Can Anyone Explain Camcorders?

[niteowl]

I'm thinking of getting a camcorder, but don't know anything about them. I have a DVD player for my TV, and a CD/DVD Read-only drive on my laptop. I'd like to play back the movies I shoot on either, and possibly, upload short clips to the internet.

What would I need to do this, and where is a good place to shop in Chiangmai?

[rcm]

I'm thinking of getting a camcorder, but don't know anything about them. I have a DVD player for my TV, and a CD/DVD Read-only drive on my laptop. I'd like to play back the movies I shoot on either, and possibly, upload short clips to the internet.

What would I need to do this, and where is a good place to shop in Chiangmai?

I am not a specialist in Video , but what i read here calls either for a Camcorder that records directly to dvd , but i wonder about the Battery life there....the second option is a Camcorder that records directly to Memory . From memory Card you can then download the movie to your Laptop and watch it either there or upload it on the internet...

hope that helps...but maybe best if you get other opinions about this too...i am no video geek.

rcm

[Tywais]

I'm thinking of getting a camcorder, but don't know anything about them. I have a DVD player for my TV, and a CD/DVD Read-only drive on my laptop. I'd like to play back the movies I shoot on either, and possibly, upload short clips to the internet.

What would I need to do this, and where is a good place to shop in Chiangmai?

A couple of places with good selections is Nihom Panit near Airport Plaza, Airport Plaza and also Central (I believe it is called Power Buy).

Give us a budget that you are willing to spend and I believe we can give you your options and pro/cons.

[niteowl]

A couple of places with good selections is Nihom Panit near Airport Plaza, Airport Plaza and also Central (I believe it is called Power Buy).

Give us a budget that you are willing to spend and I believe we can give you your options and pro/cons.

Not sure about the budget. Let's say 20,000 Baht; but, I could go higher if it would get me significantly more value.

[astral]

Not all camcorders record direct to DVD, many use tape.

As previously discussed here if you record to DVD there is compression of the data to the dvd standard, on tape the data is in the raw state.

Either way the camera will have connections so you can plug in straight into your TV to see the results.

There will also be a way to connect the camera to your PC to transfer the data to your hard disk for editing.

This connection is often Firewire and if you are using a desktop machine you

may need to install a Firewire card to do this. The cost of the card is very low.

Once on the PC the video can be edited cutting out the bits you do not want and adding titles and music

Then written the video can be written to a DVD or CD for viewing later.

Personally I would go the tape route. You WILL need to edit the video you take and that is easier to do on your pc in the format of the tape.

[p_brownstone]

I asked this question on another Thread but did not get a response so .......

With a simple "Point and Shoot" still camera - Canon Powershot, 5 Megapixels - I can also record Video; using a 2Gb Memory Card I can record for over 15 minutes at 640 x 480 resolution and 30 fps.

Most Camcorders I have seen are only around 4 Megapixels - does this mean that the Powershot records better - i.e. clearer - Video images?

Patrick

[Soju]

The 5 megapixel camera is not using the full resolution when recording. As you stated, it's using 640 x 480 which when multiplied out comes to 307,200 or 0.3 megapixel. Most camcorders I've seen will outperform a digital still camera that also shoots video, but you'd have to do a specific side-by-side comparison to know for sure. I doubt that the 4 megapixel camcorder you're referring to actually records at that resolution. Typical HD video is still below 4 megapixels.

[Khutan]

Personally, I prefer Tape, as I can load it all on the computer and then give it a good edit.

As far as editing is concerned, any cheap editor including Windows Movie maker will do until you want to do special things.

Get a cheap camcorder first and experiment a lot. But do two things :

1. Buy a Fluid head tripod.

2. At least read some ideas on the web about shooting video. There are some really simple rules that will make your video so much better, like the 12 second shot rule, NEVER crash-zoom, Pan slow, only on the tripod and practice the Pan 3 or 4 times before you press the record button.

Years ago, I had a very expensive Canon Hi-8 Camera, and I thought it was rubbish and I sold it and I got a Sony TRV-66. That is also a nice bit of kit, but no where as good as the Canon. I still could not get decent pictures, and in fact my friends were getting motion sick from some of my video.

One day I was at a Children's birthday party and a friend who was there was a professional Cameraman. He forgot his camera and asked me if he could use mins for some special shots he wanted.

I suppose after great humility, the camera is not so important, rather the operator of the camera.

Even the cheap Camcorder I have I record with Firewire and the results are good. I shot the video at Jai Dee's wedding last year and even the difference in signal quality between firewire (IEEE) and USB is obvious even on a small screen.

So my tips, Have both Fire-wire and USB output and buy a camera that you can buy accessories for like a lens hood and wide angle lens.

Finally enjoy

[jas007]

Technology changes fast. Just the other day I saw a camcorder that had it's very own 30 gig hard drive inside. I'm not sure how much that would hold, but I bet a lot. I've also seen recent news stories about increases in the ability to store information on flash type memory cards. I'd be willing to bet that in a year or so that will be how it works - load the camera with a 30 gigabite memory card and shoot.

So if it were me, I wouldn't spend a lot of money right now. Maybe buy a decent Sony digital camcorder that uses tape, and learn how to take and edit movies. The editing part can be fun.

Once you have your feet wet, you'll know better what you want.

John

[Soju]

Technology changes fast. Just the other day I saw a camcorder that had it's very own 30 gig hard drive inside. I'm not sure how much that would hold, but I bet a lot. I've also seen recent news stories about increases in the ability to store information on flash type memory cards. I'd be willing to bet that in a year or so that will be how it works - load the camera with a 30 gigabite memory card and shoot.

So if it were me, I wouldn't spend a lot of money right now. Maybe buy a decent Sony digital camcorder that uses tape, and learn how to take and edit movies. The editing part can be fun.

Once you have your feet wet, you'll know better what you want.

John

Yeah, I was looking at the new Sony that's supposed to be released within the next month. 30 Gig hard drive and HD video. I don't normally buy new stuff when it first comes out, nor do I normally buy Sony, but I'm tempted on this one. I think it'll be quite a bit longer than a year before you see 30 gig flash memory sticks, and if you did they'd cost a pretty penny. I'm all for getting a flash memory camcorder if they had enough capacity and were cheap enough, but somehow I think that will never happen, or at least not for a long time. Because as the hard drives, DVDs, tapes, or whatever increase in capacity, so will the resolution. Right now we're at the beginning of the transition from SD to HD (720p or 1080i). Next they'll jump to 1080p and then to resolutions beyond that. Even small increases in resolution take a lot more memory to store. I'd take a 1080p HD camcorder with 100GB hard drive anyday over a SD camcorder with 30GB flash.

[niteowl]

Thanks for all the input. The general opinion seems to be, that this is not the optimum time to invest in a camcorder. I'd either be buying old, soon to be antiquated technology, or new, expensive, and probably flawed technology. Maybe I'll stick with my old Sony digital still camera. It's a dinosaur, but at least I know how to use it.

Thanks again.

[Soju]

Thanks for all the input. The general opinion seems to be, that this is not the optimum time to invest in a camcorder. I'd either be buying old, soon to be antiquated technology, or new, expensive, and probably flawed technology. Maybe I'll stick with my old Sony digital still camera. It's a dinosaur, but at least I know how to use it.

Thanks again.

There's never really an optimum time to buy new technology. As soon as you buy it, it becomes outdated. New stuff is always on the horizon. You just have to decide if all the new features/technology that have been made is worth it to you to upgrade at any one time. If it is, then make your purchase and don't kick yourself when you see something new coming out tomorrow that you wish you'd waited for.

[astral]

Get out there and buy a tape based camcorder.

Forget direct DVD recording or hard disks.

You will not be diappointed.

[Khutan]

Get out there and buy a tape based camcorder.

Forget direct DVD recording or hard disks.

You will not be diappointed.

You can also very quickkly play back the tape just about anywhere.