies with sensor size). Noise preformance is another issue for shooting in low light. Perhaps there is a motion picture equivalent site of www.dpreview.com where you can get good unbiased reviews with accurate technical tests.

Modern digital cameras do offer HD recording, but I'm not sure how practical it is; handling, zoom control, record time length and general functionality.
 
It's actually pretty good.  The CMOS sensors are much better today than CCDs are.  It used to be the other way around but things have changed. 

Most of the camera bodies are really good.  it's the lenses that can make a huge difference.  A lesser quality camera with a better lens would be better than an awesome camera with a poor lens.
 
Svart said:
It's actually pretty good.  The CMOS sensors are much better today than CCDs are.  It used to be the other way around but things have changed. 

Most of the camera bodies are really good.  it's the lenses that can make a huge difference.  A lesser quality camera with a better lens would be better than an awesome camera with a poor lens.
Click to expand...

Agreed, lens quality was always the deciding factor, an old 2MP camera with a good Leica or Carl Zeiss lens will be
way better than an 8MP with a shitty cheap lens !

MM.
 
abecedarian said:
As you probably know, you can buy Camcorders that record in High Definition (HD).  I want a camcorder I can use for family vacations and such but also for making music videos for work, live band video/audio recordings while on a gig and ultimately posting on YouTube, etc.  In other words, take a stereo out from the board and feed it into the camera while taping.

I read Consumer Reports and basically there are many good cameras they feel are safe buys.  It boils down to what format you want to record in and ofcourse, price.  But price aside, there are High definition camcorders that record in these formats :High-definition hard disk models, combination DVD and flash memory models, MiniDV models, High-definition flash memory models, and combo High-definition hard disk drive and flash memory models.

Any advice on which I should choose? For the most accurate frame editing, the HD MiniDV models provide the best accuracy. But my old standard MiniDV camcorder is a pain to deal with when trying to get the video taken, into my computer for editing.  

Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

From a reliabilty point of view, I think Flash (no moving parts - and being able to swap the flash card/drive is good), then hard disk, DVD and lastly tape based - if a tape based system goes tits up, it would be a costly mother to fix IMO!
 
you notice jakob got ripped off again?
cannon is using his product numbers for their digi/slr's,
the G-10, the G-20, i think we have a law suit here.

do the cannons really suck that bad at low light <400?

noisy cd's?
 
I dont have first hand experience but a few months ago my sister wanted advise so I asked the film and video nerds here and they the jvc gz5 type camera was the shiz. hard disk, hd, sister proof, and a great lens. ~1kish. sis hasnt got one yet, but thought Id let you know.

and as far as audio, get one of those radio shack transformer couples or you will get the buzz!
 
Coolness guys, thank you for the info. I have an older hand held camcorder.  It uses miniDV tape.  I m thinking of putting off the purchase of a new camera until after this vacation to Italy this next week.  I was wondering if the x-ray machines will ruin the tape? 
 
I don't fix these things on a regular basis anymore and I haven't shot professionally for nearly a decade but as far as the reliability issue goes...can't tell you how many people came in with HDD video cameras containing footage (diskage?) of their wedding, birth of their first-born, baby's first walk etc. and howled when they learned that the disk had failed and all their (not backed up) video was lost.

Might cost a lot to fix a tape mech, but at least when that is done you can play your old tapes. Once a hard disk is replaced you can't just spin up your old disk!
 

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