Camcorder for less than $1500 SGD? and other questions...

[khris]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a camcorder, mainly for family activities (indoors and outdoors) capturing memories. This is my first camcorder and am setting my budget to ~1500SGD.

From the reviews on various site, seems that the Canon HF200 is highly recommended. Or is there any other brands to recommend at this price range? I read that the new Canon lineup will be available in April or so, is it worth the wait?

Also contemplating if HD is worth the extra $$$. SD ones cost llike half the price..

Any comments/views will be greatly welcomed...thanks.

Khris

:dunno:

 

[Jagdeep]

Hello
The Panasonic TM300 seems to have quite a few good reviews.
I too am looking for a camcorder and am looking in the direction of a Sanyo VPC HD2000
which costs about SG$900 or so.

 

[khris]

Hello,

Thanks.. do you know how much is the Panasonic TM300 is going for? The Camcorder review page has pretty good review for it but thought that it is pretty expensive.

The Sanyo one looks really interesting.. reviews are pretty good as well and at a cheaper price. Have you try it out?

Thanks....

 

[Jagdeep]

A new series from Sanyo about to be launched late March
Check out the VCP CS1
MSRP US$300

 

[TsQ]

Problem with sanyo so far is the weak image stabilizer.. its not optical, but electronic only , however if u look at sony low end models which is also electronic stabilizer theirs are so much better

If u just want to hv full HD, good video at cheaper px.. sanyo is hard to beat ... but if u hate shaky video and ur hand is not always that stable ... u might want to consider others...

at the end its depands how u want ur video to be... the lower end Sony and PAnasonic full HD wont hv video quality as good as sanyo hD2000 but their image stabilizer is much better... so if u want best of every features, go for a higher end model like the Panaosnic TM300 or something similar from Canon ...

Also one thing to note, the "gun" type of holding a camcorder is cool looking but that way of holding will subject to a lot of hand movement after holding the camera for a min or so...

chk out Xacti 2010 model that holds like conventional camcorder... that one looks quite good... hope they hv imporved their stabilizer this time round

for me, i hate shaky videos... so what 1080P for when everything shakes with a minimal hand movement? so stabilizer to me is very important in a camcorder.

 

[Chlnny]

get the tm200 loh.. same sensor as tm300, less the manual focus, EVF, and the memory space..

 

[TsQ]

ya after i use TM300 .. i think really no need those extra features .. TM200 will be good enuff..

but that time pricejapan TM300 and TM200 price is so close, so might as well buy TM300.. duuno why in spore the price of the 2 is so much diff..

 

[munwei]

Consider the Canon HF200 as well. I just bought it and it's pretty good. Canon has an attractive promo with lots of freebies. You can check out the details at www.canon.com.sg

 

[TsQ]

hows canon IS now ? last time i chk for their 2009 lineup wasnt too impressive...

 

[munwei]

To answer your 2 other questions:

a) Wait for the new model -- It depends on you. The new HFS200 will be launched within the next couple of mths, and likely to come in at a higher price point. The CCD is the same, though the improved feature set is a plus.

b) HD/SD -- Go for HD. You either already have a widescreen TV or will buy one in the near future. No point saving a few hundred bucks now and then suffer the upgrade itch in no time.

 

[Bamboopictures]

This is going to sound like a flame bait but don't buy HF series until you see this comparison with a Panasonic TZ7 hybrid cam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGpRciGTkBQ TZ7 is only $500.

 

[TsQ]

yes nowadays still cam video is coming nearer n nearer to what a videocam can do...

if u are not gonna record a lot of video... a TZ-7 is good enuff... i mean, depands on u ... like some ppl are happy with a PnS so a DSLR is really a joke.. likewise if u r not a video buff, a TZ7 is really good enuff while a Canon HF or Panasonic TM series of camcorders are like a big chunky consumer pro products

 

[obfuscate]

My advice to anyone is NEVER buy any camcorder that craps in low light. The comparison that you see is deliberately made to people to think that a small camera can be better than a camcorder. The TRUTH is that when you compare other things like resolution, low light noise, AF accuracy and sound, the better camcorders will always be better. Try watching a video on a full HD TV and you will see the differences. Read up www.camcorderinfo.com to get a better idea of what is good and what isn't.

Something else you need to think about is the ability of your computer to handle AVCHD editing. You need the correct hardware and software else editing will be a nightmare.

 

[TsQ]

My advice to anyone is NEVER buy any camcorder that craps in low light. The comparison that you see is deliberately made to people to think that a small camera can be better than a camcorder. The TRUTH is that when you compare other things like resolution, low light noise, AF accuracy and sound, the better camcorders will always be better. Try watching a video on a full HD TV and you will see the differences. Read up www.camcorderinfo.com to get a better idea of what is good and what isn't.

Something else you need to think about is the ability of your computer to handle AVCHD editing. You need the correct hardware and software else editing will be a nightmare.

I agree.. I was a Xacti user but the low light capture was so bad .. (i know HD2000 is good but mine was the lower range ones) ... so read up and found that Sony has the best low night but cost was high.. so next was Panasonic so i went ahead and got the TM300

Look at this still capture from the TM300.. just one x 5w energy saving light bulb:
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/7006/imgp0004k.jpg

however, many ppl wont be bothered too much ... i have yet to see the TZ7 low light capability but if its anything good, then i dont mind ditching my TM300

I havent try the D90 video mode in low light.. shld be good.. i will try one day

AVCHD ... dont worry too much.. if u got a P4 2.4gig with 2gig RAM (with a gfx card at least those costing $100 at current mkt), its enuff already but expect slower processing and some lagging in ur PC ... the editing software is also very very important... if u hv a slower PC (like me with the above spec) .. its better to use cyberlink PowerDirector.. its one very very good software and its build to let slower PC to edit 1080P AVCHD ...

 

[gibss]

I second that! Not only will editing be a pain, encoding it will take forever!
I'm using a low-end AMD quadcore, and I'm getting 25frames/sec on x264 Quantizer-Based @ 25 | 1024x576

Now, Imagine increasing the resoultion. I reckon maybe 15frames/sec.

Cheers,
gibss

 

[TsQ]

but still, theres not a real excuse of not getting a AVCHD camcorder as this format is gonna stay for long.. eventually we will be using this encording method until someone comes with more efficient encording then AVCHD

other format of video recording will take it more storage space and i duuno, all 1080P cmacorder now are AVCHD format rite?

Either that or u guys go try Cyberlink Powerdirector... it let my slow PC to edit and produce 1080P content with no problem beside bit slow

 

[Bamboopictures]

I have been using the TZ-7 for a month now and here's my personal opinion. The video Motion JPEG mode at 720P looks just as good as the full HD AVCHD. If you select the Motion Jpeg mode, the clips can be edited using any NLE on any low-end PC. You can only shoot at 30fps so you have to edit in NTSC. The shots looks cleaner and brighter than even my HV20 maybe due to the TZ7's 1/2.3"CCD vs HV20 1/2.7" CMOS. I think it is safe to state categorically that inch-for-inch CCD have better sensitivity than CMOS. The TZ7 video does suffer from severe vertical smearing when it experiences bright spots. A strange purplish glow is also sometimes present when sunlight hits the lens directly. Panning shots brings out a subtle judder to the image so avoid moving the camera. Otherwise, I think if anyone is just concerned about shooting beautiful video without much movement (audio aside) on a tiny, tiny budget, TZ7 is perhaps the best bang for your small buck.

 

[obfuscate]

I have been using the TZ-7 for a month now and here's my personal opinion. The video Motion JPEG mode at 720P looks just as good as the full HD AVCHD. If you select the Motion Jpeg mode, the clips can be edited using any NLE on any low-end PC. You can only shoot at 30fps so you have to edit in NTSC. The shots looks cleaner and brighter than even my HV20 maybe due to the TZ7's 1/2.3"CCD vs HV20 1/2.7" CMOS. I think it is safe to state categorically that inch-for-inch CCD have better sensitivity than CMOS. The TZ7 video does suffer from severe vertical smearing when it experiences bright spots. A strange purplish glow is also sometimes present when sunlight hits the lens directly. Panning shots brings out a subtle judder to the image so avoid moving the camera. Otherwise, I think if anyone is just concerned about shooting beautiful video without much movement (audio aside) on a tiny, tiny budget, TZ7 is perhaps the best bang for your small buck.

How well does it perform in low light?

 

[TsQ]

wait... TZ-7 uses AVCHD lite for video rite?

 

[Bamboopictures]

The TZ7's low light performance is exceptional. It looks much cleaner than my HV20. The TZ7 can record in either Motion JPEG or AVCHD.