Camcorder advice please

[SHABOY]

I'd like to buy a video camera but need some advice as I am pretty uninformed on this topic.

I'd like to spend less than £300 and the main use of the camera will be to record footage to be edited on computer to create highlight montages. The only video editing software I currently have is Windows Movie Maker.

So it's essential that the camera is easy to use in tandem with the PC. I have been told that I should therefore steer clear of Sony models as the video files are not compatible with most editing software (plus the folks at Sony are useless in terms of post-sale customer care).

So... any suggestions?

[rwniel]

You might find this thread (http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=484274) of some use. The Sony hi definition camcorders use the AVC-HD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVCHD) format which can be quite hard to edit (though getting easier as more packages add support for it). But that doesn't apply in your price bracket. Have a look at the Panasonic 3ccd mini dv camcorders as a starting point; both the NV-GS230EB (http://www.purelygadgets.co.uk/prodinfo.php?prodid=3557) and NV-GS320EB (http://www.purelygadgets.co.uk/prodinfo.php?prodid=5641) are around your budget.

Robert

[mdiver]

I have been told that I should therefore steer clear of Sony models as the video files are not compatible with most editing software

The only case where that could be true is with their MicroDV format, or perhaps with the AVC stuff that rwniel mentioned, but that is not Sony specific anyway.

If you want to stay cheap and easy I would avoid HD for now, but you may want to consider widescreen, which not all camcorders do properly, they just crop a 4:3 and you loose a lot of picture quality. Also I advise you get Firewire connection, not USB2, it's more reliable and widely supported. Firewire in on the camcorder is useful for storing your finished edits on miniDV tape (so full quality), but hard drives are so cheap no you could keep your edits on there.

All modern PC's and editing software will support DV editing over firewire...... as long as your PC has a firewire port (which can be added for about £18 for a PCI card).

[mbuckhurst]

Panasonics are definitely my camera of choice. Rock solid reliability and very good picture quality. Batteries are available cheaply from ebay and don't have any nasty electronics to try and force you to use own brand only.

Incidentally some of the more expensive models come with DV editing software, which although not as good as the likes of Premiere can provide enough functionality to do what you want.

mike