Cam-corder (video Camera)

[jdinasia]

I need a Cam Corder that can record classes of 2 hours duration each. I need digital. I need advice! Brands-- models-- where to purchase?

What I don't need is HD etc

Any ideas? My partner suggested Canon or Panasonic but didn't give me model suggestions.

[msg362]

I bought a Canon HF100 last April. Really pleased. I use 16Mb ( class 6) SD cards and they will give 2 hours of HD and more at lower definitions. I think Canon have revamped the line up. One problem I bought mine in the UK and I've not seen them here. There I paid £450 ( at the tim about 22,500 Baht) they were advertised in Photo bug, but not available at 45,000 Baht.

I friend of mine has just bought a Panasonic. The difference seems to be in the type of sensor, Panasonic use CCDs and Canon use CMOS. don't ask me to explain!

neither will be brilliant in very low light. Look out for the wide angle. The standard Canon is not very wide, about 40 mm I bought a 0.75 converter which I use a lot.

Best of luck, PM me if you want to know more

[garyh]

I bought a Canon HF100 last April. Really pleased. I use 16Mb ( class 6) SD cards and they will give 2 hours of HD and more at lower definitions. I think Canon have revamped the line up. One problem I bought mine in the UK and I've not seen them here. There I paid £450 ( at the tim about 22,500 Baht) they were advertised in Photo bug, but not available at 45,000 Baht.

I friend of mine has just bought a Panasonic. The difference seems to be in the type of sensor, Panasonic use CCDs and Canon use CMOS. don't ask me to explain!

neither will be brilliant in very low light. Look out for the wide angle. The standard Canon is not very wide, about 40 mm I bought a 0.75 converter which I use a lot.

Best of luck, PM me if you want to know more

I have a Canon Powershot SX20 Digital still camera that does really good quality video up to full HD and cost under 20,000 baht, it has a 5 to 100 lense so you can go wide or really zoom right in.

[jdinasia]

I bought a Canon HF100 last April. Really pleased. I use 16Mb ( class 6) SD cards and they will give 2 hours of HD and more at lower definitions. I think Canon have revamped the line up. One problem I bought mine in the UK and I've not seen them here. There I paid £450 ( at the tim about 22,500 Baht) they were advertised in Photo bug, but not available at 45,000 Baht.

I friend of mine has just bought a Panasonic. The difference seems to be in the type of sensor, Panasonic use CCDs and Canon use CMOS. don't ask me to explain!

neither will be brilliant in very low light. Look out for the wide angle. The standard Canon is not very wide, about 40 mm I bought a 0.75 converter which I use a lot.

Best of luck, PM me if you want to know more

I assume you mean 16 Gig SD cards? --- lighting isn't an issue and I don't need HD. I need an automatic switch for light (mostly will be shot under fluorescent).

A regular camera won't be adequate.

[richardt1808]

hi,

Basically, camcorders all do the same thing and any brand would be able to do what you are asking. The pivotal question is what you will do with the footage after you have shot it.

Will you plug the camera into your TV to play it back ? If so, choose any model.

If you would like to copy the footage to computer and maybe do some editing, or if you would like to end up with something on DVD, you should consider a camera that records to a recordable DVD or to CF card. Sony has a range of models which can do this and this will save you the trouble of getting the footage from your camera to the PC or DVD player - you just pop out the DVD or card from the camera and insert straight into DVD player or PC card reader. This is very quick and convenient and blank DVDs are cheaper than video tapes.

All cameras will shoot fine in basic lighting, but if you are going to be in a low-light situation, then you should go for the Sony pro-sumer range which handles low-light very well.

Another thing to consider is audio. If you are recording anything more than 1-2 meters away from someone, best invest in a proper lapel external microphone. Again, all cameras have a jack for external mics, so choose something which looks nice and which is most intuitive to operate.

You can't beat the hands-on approach, so get yourself down to a dealer at one of the larger malls and let the guys show you the range.

[jdinasia]

hi,

Basically, camcorders all do the same thing and any brand would be able to do what you are asking. The pivotal question is what you will do with the footage after you have shot it.

Will you plug the camera into your TV to play it back ? If so, choose any model.

If you would like to copy the footage to computer and maybe do some editing, or if you would like to end up with something on DVD, you should consider a camera that records to a recordable DVD or to CF card. Sony has a range of models which can do this and this will save you the trouble of getting the footage from your camera to the PC or DVD player - you just pop out the DVD or card from the camera and insert straight into DVD player or PC card reader. This is very quick and convenient and blank DVDs are cheaper than video tapes.

All cameras will shoot fine in basic lighting, but if you are going to be in a low-light situation, then you should go for the Sony pro-sumer range which handles low-light very well.

Another thing to consider is audio. If you are recording anything more than 1-2 meters away from someone, best invest in a proper lapel external microphone. Again, all cameras have a jack for external mics, so choose something which looks nice and which is most intuitive to operate.

You can't beat the hands-on approach, so get yourself down to a dealer at one of the larger malls and let the guys show you the range.

DVD

I may be set up at about 3 meters (for sound). I will be doing some basic editing and saving the masters in multiple locations (computers and external HD) and burning vcd's or dvd's. Typical classroom setup so it should be fine for the built-in mic but I will test it before use.

Basically there will be almost no REAL editing involved but I may add on a title sequence to each disc.

Strangely I am not a fan of Sony in Thailand but I do like most other brands (Every Sony device I have bought here has crapped out on me in just over a year!)

Does anybody know how Siam TV's selection is?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Siam TV has a great selection. The new location on the South moat is excellent, I guess that's where I'd check first.

What I usually do in cases like that is do a rough comparison of what's out there price-wise, and what's on sale. Then google the brand and model number, first in combination with the word 'review' and then in combination with 'price'.

Thing is, for some brands prices are higher than internationally, for others they're competitive. So you'll get a good overview of what's really a good price/value combination.

Even though you say you don't need HD, prices are coming down a lot and as this may be something you'll use for a couple years out, and that any footage that you shoot may be treasured potentially forever, I would consider going for HD. Then again, light sensitivity and stability control is indeed probably more important.

[msg362]

I bought a Canon HF100 last April. Really pleased. I use 16Mb ( class 6) SD cards and they will give 2 hours of HD and more at lower definitions. I think Canon have revamped the line up. One problem I bought mine in the UK and I've not seen them here. There I paid £450 ( at the tim about 22,500 Baht) they were advertised in Photo bug, but not available at 45,000 Baht.

I friend of mine has just bought a Panasonic. The difference seems to be in the type of sensor, Panasonic use CCDs and Canon use CMOS. don't ask me to explain!

neither will be brilliant in very low light. Look out for the wide angle. The standard Canon is not very wide, about 40 mm I bought a 0.75 converter which I use a lot.

Best of luck, PM me if you want to know more

I assume you mean 16 Gig SD cards? --- lighting isn't an issue and I don't need HD. I need an automatic switch for light (mostly will be shot under fluorescent).

A regular camera won't be adequate.

SORRY YES 16 GB!!!!!! My Canon has 'Auto white balance' which works well under fluorescent lighting but also has a way of setting it manually. You point the camera a a white card under the lighting conditions and the camera remembers that this is white. Normally I don't need to use it. You can set the camera to lower definitions and get longer time on the card. you might not need such an expensive camcorder, a standard Canon / Panasonic might be enough. I avoid Sony because, although they make great cameras, they have a habit of fixing things so that it is difficult to interchange. For example they use their own cards, which are more expensive than others etc.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Yes, standards are good. You really want it to be as easy as possible to move it to a PC/laptop for editing. After that you can turn it into a DVD for example.