Best HD Camcorder? ($400 budget)?

Jordan C

I'm looking for a good HD Camcorder for under 400 bucks, need to have great zoom and ability to macro really close and keep its quality. Any suggestions help, thanks.

Answer
HD camcorder that near your budget is Sanyo VPC-FH1 HD 1080p Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 16x advance zoom
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q3M9PY?ie=UTF8&tag=computer0bd-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001Q3M9PY

or cheaper one Sanyo VPC-WH1 HD Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref%255F%3Dnb%255Fss%255Fp%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3DSanyo%2520VPC-WH1%2520%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Dphoto&tag=computer0bd-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957

lightweight, portable, budget camcorder?

Luke F

Hi,
I'm doing a bit of off road travel and need a camcorder that will charge from my solar panel, so it will need to charge from a USB port. Also, i'm looking for some thing that will work off SD cards, these products seem to be cheaper than the HDD camcorders.
Any help or advice appreciated.
Luke

Answer
Never buy a HDD camcorder, as camcorders move around a lot it is much easier to damage the HDD from a fall or drop where as memory ones are almost indestructible(depending on the model) I would recommend one of the flip camcorders. Personally the flip mino HD is the best in my opinion, the only problem is that it only has a 1 hour record time and you can't upgrade the memory. If you want more record time you could look at the Kodak zi6 HD camcorder. It uses SD cards (up to 32GB) and standard AA batteries. My problem is that although with a 8GB memory card its around $30 cheaper, is that the colors are over saturated and the camera is much larger than the flip. Also I don't believe it does USB charging but than its not like AA batteries are hard to come by. Either way the quality on both camera is great for the price. Only problem with most SD budget cams is that its digital zoom only (reduces image quality) and they tend to be a little more shaky, however for $200 or less for HD its also a lot less of a deal if they get damaged. I have the Mino HD and love it for on the go recordings, and the battery on it last a lot longer than the 1 hour of storage does. Basiclly Mino- Smaller, better footage Kodak-Expandable Memory/Batteries. Hope this helps

Oh PS- Both cameras save their video in an easy to use format Mino HD-MP4 H.264 Kodak- .Mov

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Consumer Level Camcorders for pro quality vids?

Philip

What's the best brand of camcorders for the consumer level for at or near pro quality vids. Of course I'm after the HD kind of thing and moneywise no more than US$800 if possible.

If at all possible, recommend the specific model too.

Answer
Hi Philip,

I'm a camera salesman, so I always try to be as neutral as possible. In my opinion
there is no best brand in camcorders. All the established brands make fine products,
these days. But we all have our prefferences based on previous experiences or not....
If you ask me, not as a salesman, which brand apeals the most to me, I have to say JVC.
Not only because of the quality and pricing, their service is outstanding.
Like I said before,Sony,Canon,Samsung,Panasonic etc. all make excellent HD cams in
your price-range. The difference between consumer and Pro camcorders is not the picture
quality anymore. It's mostly the durability and the possibility to expand. External mic's p.e.
In your price-range you can speak of pro-sumer cams. Consumers that like to use their
product like a pro.
Here are some links to a couple of models I think are suitable for you :

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Cameras-Camcorders/Camcorders/model.HDC-TM900K_11002_7000000000000005702

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666294273

http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028615&pathId=171&page=10

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/vixia_hf_m41

I wish you much wishdom in choosing.

Kind Regards, Lance.

Wich Semi-pro Camcorder is better?

TheRavn

So i want to buy a new camcorder but i have a few options and don't know wich one is better:

HD:

Sony HDR-FX1 or Sony HVR-ZU1 or Canon XHA1s

SD:
Sony VX2000 or Panasonic ag-dvx100 or Canon XM1 or Canon XL1

Any idea's?

Answer
The Sony HDR-FX1 was discontinued a couple of years ago - and replaced by the HDR-FX1000. They are both "prosumer" The giveaway is the single 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo audio in jack (that you can use an XLR converter like those form BeachTek or juicedLink) if you use XLR mics.

The Sony HVR-Z1U is the pro-grade sibling to the FX1. It has built-in XLR audio-in. It also handles DVCAM format and has progressive frame capture selections the FX1 did not have. The HVR-Z1 has been discontinued and is replaced by the Sony HVR-Z5U.

The Canon XHA1 is pro-grade - the XLR audio-in is the give-away. It has been around for a couple of years, and is still considered a good mid-level pro-grade camcorder. I don't like it because the built-in LCD monitor is a bit small compared to the Sonys...

You forgot to put the Panasonic AG-HVX200 in this group. It is pro-grade. It uses P2 cards for high definition video to DVCPRO HD format.

All of these are fine camcorders doe standard definitionDV, DV widescreen or high definition (HDV or DVCPRO HD) video capture.

The Sony DCR-VX2000 series prosumer camcorders were great standard def in the day. They have not been made for a few years. The Panasonic AG-DVX100 is pro-grade and still manufactured - and continues to be quite a workhorse in the standard def world. The Canon XL1 had its day - but did not handle DV widescreen well. The XL2 replaced it (and the high definition XLH series are awesome). The XM1 was replaced by the GL1 a long time ago... and the GL1 was replaced by the GL2.

In HD, I would consider the Z1U and XHA1. If these are too much for your budget, the Sony HDR-FX1000.

In SD the AG-DVX100 wins. But the Sony DCR-VX2200 is definitely worth a look.

In all cases, these camcorders use firewire to get the digital video from the camcorder's miniDV tape to the computer. So be sure your computer can deal with that - or already has a working firewire port. USB won't work.

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