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Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

MiniDV, DVD, Hard Drive, 8 mm, High Def, brands, import / capture techniques, settings ... talk about camcorders in here.

Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby AVITRY » Wed Dec 14, 2016 9:17 am

My daughter is asking me what kind of camcorder she should get. LOL... I lost track of that stuff back when I bought my gs250 dv-avi tape camcorder.

She asked if we could burn videos on dvd and watch them on tv. This is home movie / family stuff she wants to record, especially over the holidays.

I'm lost, HD is nice, but there really isn't a simple was to share dvds with family, so I am wondering, do people still buy SD camcorders? I mean my old tape camcorder wasn't so bad last time I played with it. But, she isn't going to want to download this footage in real time from dv-avi tape to a computer.

I know she would play with editing the footage, making titles and menus, but I don't know what to suggest she gets in terms of format to make it simple, but editable. She has 3 kids and wants to make some movies of them also.

Too bad bluray disks are so expensive or I guess HD would be the simple answer.. This wouldn't be a full time hobby for her, just something easy to have. Any sugestions ?

Edit::: I came across this at newegg, this isn't expensive, but are they any good? At that price, whats a good HD camcorder choice?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby Peru » Wed Dec 14, 2016 9:36 am

If you get an HD camcorder, you can edit in HD and then export in SD to burn to a DVD.
If you get a Blu-ray burner at a future date, you could always go back and export for Blu-ray.

Some TVs can view videos on external media via usb as an alternative to using a DVD or Blu-ray player.
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby AVITRY » Wed Dec 14, 2016 9:43 am

That's a good idea too! Any popular HD camcorder choices? Why didn't I think of that? Wait... LOL I know why. Starts with"S" and ends with "HOT". I'm shot. :ha:

She just sent me a link, hows this one?

Canon VIXIA HF R700 Camcorder
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby Dave McElderry » Wed Dec 14, 2016 11:23 am

That's a pretty good price on those RiDATA discs, but not too sure about the quality. I used to use RiDATA DVDs without any particular problems. Generally, sticking with Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim is accepted as preferrable among those here on Muvipix, but of course you'll pay more than for those RiDATAs. I usually figure on paying about $1.00 apiece in stacks of 50 if I keep an eye out for specials at SuperMediaStore. I don't know how many she would be using, but I don't feel that's particularly expensive.
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby Chuck Engels » Wed Dec 14, 2016 12:52 pm

Many of the new phones are excellent video recorders, why the need for a camcorder? Also might want to consider a DSLR, those are very versatile and record excellent quality video. Also have the option of adding various lenses. The only problem there is the limited recording time related to the size of the SD card.
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby AVITRY » Wed Dec 14, 2016 2:09 pm

Hi Chuck... I dunno, she asked about one, and until you said a phone was good, I had no idea! I'm the guy with the flip phone. So, iphones take good video? Would they get a half hour to one hour worth with say 10 gigs? I'm guessing she has the rest filled with photos.

Will the resulting video file edit ok?

She's probably thinking of this as a gift idea for her husband, that she would use LOL.

Anyway, I read that there are many formats of acvhd, besides a halfway decent camcorder, I have no idea which type avchd is more edit friendly. I don't know one from the other. I'd be giving her my ape 15 since after all vers. 10 or 11 will be fine for me, and I'm playing with that sony ms13 too.
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby sidd finch » Wed Dec 14, 2016 2:23 pm

I would suggest using a smartphone to get her feet wet. I have found that a lot of people like to record the video but all the edit transfer burn kind of makes them not enjoy the process and they just end up recording with their smartphone.

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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby momoffduty » Wed Dec 14, 2016 7:40 pm

Why not the GoPro Hero 5 Black? It is waterproof so no need to change cases, has a built in LCD screen, and voice control. The menu has been simplified and the LCD screen makes changing settings very easy. As mentioned above you can shoot HD and export as widescreen SD to DVD. After she finishes adding her titles and cuts, she can export as an .H264 file to upload to YouTube or Vimeo or Facebook. Watch the file on a computer or put on a stick to give to someone or to transport to watch on another computer. I just bought a few 32G sticks cheap on Amazon. I gave my daughter her wedding video project on a DVD (widescreen SD) and also a stick with the HD files.

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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Dec 14, 2016 8:41 pm

I'm a huge fan of Canon Vixia's. They're AVCHD, an easily editable format, and they produce a virtually broadcast-quality image.

Best of all, they can usually be had for around $200-300. Refurbs are an even better value for under $200. (eBay is a great source for reliable refurbs.) Mine is a refurb and it's served me well for over three years, and I don't expect to replace it soon.
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby John 'twosheds' McDonald » Thu Dec 15, 2016 1:39 am

...and as an aside.

If she decides to try using a smartphone to "get her feet wet" she should remember to hold the phone horizontally whilst videoing so that the video recording is correctly 1920 x 1080. :-D

It appears that too many folk still hold the phone vertically and so end up with a 1080 x 570 (approx) video. :(
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby AVITRY » Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:25 am

Thanks all, great tips. I think she is going to end up with a canon, but wow, so many models. I suggested if she can afford the extra, get one with both internal and sd memory.

Steve, which model did you go with?
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby Steve Grisetti » Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:00 am

You're right. There are so many models -- and there's so little difference at the lower end that they're essentially all the same. I don't even remember which one I got, but it's got a 10x zoom and manual as well as automatic settings for light, white balance and focus. And, like virtually all AVCHD camcorders, it shoots at 1920x1080 at both standard 29.97 and 24p frame rates.

So as long as it's got those features, she'll have everything she needs to shoot basic video and to grow as a videographer. And those features should be all be available on any basic Canon Vixia.

Pick one out by price. And, as I've said, don't by afraid to get a refurbished model. You won't go wrong.
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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby sidd finch » Thu Dec 15, 2016 11:40 am

If she decides to try using a smartphone to "get her feet wet" she should remember to hold the phone horizontally whilst videoing so that the video recording is correctly 1920 x 1080. :-D


My candidate for Muvipix sticky of the year.... :)

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Re: Daughter asking about getting a camcorder

Postby Bob » Thu Dec 15, 2016 1:43 pm

Hi Joe,

I'm a little late to the table, but I have a few comments.

I think she is going to end up with a canon.


I'd second that. The Canon VIXIA HF R700 you mentioned is a decent entry level camcorder with a long optical zoom range. And the price right now is reasonable at about $200. I was looking at that one myself as a extra camcorder specifically for that zoom range. LOL. No internal memory, but I don't feel that's a handicap. Large capacity memory cards are much more affordable these days -- get a few extra.

One issue, that model doesn't have an electronic viewfinder -- you have to rely on the touch LCD panel to see what you're filming. In bright sunlight the glare will make that virtually invisible. You'll need an inexpensive lcd sun shield such as this or this.

I can't even recall when I last saw an SD only camcorder. These days, pretty much everything is HD, usually AVCHD. Pretty much any current video editor will handle HD and you can export to SD or DVD if you want it. And, it's relatively easy to combine HD video from various sources. She will undoubtedly end up doing that.
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