Best video camera for ~$400?

jpinard · Dec 20, 2005, 12:44 PM

Hi, I'm sorry if this is a repeating question here on the forums, but I'm in a bit of a bind. I'd thought my wife was fine with me taking my time trying to figure out what camcorder to get. I had told her a few weeks ago that I might not have it in time for Christmas and she was OK with that. Today she tells me we'd better have it for Christmas... I was like "But wait!" Since I like to surprise her... she'd thought I was saying "after Christmas" as cover so she'd be surprised when it was here... but I'd been serious. This has been a difficult thing to research and I've been collecting opinions from my friends and on-line (Consumer Reports) too.

However, the right camcorder has not presented itself. It seems no matter what model I start to settle on I find it's deficient in sound, or records poorly in low light, or has image stabilization problems, or long-term quality issues.

So, 2 weeks later I'm more confused than ever and have to get something in the next couple of days. So I'm hoping the experts here can guide me to something that will be a good fit. I'd planned on mini-DV as it seems to cheaper to record lots of stuff with good battery life... but I'm open to anything. Here's what I'd like:

* To be able to video-tape the ornamental fish in my little pond.
* Of course taping for family get-togethers, both indoors and outdoors.
* Tape vacations (which we rarely have).
* Have good quality sound.
* Be able to tape my cat, so I can send it in to shows to try and win some money (sounds silly, but our cat is a riot).
* My wife and I have shaky hands, so good stabilization is important.
* Be able to transfer it to my computer for creative work.
* Be able to tape in low light.
* Something with 500 lines of resolution (or more) is preferable.

I'd like to say, "Thank you" in advance to anyone who takes the time to read my long story and can help me.

g35x · Dec 20, 2005, 12:56 PM

so your looking for something that records to tape??? if i were u i'd get a sony cybershot and a 1gb memory stick it'll take like 40mins of video and it'd b small or something like this [color=red]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855501135[/color] -2 hours of video......but hey thats just what i like-pocket sized....i dont know much about the ones that record to tape i consider it a dead technology

ill look around for ya tho

jpinard · Dec 20, 2005, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by g35x

so your looking for something that records to tape??? if i were u i'd get a sony cybershot and a 1gb memory stick it'll take like 40mins of video and it'd b small or something like this [color=red]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855501135[/color] -2 hours of video......but hey thats just what i like....i dont know much about the ones that record to tape i consider it a dead technology

ill look around for ya tho

Thank you! I guess I'd never really thought about using memory sticks or one of the hard drive versions. That's why I ask... because I know I'm not knowledgeable enough to not make a big mistake. I don't think I like that type of unit however. Size isn't an issue - and in fact something too small might be worse for us.

g35x · Dec 20, 2005, 01:03 PM

[color=red]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830179023[/color] looks good if u still want tape-memory sticks deffinitly cant beat them for recording time,yeah i have a sony cyber shot with a 512mb stick and it takes like 22mins of video and fits in my pocket which is fine for me

whatever u get pm me l8r and tell me how it works out

Dec 20, 2005, 12:44 PM	#1
jpinard DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 278 Rep Power: 0	Best video camera for ~$400? Hi, I'm sorry if this is a repeating question here on the forums, but I'm in a bit of a bind. I'd thought my wife was fine with me taking my time trying to figure out what camcorder to get. I had told her a few weeks ago that I might not have it in time for Christmas and she was OK with that. Today she tells me we'd better have it for Christmas... I was like "But wait!" Since I like to surprise her... she'd thought I was saying "after Christmas" as cover so she'd be surprised when it was here... but I'd been serious. This has been a difficult thing to research and I've been collecting opinions from my friends and on-line (Consumer Reports) too. However, the right camcorder has not presented itself. It seems no matter what model I start to settle on I find it's deficient in sound, or records poorly in low light, or has image stabilization problems, or long-term quality issues. So, 2 weeks later I'm more confused than ever and have to get something in the next couple of days. So I'm hoping the experts here can guide me to something that will be a good fit. I'd planned on mini-DV as it seems to cheaper to record lots of stuff with good battery life... but I'm open to anything. Here's what I'd like: * To be able to video-tape the ornamental fish in my little pond. * Of course taping for family get-togethers, both indoors and outdoors. * Tape vacations (which we rarely have). * Have good quality sound. * Be able to tape my cat, so I can send it in to shows to try and win some money (sounds silly, but our cat is a riot). * My wife and I have shaky hands, so good stabilization is important. * Be able to transfer it to my computer for creative work. * Be able to tape in low light. * Something with 500 lines of resolution (or more) is preferable. I'd like to say, "Thank you" in advance to anyone who takes the time to read my long story and can help me.

Dec 20, 2005, 12:56 PM	#2
g35x Hellhound Pilot Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deptford, New Jersey Posts: 1,100 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	so your looking for something that records to tape??? if i were u i'd get a sony cybershot and a 1gb memory stick it'll take like 40mins of video and it'd b small or something like this [color=red]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855501135[/color] -2 hours of video......but hey thats just what i like-pocket sized....i dont know much about the ones that record to tape i consider it a dead technologyill look around for ya tho __________________

Dec 20, 2005, 01:03 PM	#4
g35x Hellhound Pilot Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deptford, New Jersey Posts: 1,100 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	[color=red]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830179023[/color] looks good if u still want tape-memory sticks deffinitly cant beat them for recording time,yeah i have a sony cyber shot with a 512mb stick and it takes like 22mins of video and fits in my pocket which is fine for me whatever u get pm me l8r and tell me how it works out __________________ Last edited by g35x; Dec 20, 2005 at 05:38 PM.