Help on digital camcorders needed!

Hi!
Two weeks from now is my magic 18th birthday. I've known the whole past year which present I want - a digital camcorder. Now here's the problem... I have no clue which one to get! I checked some of the major electronics companies, but the info on digital camcorders is over my head... I want to use it for texture photographing, record walkcycles and such as animation reference, and I might (definitly) use it for some minor silly fanfilm/short film projects.

Which camcorder do you suggest that I purchuse? (Yes, I buy my own presents
I was thinking something along the lines of the Sony Digital 8-series... is this good enough? I will probably not get more than maybe 600-700$. I know this isn't very much when it comes to this kind of equipment, but it'll have to do...
I'm very thankful for your help!

/Magnus Andersson

 

either Digital 8 or mini DV is great, i would suggest a SONY myself, of course if you are going for the high grade cannon has some very nice cameras.

I have used many Digital 8 and Mini DV cameras and I can't really tell the differance in the picture.

Hope this helped.

P.S. welcome to the board.

 

I will alsways stick with canon.

I say go with cannon....whichever one is in your price range. If your something REALLY NICE and REALLY expensive (about 3,000) I'd suggest the canon xl1s...although i don't own one, i've seen one in action...and i'm doing everything i can to get it

but anyway...since its a birthday and not a winning lottery ticket i'm assuming you not gonna go for something that big. Canon is still the way to go (IN my opinion) the canon Zr20 (or is it 25?) is very nice and that model goes all the way up to the Zr50 which is also very nice. I personally have a canon Zr10... The canon zr10 is even really good, (mine is just beat up and stuff, that why i need a new one)

Although....you are hearing the opinion of someone who has never owned anything but a canon so i can't really compare...however...the fact that i like canon so much and stick with it might tell ya something.

So the camera depends on your price range....but i say you buy the best canon with the money you have to work with, just my opinion.

 

Wow, you're really fast here on this forum!

Heh, now I got one vote for sony and one for canon
You're not making this any easier ;P
Nah, just kidding with you.
Thanks for the replys!

I'm off to bed now... schoolday tomorrow :/

/Magnus Andersson

 

I also prefer Canon. I've used a few sonys, mainly the TRV-900 and I find the Canons better in design and quality. (Though the sonys definatley aren't bad!) The Sonys do tend to deliver higher resolution, and the canons better color. (In general) So for your texture photographing, maybe sony would indeed be better. I own and am very satisfied with a Canon GL-2.

 

I prefer Canon, so that's my vote. I also own a ZR10 like JediDrew but I've used a few Sonys and can't really complain about them either.

 

I like sony! It has a great selection of camcorders. It has great minidv and digital 8. The camera I have now is a sony dcr-trv340. I used to have some canon camera, and didn't like it, but that shouldn't change your opinion about canon because my parents bought that, and that was back in like 1996 and it wasn't even digital! But I still didn't like the camera! Sony is always good!

 

SONY
SONY
SONY
SONY
SONY
SONY
SONY
SONY

ok there are 8 more votes for SONY...you know what to do.

P.S.
From what I have worked with Canons seem to give a softer image, almost more like film, where SONY seems to give a sharp image (which i like better).

 

I'll agree with Brent on the image softness bit.

Canon cameras generally lack the resolution of the Sonys, but the color depth/accuracy is a lot better in my opinion, and as he said, they have a more film-like look (Which is great if that's what you're going for.) The Canons are better looking, too . The resolution differences aren't very noticeable in video, but are clear in stills captured from it which might apply to you.

So take your pick, color or resolution .

 

I've only used a JVC DVM-70, so I can't put in my 2 cents on the Sony/Canon argument. I will say, though - that you definatlly want a MiniDV Camera, whatever you do. Don't go with anything else - you'll just regret it.

I'll also note that the Sony TRV-25 looked like a great deal for around $800, but I didn't resarch really hard.

One final note - really look into your decision before you buy, becuase depending on the camera, you'll probally be stuck with it for about 3-4 years. Make sure that that "One little problem" isn't one you'll kill yourself over for 3 years. I'm annoyed that on my camera the manual focous is burried under about 3 menus. I'll never buy another camera without a focus ring again.

 

I toss my vote in for Canon. I work exclusively with the GL-1, and in frame mode, it looks amazingly like film. But it's best used for slow or 'not-fast' action. Sony's are good, but my feeling is that the best camera you can get is anything that has 3 CCD chips. You get better color and image resolution than a single CCD chip.

The XL-1's are also a good camera, but then the price starts to get a little high.

 

I'll toss in my vote for Sony. I have the TRV-730 and I love it. The picture and sound are excellent (I'm no expert) and the camera has many useful features. It also works flawlessly with Premiere and the ADS Pyro Firewire card. My *only* complaint with Sony is the pricing. There are good deals out there, you just have to look for them (bhphotovideo.com)

Edit: fixed link

 

I used to be the ultimate Sony everything fan and got their TRV-520 Digital8 camcorder. But now that I've got my own GL1, I must say, Canon is the way to go.

 

Why do you guys keep suggesting $2000+ cameras to a guy who said he only has $700?

The Sony TRV25 would be your best option at $720.

The comparable (in price) Canon would be the ZR50 at $670.

The Sony has 690k effective pixels while the Canon only has 290k effective pixels. The Sony chip is one of their new HAD models that offers a great improvement in signal-to-noise ratio over other cameras. Quite a big difference in picture quality for an extra $50. The Sony also has a higher resolution flip out monitor at 123k pixels vs the Canon's 112k pixels.

Some other features that might not be important to you but are nice to have anyways:

1152x864 still picture resolution recorded onto a removable memory stick (I use this more than I ever thought I would, especially scouting locations and taking pictures of actors and sets for continuity reasons). The Canon offers 640x480 still picture resolution on a similar multimedia card.

The Sony can record MPEG video onto its memory stick for direct upload to he web or emailing, it also has interval recording, progressive shutter to simulate progressive scan mode, USB streaming to the web, infrared nightshot, and it uses the infolithium batteries that tell you how many minutes are left on them. The ZR50 doesn't have any of this.

And finally, a personal opinion. I find the color and picture quality of the Carl Zeiss lens offered on the Sony to be superior to that of the Canon lens. Canon's lenses only step up to the plate when you get up to the GL1 or XL1 cameras which use high-quality flourite lenses. I think the people voicing their opinions on the lack of color depth on the Sony's may not have seen the quality of the recent switch to Carl Zeiss lenses in combination with the new HAD chips, or they may be comparing the Sony to the higher quality GL1 or XL1.

Also, I second the opinion to not use Digital8. I've mentioned before that this is a temporary format designed to bridge the gap between Hi8 and MiniDV. It may not seem like a big deal, but you don't want to have compatibility problems down the line when all of your masters are on Digital8.




So count me in as a vote for Sony, hope this helps you to decide.

 

I recently bought a canon ZR-45 and I think the quality was very nice. Since that one is too expensive for my tastes (1000$), I will return it whitin the next 30 days. That is what I do, I always return. Maybe you can find a store near you with a good return policy and simply try the ones you want. Now, be carefull, don't buy them over the Internet and certainly don't buy it at JOE's photography shop. I bought mine at FuturShop because I'm not afraid they won't addere to their 30-day money back policies.

 

a_ht -

Thats $1000 Canadian right? You had me scared there for a sec. I thought they were charging you $1000US for a $570 camera...hehe.

 

Thanks for all the posts! I didn't expect more than one or two replys, so I'm very thankful! I weigh in all your opinions when I purchuse my camera (on monday hopefully). There seems to be quite a few more votes on canon, but ExFilms gave me the impression that Sony cameras has more to offer within my pricerange, so I'll probably buy the model he suggested...

Canon got the most votes, yet Sony was the winner
I live in Sweden, so my choices are rather limited. I hope the big (and only reliable) electronics store around where I live has what I'm looking for...


And for all of you Americans, I wish to express my deepest sympaties on this day, the 11th of September