so i'm a complete noob when it comes to a/v stuff. i'd like to pick up a video camera..nothing to crazy because i will be using it for car stuff and it will probably end up getting trashed. looking to spend ~300-400. it would be cool if it had a harddrive so i can store the vids on it and easily transfer them to the computer to post on forums. whats a good camera/brand? thoughts?
Anything with night or x-ray vision. (Sony had them something like that a while back) http://www.kaya-optics.com/products/experiments.shtml
Before people start throwing ideas for HD (high-def, not hard drive) cameras I'd recommend not bothering for any that fit your price range. They still have some maturing to do for the consumer cameras and the decent prosumer ones are still $1000+. Panasonic makes good hard drive cameras. You may want to start your search there. Just keep in mind that HDD cameras will be affected more by the vibrations and jolting of a car than a MiniDV tape.
yeah i really want and High def but its out of my price range right now and i dont want to kill a $1000+ hd camera. i'm not too worried about the vibration with the harddrive..most of the vids will be from out of the car anyways..at least for now. is panasonic the leader of say sony, panny, jvc?
For consumer cameras Panasonic and Sony are tops. Canon is a great pick too if you can get a good price on one. I would go Panasonic for an HDD camera because theirs are better than anyone else's, but for MiniDV then Sony makes the best transports IMO so I'd lean toward them. Any of the above are pretty good choices for the money. I think the HDD Panasonic is even 3CCD so you'll get better picture overall than the larger single CCD most of the Sony cams still use.
i've been doing some searching and i dont think the panny hdd's are 3ccd. it just says 'ccd' in the description. i'm assuming it would say '3ccd' if it was..?? how close are high-def video cameras to becoming affordable?
Do not spend $500 on a High Definition camera, it won't be worth it. As RallyNavvie said, they just aren't there yet on the consumer level. I have had great success with my JVC Everio MG330. It has a built in 30 gig Hard drive, and a micro SD slot. Check here for results: http://mnsubaru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22402 Whatever Hard drive camera you get, make sure to get the appropriate Flash card. The Hard drive will have problems with hard driving due to it's moving parts. I can fit 2 hours of the highest quality on my 8gb micro sd card. Let me know if you have any questions!
If you are going to use this vid camera for car vids, I'd avoid the hard drive cameras and go MiniDV. The way you drive, on the surfaces you drive, that hard disk will be dead...and quickly. I have a Panasonic PVGS150. If you can find one of those, you are golden. It has the 3CCD and Leica optics. It also comes with a microphone that has remote controls. And a couple of forums I've been to say that the lower light images are the best in the biz. I forget the site I was on, but all they discussed were video cameras. And they had comparisons of each one, ratings, they took test images in different levels of light to compare image quality. If I can remember the site, I'll PM it to you.
And if you do go the Panasonic PVGS150 route, remember, the PVGS59 and PVGS180 are NOT the same no matter how much they tell you they are. The PVGS180 does not have the Leica optics, nor does it come with any of the accessories the 150 does.
Readymix- Do you have any in car footage to get an idea and a comparison of the panasonic vs. jvc that yeti mentioned earlier. Yeti has some pretty good footage of it in his car. How is the panasonic better for car use? Just curious. I'm still looking for a camera too that will be used in and out of the car. Not stealing the thread Justin, just looking for more info
I have a hard-drive recorder and it works fine on pavement, but on uneven snow/ice and rally-x surfaces it skips frames, so if you plan on recording on any of those - consider getting a flash-based recorder. If you plan on having it trashed, I'd get some cheap (or expensive if you want HD) SDcard-based camera (aiptek etc) that has a video-in and decent encoder, and hook it up to bullet camera (with IR lights for night shooting if you need it). It will allow for a lot of flexibility as to where to place the camera in the car (sucktion cup will hold bullet camera anywhere), get decent quality video, and you'll have stand alone device that you can take anywhere and not care about it getting damaged.
Keep in mind that footage was really compressed for youtube. The actually footage is crystal clear. The same will go with an example of camera quality found on youtube.
Like I previously stated, I'm more than happy with my Everio MG330. Just make sure to get a large flash card.
I liked the reviews that I saw on that camera as well, I just want to know why readymix thinks the panasonic is better for in car use. I'd just like a comparison on the two.
no worries about thread jacking subiedave..i enjoy reading everyones thoughts about this stuff as i is a noob.
Not trying to start an arguement with Jason but my Sony MiniDV takes some pretty good in car footage for the price I paid.
No, I'm not saying the Panasonic is better than any others out there, Even though it really is the best standard format MiniDV camcorder, I'll find that site for you. But It isn't any better or worse than any other camcorder for rough road driving...my beef was the HDD based cams vs MiniDV based cams for rough driving. HDDs aren't meant to be man handled like that. They are better suited for the usual stuff, too much risk of the heads making contact with disk surfaces and such with a HDD being jostled around. If you intend to get rough and rowdy with your car, you are better off getting a MiniDV based camera. My camera vs. Yeti's camera, no contest, his is better. I believe I saw his footage and he mentioned something about HD recordings. My camera is about 5 years old or so, so it is dated technology, BUT for a budget MiniDV camera that records digitally to a tape, it is bar none one of the best for value and features and quality of image. I don't have any driving footage, but if you aren't in a hurry, I WILL have some driving footage from the next ice race. I intend to mount the camera in the car and possibly out of the car to get some footage of the track. And I'll post that up to the internet when I get back.
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ That is the site I used when making my decision. Unfortunatley they don't have the review for the PV-GS150 anymore since it is pretty old stuff. But the guy that runs it does a great job of reviewing every camera and tests them in lots of different settings. If you are in the market for a digital video camera, you would be well served by that place.
ok so i guess i wont be getting the harddrive camera then. sounds like they are very easy to ruin and i dont want to get a camera that doesnt hold up. i just didnt want to have to mess with buying tapes and what not.
