I am looking at getting a digital camcorder in the $300-$700 dollar range. Any suggestions?

volleyball

Answer
Here's a good camcorder buying guide plus lots of reviews.
http://www.easycamcorders.com/content/Beginners-Guide.htm

What is the best camcorder for shooting a senior video?

touch_em_a

Just like the question says I am looking for a good quality camcorder to shoot my class' senior video next year at my high school. Should i go with high definition or will it be a waste of money since i doubt most people that will view it will have an hd tv?. I have a macbook pro with final cut express to edit it so it should be compatible with that. Also, would a dvd or hard drive camcorder be better?.I only want to spend around 700 dollars at the most. Any help is appreciated, thanks

Answer
DO NOT BUY A DVD BASED CAMCORDER. They are the worst available video quality for video editing.

Any miniDV based camcorder will provide you with easiest transfer since your MacBook Pro has a Firewire400 port built-in. You will need a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire cble to connect the DV port on the camcorder to the firewire 400 port on your Mac.

For standard definition, the Sony DCR-HC62 and Canon ZR930 are suggested. They are well below your budget - but you should also get a high-capacity rechargeable battery or two, a good tripod (and use it), sturdy case (Pelican is good), and a decent video light (for night video capture. And maybe an external mic or two.

Do not reuse the tape. Shoot it, fill the tape, take it out of the camera, lock it, label it, pop in another tape and start shooting. This tape is also your long-term archive...

The next batch of camcorders worth looking at are likely outside your budget - but are worth mentioning... Canon HV20, HV30, Sony HDR-HC7 and HC9. They do standard definition and high definition.

In either case, be aware that 1 hour of standard definition video uses about 14 gig of hard drive space and high definition is more like 45 gig of hard drive space per hour of imported video. Consider getting an external drive - minimum 500 gig - for the video project.

If you decide to go hard drive based or flash memory, those files will transfer using USB - but you have an extra step by having to convert them using StreamClip (free from Apple):
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/mpegstreamclip.html
then exporting as DV so FCE can use them.

BEST video quality is with miniDV tape because DV and HDV are the least compressed.

Hard drive and flash come next - the MPEG2 (standard definition and AVCHD (high definition) compress a lot. Only the most current version of FCE (and FinalCut Pro 2 and iMovie HD7 - that shipped in iLife08) can deal with AVCHD formatted video. When you transfer the video to the computer, you delete the files on the camcorder so you can start capturing more video... the FIRST thing you should do is make a back up archive of this original video in case your hard drive crashes. The time you thought you save by using hard drive or flash memory camcorders and copying the files over USB rather than importing just got eaten up.

DVD based camcorders compress the video the most. Their video is terrible for editing - and you will need to rip the video with HandBrake in order for FCE to get to it. Please do not go this route.

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Best handheld hd camcorder under $600?

Jenna

I want to buy a good camcorder, it shouldn't be too small, but not extremely big either. I need i to be about 500 to 600 dollars. I might splurge up to 700 if it makes a huge difference. I need it to make short films and documentaries. I also want to buy an external microphone, so if you know which ones are good, tell me that too! :) (It doesn't have to be wireless)

Thank you!

Answer
HD camcorders interpolate the video, which means of every 25 frames of video, 4 or 5 frames are taken by the lens assembly; the other frames in between these are filled in by the camcorder inner circuitry, thus giving you not true video. It looks like this -one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, from front to back of the video. Near impossible to edit, even when you have the Multi processor computer with the big Graphics and sound cards that is required to edit, view, watch and work with the files a HD camcorder produces.

Consumer level HD camcorders have 4 problems. 1) Blurry, fuzzy, out of focus areas closely around people in videos taken by consumer level HD camcorders. 2) Any movement, even a wave or lifting an arm, while in front of a recording consumer level HD camcorder, results in screen ghosts and artifacts being left on the video track, following the movement. Makes for bad video, sports videos are unwatchable. 3) These Consumer level HD camcorders all have a habit of the transferred to computer files are something you need to convert, thus losing your HD quality, to work with your editing software. 4) Mandatory maximum record times - 1 hour, 30 minutes, 8 minutes, 3 minutes â four different times advertised as maximum record time for some consumer level HD camcorders. No event I have ever been to is that short. Either take multiple camcorders or pack up with out getting the end of the event on video.

MiniDV is currently the most popular format for consumer digital camcorders. MiniDV camcorders are typically more affordable than their HDD and DVD counterparts. Each MiniDV tape will typically hold an hour of footage at normal recording speed and quality. MiniDV tapes are available for purchase at not only electronic and camera stores, but also at drugs stores and grocery stores, making them easy to find while your on vacation. There are literally hundreds of MiniDV camcorders available; both in standard and high-definition. And add the fact that to get a HD camcorder that could produce better video quality footage, one would have to spend in excess of $3500 for that camcorder that could produce higher quality video.

http://simplevideoediting.com/learn/part1_camcorder_choices.htm

http://simplevideoediting.com/learn/part2_connect_camcorder.htm

http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/products?m=gp&pid=1017#_030

Where can I get a camcorder that is full HD 1080p in Singapore that's about 500-700 Singapore dollars?

Anime Drag

PLESE NO ONLINE ONLY OFFLINE IN SINGAPORE ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE GIVE ME THE STORES Contact no. Name and where it's located

Brands i dont aproove:Samsung,Hitachi,FujiFilm,and any other asian brand(excluding Japanese)eg:Sony is accepted

AND ONCE AGAIN PLS FULL HD 1080P. Not a Directors Camera!!!!(LOL where can u find 1 that cheap)

Answer
I suggest you some video camcorder.

Kodak Zxd and Flip Mino.

the Kodak official webSite:

http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/list/Digital_Video_Cameras/categoryID.28889100?linkName=Digital+Video+Cameras

the Flip official webSite:

http://www.theflip.com

Good luck

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What is the top rated camcorder in the 500-700 dollar range?

best camcorder for 700 dollars image

Technical

The top camcorder with the highest ratings, highest resolution, etc...

Nothing cheaper than 500 i want something decent.
I'm thinking about getting the Canon VIXIA HF200 when it comes out, since the 100 did so well.

Answer
If you want to buy it now.Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV HD camcorder is a good choice http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00114PN1U?ie=UTF8&tag=computer0bd-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00114PN1U

or if you want to captureto flash drive Canon VIXIA HF10 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder is a good choice http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001144JQU?ie=UTF8&tag=computer0bd-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001144JQU

or if you can wait there will be newer model from Canon soon.

What is a good HD comcorder for less than 700 dollars?

Sam

I want a Pro HD camcorder for a low price. Does anyone know a camera that would be good?

Answer
Getting a HD camcorder is taking a step backward in Video Quality. HD camcorders Interpolate the video, which means of every 25 frames of video, 4 or 5 frames are taken by the lens assembly, the other frames in between these are filled in by the camcorder inner circuitry, thus giving you not true video. HD camcorders interpolate the video, which means of every 25 frames of video, 4 or 5 frames are taken by the lens assembly; the other frames in between these are filled in by the camcorder inner circuitry, thus giving you not true video. It looks like this -one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, one frame from the lens assembly, 7or 8 from the electronic circuitry, from front to back of the video. Near impossible to edit, even when you have the Multi processor computer with the big Graphics and sound cards that is required to edit, view, watch and work with the files a HD camcorder produces.

http://simplevideoediting.com/learn/part1_camcorder_choices.htm

http://simplevideoediting.com/learn/part2_connect_camcorder.htm

MiniDV is currently the most popular format for consumer digital camcorders. MiniDV camcorders are typically more affordable than their HDD and DVD counterparts. Each MiniDV tape will typically hold an hour of footage at normal recording speed and quality. MiniDV tapes are available for purchase at not only electronic and camera stores, but also at drugs stores and grocery stores, making them easy to find while your on vacation. There are literally hundreds of MiniDV camcorders available; both in standard and high-definition. And add the fact that to get a HD camcorder that could produce better video quality footage, one would have to spend in excess of $3500 for that camcorder that could produce higher quality video.

http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/products?m=gp&pid=1017#_030

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I am buying a Mac Mini to use iMovie and Final Cut Pro. What HD camcorder should i buy?

best camcorder for 700 dollars image

fleshy

1. what ram is the least needed?
2. my budget for the HD camcorder is below 700 dollars.

Answer
Setting the expectation:

The MacMini is an ENTRY LEVEL computer. High definition video is ADVANCED video. FinalCutPro is ADVANCED video.

Will it work? Yes. But no fair claiming "slow response" after you do this. 4 gig would be better (and max out the MacMini). An iMac has a faster CPU and can do more RAM.

You should also have an external drive (500 gig minimum) for the FinalCut video project files. HDV format video uses about 44 gig of computer hard drive space per hour of inported HDV video and you do not want to slow things further because the project files access is fighting with the operating system's trying to get to virtual memory (on the hard drive that the start-up operating system is on).

You need to buy a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire cable to connect the camcorder's DV port to the computer's firewire port. A Firewire cable is not included in the box with the camcorder.

What is a good camcorder to shoot skate videos with?

All of my friends are tired of the stupid ancient camcorder we have -.- we better luck drawing out the scene and making a flip book... SO does anyone know a camera out there that takes series of shots, recorders at 1080p and can be customized with fish eye lens and handle bars for the best possible shot?? And not over 700 dollars please !

Answer
Canon HF M41 is the best

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