Camcorder Virgin... in nightmare city :( Can any one help please?

[moviesuk]

Hi there....

I have never owned a camcorder before and in 4 weeks I am going to sunny Florida. Seeing as this is my 1st time to Florida, I want to record all the glory... so I can show the family and have something to look back on in years to come.

Researching camcorders has proven to be nothing more than a nightmare. I never knew there were so many breeds to choose from.

I know I defo want a MiniDV and my budget can stretch to around £550 tops.

At first I had called into a local family run store and was shown the Sony DCR-HC39E. I was well inpressed with this camcorder. Then I made the big mistake of buying magazines and reading reviews on forums etc.

Now I am just so undecided and have a list of 5 camcorders that are all getting very good reviews.

Is there anyone in here that has any of the following and can help me out with feedback on their thoughts?

I am looking for:

1. Good picture quality.
2. Good sound (with as little buzz from the camcorder being picked up).
3. Good both outdoors and in for filming.
4. Widescreen filming (true 16:9).

The camcorders in my short list are:

1. Sony DCR-HC42E
2. Sony DCR-HC90E
3. Panasonic NV-GS75
4. Panasonic NV-GS150
5. JVC GR-DF470

I am not 100% certain if all the above actually film in widescreen. AFAIK only the Sony's have the widescreen viewfinder.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Many thanks,

Gazza.

[bumfrog]

don't worry too much about widescreen too be honest. It's not particularly going to give you anything extra that you would miss. Personally i'd go for the Panasonic GS 150 because it has 3ccd's so the picture quality should be great, and it should be better in low light then a standard 1 ccd camera.

[Leigh]

Another vote for panasonic here

[moviesuk]

don't worry too much about widescreen too be honest. It's not particularly going to give you anything extra that you would miss. Personally i'd go for the Panasonic GS 150 because it has 3ccd's so the picture quality should be great, and it should be better in low light then a standard 1 ccd camera.
But would the image not look strange on my WS TV if I were to buy a non WS Camcorder?

Thanks,

Gazza.

[moviesuk]

In What Camcorder the Panasonic models scored as follows:

NV-GS75

Value for money - 95%
Performance - 96%
Ease of use - 89%
Features - 86%
Overall - 92%

"The image performance alone is enough to recommend it as a cam to be taken very seriously".

NV-GS150

Value for money - 88%
Performance - 86%
Ease of use - 86%
Features - 82%
Overall - 84%

"Great build-quality, fantastic value for money and a superb performance".

Gazza.

[bumfrog]

the thing to remember is that if you are camcorder virgin then you ain't gonna use half the features on the camera anyways and unless you've a specific reason for a feature then you probably won't use it. And if you do get into it heavily then you'll probably end up selling whatever you buy now so you can buy the camera with the features you actually need.

Just in the same way that most people with digicams just use the auto function and snap away, if all you are wanting the camcorder for is holidays and home stuff like that a cheap sub £200 would do the job fine. Thinking about it too much is only going to cause you headaches.

[moviesuk]

the thing to remember is that if you are camcorder virgin then you ain't gonna use half the features on the camera anyways and unless you've a specific reason for a feature then you probably won't use it. And if you do get into it heavily then you'll probably end up selling whatever you buy now so you can buy the camera with the features you actually need.

Just in the same way that most people with digicams just use the auto function and snap away, if all you are wanting the camcorder for is holidays and home stuff like that a cheap sub £200 would do the job fine. Thinking about it too much is only going to cause you headaches.
But I would not want to buy a sub-standard model what will 'just do' as they say. I am a quick learner when it comes to gadgets.... so if I am going to invest in a camcorder, I would not be planning to sell it on. This would be a keep sake, so something decent would be nice.

When I was looking for a Digital Camera... I looked around and tested certain models. Read all the reviews and ended up like I have now, with a short list. In the end I went for the Olympus MJU 400... and have been very pleased with it since the day I bought it. It does exactly what I want and the pics are awesome. So there is no need for me to update and update.

I know there are people out there where having the latest gadget all the time... is as addictive as a very keen smoker. But the cost to the person will always be at a loss... when it comes to selling the previous item on.

I would love to have a nice Panasonic 37/42" Plasma... but there is nothing wrong with my 36" CRT.... which cost me some £1200 18 months ago (same TV was £2K at Comet). The exact same TV has just sold for under £300 on eBay. So even though the temptation is there, the loss financially is too great to justify.

I know I have gone off the beaten track here, but I am just trying to explain the sort of person I am.

So even though you are right in what you say... I would rather get myself something nice now... that will do me for many years to come :)

Your input is very much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Gazza.

[bumfrog]

well if want to semi futureproof yourself, get one of the panasonics with the 3ccds. As I said, don't worry too much about the widescreen thing as if the camera doesn't do "proper" widescreen then it will have functions to fit it in. Kind of a fake widescreen thing going on. Providing you can get decent picture quality then most other stuff can be done whilst editing and not on the camera itself. Mind you editing is a whole other ball game....

[Niceandtidy]

All the sonys have a proper optical image stabilzer - which is really nice on my cheapo TRV14 (discontinued now) Where as the panasonics only have it on the GS250 or GS400 (the other models have electronic stabilzation which is rubbish believe me!)

If you can stretch to a GS250 get one (about £650 on ebay I think)

Jon

[PC_Bod]

I know its well below your budget and an older model, but I bought the Panasonic NV-GS11 jsut before christmas for less than £300.
Gets a bit iffy in low light, and obviously doesnt do *true* widescreen (offers it via a crop though I think).

But it takes cracking movies, does the job, and is well worth the money.
It also has Image Stablisation on it (electronic I assume), which works an absolute treat IMO. Especially for the price.

[moviesuk]

As it was my day off today I have been out and about with my main aim to actually see a Sony HC90 in the flesh. I have not been able to find one in any electrical shop near me for love nor money. When the sales assistant checked on their computer, it was coming up with discontinued or clearance stock?

I was under the impression that this model was fairly new in the market, yet it is being discontinued?

[stevejm]

I have a Sony HC39 ... widescreen is definately the way to go.

[IAmATeaf]

Another vote for the Sony HC39, recorded all my holiday footage in widescreen which looks great when played back on a widescreen telly. The only other camcorder that does 'true' widescreen are some of the Canon models, most of the other budget camcorders simply crop the image and put back bars top and bottom where as the Sony actually has a CCD designed to take widescreen footage.