Video Cameras? Hard drive or MiniDV or Digital Hi 8

[Brewhaha]

I've got a bunch of reward points from my credit card and the wife has approved the purchase of a video camera. I would really like to find a camera that lets me edit the video, add menus, on-screen text, titles, and maybe even soundtracks. I then want to put the videos on DVD. My budget is between 800-1000. Any suggestions?

Can I do these kinds of things with MiniDV cameras? What about Hard Drive cameras?

One additional feature I would really like would be analog to digital passthrough so that I could convert my old Hi8 videos to DVD.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Sombeech]

One additional feature I would really like would be analog to digital passthrough so that I could convert my old Hi8 videos to DVD.

So basically you need a digital camcorder that has A/V in. That will be the feature to look for in your search, and then you should narrow it down from there.

One thing about MiniDV cameras, is the heads can get dirty and worn out. I don't have experience with the hard drive camcorders though, but I still like the idea of removable media such as the SD cards.

As far as adding titles, music, transitions and all that... I wouldn't look for the camera that can do that. I'd save that for the video editing software. You'll use each program in phases, so don't lock yourself down to your camera.

Will you have special filming needs? What kind of footage will you be shooting?

[Brewhaha]

I'll be using it for general family stuff including piano recitals, school programs, birthdays, etc. And I want to use it out hiking. So size is also a consideration.

[Sombeech]

Man, I've been filming with camcorders for years, I'm currently hooked on using my still camera in movie mode. It shoots near camcorder quality at 640 X 480 and 30 frames per second.

It is a little less stable than holding the larger camcorder in your hand, but it's a piece of cake to get the video files from the SD card and edit them.

Then you snap a quick still shot if you want, 7.1 MP.

On the other hand, if you really need finer quality than that, you're stuck with a camcorder. Jeez, you can buy camcorders for $100 now.

But, to finally answer your question, I'd go hard drive rather than MiniDV. Fewer moving parts is ALWAYS better.

[waltny]

But, to finally answer your question, I'd go hard drive rather than MiniDV. Fewer moving parts is ALWAYS better.

Thats right! Solid state is the wave of the future...

[Cirrus2000]

Solid state is the FUTURE of camcorders, but I'm not ready for the future yet - I live in the present...

So, last summer we replaced our Sony DCR-TRV340 Digital 8 with a MiniDV HD: the Sony HDR-HC7 (the new version is the HDR-HC9 - here.)

We thought about HDD media, but we want to archive - in HD. We weren't ready to get an HD DVD burner (Blu-Ray hadn't won yet), so archiving would be done on hard drives. Considered mini-DVD cameras, but weren't totally keen on those little, short DVDs. The REAL solid state - flash memory - wasn't ready for HD yet. I see Canon has one out now. Still, there's the archiving conundrum. MiniDV is pretty darn proven, and I've got all our tapes for burning onto Blu-Ray when we finally upgrade to that.

Of course, if you're not ready for HD (What? Unpossible!) you can archive anything on regular burners.

I can strongly recommend the Sony, ($890 on Amazon), based on our experiences. Great picture, great sound, great stills, great size/weight. Of course, our research was 9 months ago - a lifetime in electronic years, so naturally YMMV!

[shaggy125]

Cirrius has some really good points and things to consider. Don't just take our word for it, do a lot of researching on your own, there is a ton of info on the net. What you choose depends on a lot of things specific to you. Hard Drive camcorders can't match picture quality of Mini DV tapes still and like Cirrius said, if you are going to get an HD camera, you better be willing to spend a lot on Hard Drive space or a Blu Ray burner (EXPENSIVE! right now) if you don't want to lose video quality when you transfer them to your computer. If you are totally against taking the time to edit your videos on the computer then you can look at editing options on camcorders (adding titles, dates, etc...) but generally the on camera stuff sucks and you are much better off just doing the editing on the computer. Everyone has brought up good points but ultimately it's up to you what is best for what you need. I don't like the mini DVD's personally. I love the idea of Hard Drive camcorders... they ARE the future, but still aren't the answer for everyone, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of both and hopefully you will be happy with what you end up choosing.

[Sombeech]

One more thing to consider; you mentioned you can spend $800 on a camcorder? What would really suck is in 6 months you realize you only use the functions/quality available on a $250 camcorder.

The safe part about buying a cheap camcorder is if you REALLY learn what your specific needs are, you can still have the cash to buy that specific camcorder later.

As far as film quality, there are a lot of bad influences out there that tell you to get Blu Ray so you can watch your kids pick their nose again and again. After years of doing some serious filming, I realized that if I'm not selling my footage on DVD nationwide, then the average camcorder is really all the quality I ever needed.

Same thing with buying a computer. I'm a computer tech for the schools, and these teachers will tell me about the tricked out computer that their nephew's roommate built for them for $2000. These people still don't know how to copy and paste. They only use $250 of that computer, including the monitor.

[Brewhaha]

Good points.

[CarpeyBiggs]

I just picked up a JVC everio hard drive camera. It was 380 bucks at best buy. I like it, it is small, no tapes, and I just download the footage on to my computer after a few uses. Edit out the crap I don't want, and I'm done. I'm a fan of tapeless.

link

[Sombeech]

I just picked up a JVC everio hard drive camera. It was 380 bucks at best buy.

Looks like a decent deal. I guess since it's all digital, no tape, what are the video specs on that?

[Sombeech]

I just picked up a JVC everio hard drive camera. It was 380 bucks at best buy.

Looks like a decent deal. I guess since it's all digital, no tape, what are the video specs on that?

Also.... Do you need a firewire port for that, or can you just transfer the video via USB 2.0?

[CarpeyBiggs]

Specs are in the link in my earlier post. It is USB. It is a proprietary flavor of MPEG-2. Works perfect for my applications. Nice thing is it is a TRUE 16x9 aspect, so it is a truly wide angle view, which is very nice.

[Brewhaha]

I checked out the Everio series and found that several of them have AV in/out. Here is the one that I am considering:

http://www.beachaudio.com/Jvc/Gzmg335hus-p-136150.html

It's specs are similar to the 330 so it is probably similar in performance to the 330. Will this camera allow me to convert Hi8 to Digital? From what you have all said I think it will but I want to be sure.

Do you like your 330 Carpey?

[Brewhaha]

Beech (or anyone):

I'm confused. In order to convert my Hi8 videos to Digital do I need to find a camcorder (I want an HDD) with A/V input or with Analog in? Or are they the same?

The camera listed in the link in my previous post as A/V input but I'm not sure if that means it takes analog input and then converts it.

Do the specs have to say something about passthrough as well?

Thanks.

[CarpeyBiggs]

I'm confused. In order to convert my Hi8 videos to Digital do I need to find a camcorder (I want an HDD) with A/V input or with Analog in? Or are they the same?

Same thing. If it has AV in, it is most certainly an analog input.

Do the specs have to say something about passthrough as well?

Passthrough is usually on a firewire device or USB device to capture directly to the computer. If you get a HDD camera, you just record it onto the camera hard drive, then copy the file from the HDD to your computer. I doubt there is pass through on any HDD cameras, though I haven't looked. Simply because the MPEG encoding engine is in the camera, and passing the stream onto another device would be too convenient for the end users...

[Brewhaha]

Thanks for the answers. I'm going to go with the 335 then. It's amazing how small these cameras are getting. It will make them alot easier to hike with.