Which Camcorder

[yachtsman1]

My first camcorder was the original Sony shoulder model with a separate tape recorder. Over the last 10 years I have owned a couple of JVC VHSC camcorders. Recently I returned to still photography with a Nikon D200. I am now considering another camcorder. My budget is around £2000, for a new machine. What should I look for.
Yachtsman1

[tom hardwick]

What should you look for? I think you need to give us more information or we could be heading off on the wrong path.

Are you thinking in terms of an underwater housing maybe? Or do you want XLR inputs for better microphones? Are you happy to stay with MiniDV tape or do you want to go flash memory or HDD? Are you after a compact palmcorder or a semi-pro machine? Is a 10x zoom enough for you? Do you want interchangeable lenses? Have you considered second hand? Will the 2000 pounds have to cover mics, a bag, a tripod as well?

OK, I think you should look at the major players - Sony, Panasonic, JVC and Canon. I'd certainly not buy a 4:3 machine now unless all your filming will be for a specific 4:3 market.

tom.

[billyfromConsett]

Tom's spot on of course - but I'll share something I saw last night.

A camcorder that has impressed me big style is the Sony XR520VE. It costs about £950, and after watching footage from it on a Samsung 24" tv monitor, it showed the most detail and vibrant colours that I've ever seen from a videocamera of any kind. It has also got optical image stabilisation to die for.

Briefly it's a hard disk cam that can also use memory cards - but with a 250gb hard disk, it allows hours of movies in top 16Mbs quality. The format of AVCHD means you need a very powerful computer to edit with it.

[yachtsman1]

Tom's spot on of course - but I'll share something I saw last night.

A camcorder that has impressed me big style is the Sony XR520VE. It costs about £950, and after watching footage from it on a Samsung 24" tv monitor, it showed the most detail and vibrant colours that I've ever seen from a videocamera of any kind. It has also got optical image stabilisation to die for.

Briefly it's a hard disk cam that can also use memory cards - but with a 250gb hard disk, it allows hours of movies in top 16Mbs quality. The format of AVCHD means you need a very powerful computer to edit with it.

Since the original post I've done a lot of research. I've shortlisted the Panasonic AG-HMC151 & the JVC GY-HM100 which are both SD card tapeless cameras. I've also looked at my computer which looks as if it will have to be up-rated. Currently I use Pictures to EXE & Audacity to produce AV shows & it's giving signs of being at the limit of it's capabilities with the current PTE version 5.6. Video editing obviously needs more oomph. So the budget has gone out of the window.
Yachtsman1

[tom hardwick]

The HMC151 and the HM100 are both delightful cameras, but I'd plonk for the 151 every time simply because it uses far larger chips (78% bigger surface area). This always helps in low light.

The 100 records to Apple Quicktime files, so if you plan on getting a Mac it'll be right up your street. It can also be stripped of its mic, XLR box and handle so as to become much less conspicuous when that's needed. It also has two card slots but has less good manual control than the 151 I feel.

So on top of the camcorder you'll need extra batteries, extra cards, a case, tripod, mic, light ... as you say, the budget has been blown.

tom.

[Dave Watterson]

Yachtsman ... your nom-de-plume makes me wonder if you plan to do a lot of shooting on the water. That was surely behind Tom's mention of underwater housings and so on.

Is that your intention ... because if so, it means we might tend to suggest different cameras better suited to operation while your main attention is on other things, like sailing!

Dave

[yachtsman1]

No, that nom de plume has been with me since we lived aboard our Moody 40 in the Med, I've since swallowed the anchor, so the only chance it getting wet is if we have a flood
BTW I am converting from conventional photography, so my Nikon D200 is for sale with loads of extras.
Yachtsman1

[tom hardwick]

There's a classified section on the IAC's website - worth listing all your Nikon kit there.

[daveswan]

It's going off at a bit of a tangent, but have you considered getting a vDSLR such as the Canon 5DII? If you've got Nikon lenses you can use them with an adaptor, it's not everyone's cup of tea, and my not be yours, just chucking it up as a possibility. Otherwise I concurr about the Panny HMC 151. I did think of mentioning it when I saw your first post, but thought it was a bit beyond your budget, my bad.
You will need a powerful computer to handle the footage, see the thread on that subject. I'm not that sure about native AVCHD, I thinck Edeius is good for it, possibly Vegas 9 pro, too.
Dave

[yachtsman1]

It's going off at a bit of a tangent, but have you considered getting a vDSLR such as the Canon 5DII? If you've got Nikon lenses you can use them with an adaptor, it's not everyone's cup of tea, and my not be yours, just chucking it up as a possibility. Otherwise I concurr about the Panny HMC 151. I did think of mentioning it when I saw your first post, but thought it was a bit beyond your budget, my bad.
You will need a powerful computer to handle the footage, see the thread on that subject. I'm not that sure about native AVCHD, I thinck Edeius is good for it, possibly Vegas 9 pro, too.
Dave

Panasonic are bundling their own software for free at certain outlets. However the price has shot up to over 3k since I started looking, so the JVC is top of the wish list at present. I won't be buying until September so we'll see how things go.
Yachtsman1