DVD camcorders

Heffers · DVD camcorders

unfortunately i don't know as much about camcorders as I'd like. but i "need" a new one...well actually i suppose that is true as my one is nearly as old as me and stuck in black and white.

i thought a DVD camcorder would probably be easiest but any digital format one would be good with a top budget of £300.

I've found these so far:

- Samsung VP-DC175WB
- Hitachi DZHS500EUK
- Sony DCR-DVD306

if you can give me any advice it would be appreciated.

Ben03

Nice is that a Hi8? Bulky things them Wink

Sony (i hate to say it) tend to be the choice when it comes to camcorders although in this comparison the Hitachi DZHS500EUK looks quite good with the HDD option. Are you planning on pc editing as well?

Heffers

yeh i liked the look of the HDD part on the hitachi.

and yeh PC editing, probably Adobe Premier.

Syren Sistair

Hmm... I wouldn't go for a straight to dvd one. go for a normal minidv, it'll be cheaper too. alternatively if you have money to burn, for for one that records straight to hard disc. I just think the recording quality, size and faff around having it on dvd is to much hassel.

make sure you get one that's compatible with a bullet camera+lancontrol. you'll normally need one with a line out... or is that line in? I dunno i leave it to the bf to do those techie things. they're hard to find. we took ages choosing our minidv - got one from purelygadgets.co.uk - turned out we got one of the few left in the world, sony hc96. they don't do them any more and the new products don't offer this feature as standard. take a look at it here -http://www.love-electricals.com/sony-dcr-hc96-minidv-camcorder-2774-p.asp

go for premier... hmm adobe...

Ben03

Adobe will cost you Wink

Yeah was going to say mini DV is what we use and does the job very well. Think it's AV in required for bullet cams and make sure it has a firewire port for sending data to the pc. (pc will also require a firewire port).

Syren Sistair

If you're paying for it (!) then just get premier elements. does the job fine for newbies.

Heffers

i've already got Premier Very Happy

this is just replasing an old camara thats over 10 years old and stuck in black and white.

i'm most likely getting the Hitachi. after some research i've found that it records onto a HDD and then you burn onto DVD's when you've finished. Only problem is i can't find out what its FPS is.

i should have the money for it and the convenience of the DVD burner will be really helpful as a pose to a MiniDV which i've used in the past.

Heffers

well i now own the Hitachi one. so far its been good (well playing around for a few hours) over 600 minutes of record time on high quality to the HDD, so no need to even buy DVD's for a while.

all i need now is a chance to play with it properly.

Ben03

Nice! Post some footage online when you have a small edit Very Happy

Does HDD come with the option to increase standard frame-rate?

Heffers

i duno yet. still getting the hang of all the features.

JAW

Sounds good, looks like a sweet cam!