Some advice on Camcorders please

MeadsMan · #1 (**permalink**) 05-09-2009, 03:48 PM

Hi all,I am pretty much a complete newby to digital video,I have been using the video mode on my Panasonic fz50 Bridge camera,it`s o.k,but now I think I would like something with a lot more quality,I favour one of the Mini Dv Camcorders.Though I am not looking to have my movies be shown on national television,I do want something to be sufficient high quality to be enjoyable,and of course be much much better than the video mode on my trusty bridge camera.Deer are my favourite subjects,so low light situations will be common practice.Any advice will be most welcomed.My budget is likely to be around the £250 mark,though less would be nice.Please offer any advice you can.I know other people will also welcome any advice,as the question has been asked before with little response

Please help

Elevate29 · #2 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 01:37 PM

Hi there,
While I don't profess to know a huge amount about consumer camcorders there are a few things that you'll ideally need for wildlife filming. Image quality and zoom capability are probably the main considerations for you and unfortunately £250 doesn't buy much in terms of features. Go for the longest optical zoom you can... ignore claims about digital zoom as this affects image quality especially in low light conditions.

Also consider format, mini DV is fine and probably more affordable now but everything is heading toward HD technology and you may find your camera is soon left behind. If you're serious about wildlife video it may be better to save for an HD hard drive camera as this will also broaden your choices. Try and get a decent sized, weighty camera too, a tiny pocket size one that's lighter than a feather is not going to be very stable when fully zoomed into that deer in a windy field!

I'd suggest visiting your local camcorder/photography dealer (not currys, comet etc!) and telling them exactly what you aim to use it for. Many consumer camcorders are full of gimmicky features that you'll never use so why pay extra for them?

Good luck!

Elevate

MeadsMan · #3 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 03:09 PM

Thanks Elevate29,The HD models I have seen,are substatially more money,and seem to have less powerfull optical zooms ? Also can you watch H.D videos on standard non H.D televisions computers ect ?

JB9302 · #4 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 04:22 PM

Afraid as Elevate says your budget will not get you what you need , you will have to spend a lot more for a decent camcorder with good zoom and low light capabilities .
Think the Canon XL mini DV series are popular with wildlife enthusiasts , prob looking around the £900 mark S/H .

Julian

MeadsMan · #5 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 05:18 PM

So you have to spend £900 plus to get half decent picture quality on your home television ? Seems hard to believe,why does anyone bother to buy cheaper models if they are so poor ?

loripo · #6 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 05:26 PM

Presumably they dont know they are rubbish until they find there are things they cant do that they want to be able to do. I was hoping you'd get some replies as I have been thinking about a camcorder as so far I just use my bridge camera. Even with that it offers all sorts of weird things like colour replacement (in camera) - why would you want that when there is so much software around to do special effects. I'll just have to keep thinking about it

MeadsMan · #7 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 05:33 PM

I knew there would be other interested parties,surely there must be something decent out there for those with limited finances.As it stands,the video on our bridge cameras must be pretty good,if you need to pay over a thousand pounds to improve on there picture quality.

loripo · #8 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 05:43 PM

I know there is at least one at the school where I work - I might get the details and ask if I can try it out, even if its just around the school grounds.
On my Fuji I can set the macro first and then film in closeup and I'd like to be able to do that on a camcorder.

Elevate29 · #9 (**permalink**) 06-09-2009, 06:04 PM

You can still shoot HD and playback on SD TVs... just edit your HD footage on your PC and burn to DVD. The DVD burning application will downsample to standard definition so you can play back the clearest standard def video you have seen - in a regular DVD player. You can also export the finished project back out to the camcorder. When you get a HDTV, you can connect the camera to the TV (with component or HDMI cables) and watch the project in hidef.

Of course there are plenty of camcorders out there in your price range but at the end of the day they serve the mass market. I'm a cameraman but I also own a very cheap camcorder for messing about with on holidays etc but I wouldn't expect high picture/sound quality from it, for that I would obviously use pro kit.

Thats all fine but as you require it for specialist filming such as wildlife the budget cameras simply aren't made for that. They're great for bright, sunny days etc but in order to keep costs down they use a basic CCD chip so shooting at dawn/dusk is going to be tricky. Of course you can still do it but the question is, would you get frustrated with the whole thing if it didn't turn out how you hoped?

Obviously whatever you get will be a step up from your current kit so maybe consider getting a used mini DV camera to start and if you enjoy filming, upgrade as & when you can afford.
Feel free to PM me if you need any specific advice.

Elevate

JB9302 · #10 (**permalink**) 07-09-2009, 08:31 AM

Didn"t mean to suggest you cant get any decent footage from camcorders cheaper than £900 , I have a s/h Sony SR12E ( hi def hdd £350 ) and when mounted on a tripod and in good light have taken some garden bird footage that looked stunning when replayed direct to tv via hdmi cable.
Different story in low light hand held though , and limited zoom for serious wildlife filming.

Julian