Camera Advice. . .

So, I'm thinking about buying an digital video camera for, well, fucks me why, I guess just filming random shit and over here, they're pretty damn cheap. The problem is I'm clueless as to what I should be looking for and what I should avoid. Here's where you guys come in . . .

I should point out I'm not some kind of independent film-maker or whatnot, so I don't need the latest and greatest. All I need is something that will shoot typical stuff around home, around the city, holidays and the like, but preferably semi future proof.

Should I go with MiniDV, DVD, SD Flash memory or HDD?

Is there anything I should watch out for?

Any specific recommendations?

Thanks Vode.

any Sony TRV and HC series best quality cheapmans camera film on SD mini DV tapes. best way of archiving you're footage,

Truu, if you are happy with SD, as you should be, go with minidv. Minidv is the easiest and safest way to store memories footage. Sony is the way to go as its reliable and has nightshot.

So yes, sony trv-hc** series is way to go.

Thanks Webb.

minidv

hv30

panny gs series

hc3

That's what I was going to say. Excellent quality video for SD since they have 3CCDs. I think HD might be overkill for what he's asking.

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

Have been googling some of your replies and reading a lot of reviews. Not sure which make and model I'm going to go with, but some of the Sony cameras are really sexy with a lot of features. I'll check out the rest tonight and tomorrow when I get more time.

Very informative posts, thank you to all.

I would say go HD, as HD cams are pretty cheap these days.

Tapless is the future, something to bare in mind, and can be very time saving when capturing footage, it's just a weigh up of whether or not you want a copy on tape at all times just incase.

Thats all I can say, as I really dont know much about the lower end cams.

Yeah I think it's just a matter of preference whether you wanna get yourself a camera with a hard drive or one that records on tape. Everyone in this thread knows a whole lot more than I about cameras, but I can't see the loss of archived footage as that big of a threat with a HD cam, that you would choose a minidv camera over a HDD camera because of that. But listen to the others in this thread, I just got my first cam and it's a HDD camera, so I'm biased in a way.

I would almost compare this choice to that of wireless vs. non-wireless technologies, and choosing non-wireless because you can see the wire, therefor it will never fail.

Thanks again too all who responded here.

Just a quick update, I bought one of these badboys today. Introducing my new Sony HDR-XR500V . . .



I found it brand new on sale for about roughly $800 USD, which included an extra battery, battery charger, mini HDMI cable and a carry bag. After following some advice here, and reading reviews, I figured it was the best way to go.

Got it home and I'm playing around with it. Trouble is, it's entirely in Japanese, but I downloaded a PDF of the user manual in English. On the bright-side, it gives me a chance to practice my failish Japanese language skills. My girlfriend is probably going to be pissed off eventually after me asking "what does this kanji mean again?" everytime I use it though, but, I'm getting the hang of it.

First impressions : Light-weight, heaps of features and movie quality seems incredible. Haven't had a chance to use it outdoors yet, but might go for a quick jog up the mountain to see how it handles in different light conditions.

All in all though, I think it's a fantastic camera so far.

blargh will you do me a favor and just walk down the street with it in one of those crowded japanese places with all the ridculiously fancy lights going on and stuff. film it.

I'd like to see some sample footage.

Slavin - I definitely will one day. At the moment I've got a lot of work and then I'm heading back home to Australia next week for a few days, but if I get a chance before then, I'll get some footage.

Yates - I was messing with the 4 different HD settings and went for a jog around the hills near my house. I filmed some test footage and threw one clip up on youtube yesterday. This was filmed on the lowest HD setting. Unfortunately, youtube has some kind of shitty compression and has lowered the quality quite considerably. I can't figured out how to upload pure HD footy without youtube compressing the shit out of it. When I do though, I'll put some better quality stuff up for you to have a look at.

You might want to try Vimeo for uploading HD video.