MiniDV camcorder recommendations?

[Angie]

Sorry to bother everyone - I'm looking for a good MiniDV camcorder. Hoping to spend less than $275 or so.

I found this one (I'll just use the Amazon link) - sounds like it's got the best Consumer Reports rating for the price range. Does anyone know anything about this camera or others?

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-ZR830-MiniDV-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B000M4OANM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1201061904&sr=8-1"]LINK[/ame]

 

[Bobber]

It's hard to beat Sony. They're not always the highest in Consumer Reports, but rarely do you find them at the bottom.

 

[Angie]

It's hard to beat Sony. They're not always the highest in Consumer Reports, but rarely do you find them at the bottom.

I was wondering about Sony vs. some of the strict "camera brands" like Canon, etc. I wasn't sure if the Handycam was the way to go, or if this was?

 

[Nedrick]

Looks like you can't plug a microphone into it, nor does it have an "accessory shoe," but otherwise looks solid. 35X zoom is excellent. Plus, can't beat that price...
Here's a C/NET review (with video): LINK

Let me know what you decide on, as I may be in the market for one soon.

 

[CTAClone]

Canon and Panasonic lead the pack for good MiniDV camcorders. They both offer an HD version shot on MiniDV that run around $700-$900. Don't know much about the MiniDV you linked, but Canon is a great camera brand. Panasonic's HVX100 is a great prosumer camera. Canon's GL series lets you change lenses to get more of movie feel. You can't get a better quality without going to a movie camera like the Sony F900 or Genesis.

 

[Angie]

Looks like you can't plug a microphone into it, nor does it have an "accessory shoe," but otherwise looks solid. 35X zoom is excellent. Plus, can't beat that price...
Here's a C/NET review (with video): LINK

Let me know what you decide on, as I may be in the market for one soon.

Thanks so much for the link!! :notworthy: I'm not familiar with camcorders newer than my parents' little tape ones, and I don't think it had a microphone - do mics pick up ambient noise a lot better than the regular audio capturing? And I have no clue what an "accessory shoe" is... :no:

I'll definitely let you know. We just want something basic for now.

 

[Angie]

Canon and Panasonic lead the pack for good MiniDV camcorders. They both offer an HD version shot on MiniDV that run around $700-$900. Don't know much about the MiniDV you linked, but Canon is a great camera brand. Panasonic's HVX100 is a great prosumer camera. Canon's GL series lets you change lenses to get more of movie feel. You can't get a better quality without going to a movie camera like the Sony F900 or Genesis.

Oh, thanks!! I'll go hunt down those styles. I really wanted some good points of comparison!

 

[CTAClone]

Check out B & H. They are a great camera store that have all the latest and greatest equipment. If you are into getting a shotgun mic you can also get them here. Just make sure the camcorder can support the mic. They also have flash drive cameras available now so you never have to worry about tapes.

Camcorders, Video Cameras, Digital Video | B&H Photo Video

 

[Angie]

Check out B & H. They are a great camera store that have all the latest and greatest equipment. If you are into getting a shotgun mic you can also get them here. Just make sure the camcorder can support the mic. They also have flash drive cameras available now so you never have to worry about tapes.

Camcorders, Video Cameras, Digital Video | B&H Photo Video

That's even better!! I didn't just want to go wandering aimlessly around BestBuy - I would rather buy from a site known for working with this exclusively, anyway.

I was curious about the flash drive - they still just use firewire or USB?

 

[CTAClone]

That's even better!! I didn't just want to go wandering aimlessly around BestBuy - I would rather buy from a site known for working with this exclusively, anyway.

I was curious about the flash drive - they still just use firewire or USB?

I've actually never used them, but I worked on a music video where we used the flash drives and a guy was hired to do the downloading of the footage. He would take the flash cards and plug it into some port he had attached to his computer and various hard drives and it would download. If you are going to do the flash card route, I'd also get an external hard drive to store the footage. Lacie is a very popular brand here that is good for storing video footage.

 

[brianhos]

Sorry to bother everyone - I'm looking for a good MiniDV camcorder. Hoping to spend less than $275 or so.

I found this one (I'll just use the Amazon link) - sounds like it's got the best Consumer Reports rating for the price range. Does anyone know anything about this camera or others?

LINK

That is the updated model of the one we have. Works great, really simple to use. Not a lot of fancy features, but it does what you need it to do. Movies are nice looking and easy to transfer to dvd. I highly recommend it.

 

[brianhos]

The only thing i would look at is wether it is USB or Firewire, if it is firewire (like ours is) make sure you have that port.

 

[brianhos]

Ok, it looks like it is firewire, so make sure you have one of those ports, or add a card to your pc. Or if you are a mac user, you are set.

 

[mkcrawford]

Anybody try one of these.

Flip Video - See the Specs

 

[CyinCo]

We have a Sony. I had to get a firewire card for transfering the video to my hard drive in order to burn a DVD. Sony doesn't tell you that the USB that comes with the camera is only for still photo transfer.

Also, the software that came with my Sony was terrible. I use Nero software instead that came with my DVD burner and it is much better at capturing the video and building DVDs.

The Sony is a good camera. It is small, and the lithium ion battery that came with it has sufficed.

CNet does have reviews of about everything. You can also read the consumer reviews on Circuit City.com.