Video Cam help

[Jagdeep]

Snappers,
I need some help
I would like to get the most approriate camcorder for good quality home videos
Aimed price is about 1k but willing to stretch it if justified
Should be High Definition
Very good low light capability as most videos will be taken inside the house
and anti shake (lens or sensor not digital) as I have shaky hands.
Easy to use point and record as the whole family will use it.

A bonus would be if it came with decent editing software and a large-ish sensor

please suggest so that I can start my investigations

thanks
Jag

 

[Reportage]

Good picture need not be HD. You can start with the venerable Canon HV30.

 

[Jagdeep]

thank you Reportage
that was most helpful
I will start my search with this as the reference
regds
Jag

 

[jaegersing]

Good picture need not be HD. You can start with the venerable Canon HV30.

???? HV30 shoots HDV format which at 1440x1080 is a form of high definition. The footage can easily be converted to 1920x1080 or 1280x720 both of which are also high definition.

Not sure if anybody is selling HV30 second-hand for $1K, anyway it is not "very good" in low light.

But I agree that the original poster should consider SD, more likely to get a match for most requirements at a lower price. And it looks like ease of use is more important than image quality so no point going for something higher end with a lot of adjustments.

 

[Jagdeep]

Ermmm guys ... I want a digital video. I have a tape unit already
maybe I should up the budget a bit to 1.5k then

Jag

 

[jaegersing]

Ermmm guys ... I want a digital video. I have a tape unit already
maybe I should up the budget a bit to 1.5k then

Jag

Tape-based cams like HV30 also record digital video. I take it you want SD card based cam?

 

[TsQ]

even if u want DV tape based camcorder, its not easy to find now anymore except canon has one but its rather bulky in size.

anyway Jagdeep, ur requirement is almost the same as mine: low light, anti shake which i would recommend Panasonic TM200 (16gb build in + SD slot , there's a HDD based version costing $100+ more)

Canon and Sony HD that can match TM200 are more expensive ... while sony also has HD cam at $1500 price but those are their entry level HD cam which u can get a almost high end Panasonic one.

if u want to save some cost, chk out TM20 from panasonic, the anti shake is as good but video quality losses out to the sub $1500 models.

 

[Jagdeep]

Yup, the TM200/TM300 seem to be what I need
size is good too.

Now, where would I get the best deal on these.

Any suggestions?
Jagdeep

 

[Reportage]

just be sure what you are getting.

the TM200 sensor is 1/4 so even if it has 3 or more of them, wont help much in lowlight compared to even the Canon HF100.

doesnt have an expansion shoe for external lights or headphone input or even mic input which is a pain if you are the type who are okay with bad video as long got good audio.

the bad thing about 5.1 sound is that it captures sound in an omni direction which to me is very bad as i only want the sound in front of me. Also having no mic input means shotgun mics are out of the question.

 

[TsQ]

TM300 got hotshoe and microphone in.. not sure about TM200

 

[Jagdeep]

Oh! Thats a bummer !

What do I do now?

Which camera then has similar performance to the TM200/300 and sports a sensor that is
better in low light, with good anti-shake.

I prefer the memory card cameras over hard disc cameras

Reviews say that the Canon is not a top performer
All the Panasonic cameras seem to be using the 1/4.1 sized sensor

The HF20 uses a 1/4 sensor, the HF S10/100 use a 1/2.6 sensor but much ore costly

Would I be betetr off getting the S10/100.

But the price rockets to $2.6k ... the TM200 is about $1.7k

What about a Samsung?

 

[TsQ]

Panasonic smaller sensor but has 3 ... not sure if that helps out

anyway for low light, here's a shot i made with only 1 energy saving 18w bulb... from the review i read, the low light performance at best is Sony 520 .. then Canon HFS10 .. last is Panasonic. However, few of the website i read mentioned canon and panasonic low light is not too big of a different...