Camcorder

I was researching camcorders last autumn - needed a new one when the one we had packed in. We ended up with a standard definition Canon with a removeable memory card. Reasons for this are as follows:

SD vs HD - while high definition pictures are infinitely better quality, standard definition is far more user friendly. The files that HD produces are enormous, and you will need a seriously powerful computer (both in terms of processor power and storage memory) to be able to download the files and edit them without a problem. It seems that camera technology has moved fast, and the rest needs to catch up.

Memory card vs hard disc vs DVD - DVD format seems to be losing in popularity these days, and the cameras are bigger - constrained by the size of the DVDs themselves. Hard disc has more moving parts that a memory card camera, and as such, there are more things that can go wrong if you accidentally knock the thing, or worse still, drop it. Memory card camera is quicker to fire up than hard disc one, and so can make a difference in catching or missing that precious picture opportunity. Memory cards are easy to plug into the computer for downloading, either directly or via a card reader, but make sure that your card reader can cope with larger memory cards. Mine threw its arms up in horror when I tried to read an 8GB card with it.

Memory cards can be expensive, especially if you go for the really large ones of 32GB and upwards, especially as you need a card that has a reasonably fast read/write speed. In other words, don't go for the basic versions, but one of the better quality ones. 8 or 16 GB is likely to be big enough card size. An 8GB card takes around 1.5-2hrs of video at best quality, longer if you drop the picture quality (comparable to your full speed and half speed on your old tape camera). I would recommend always have at least two cards - one in the camera and one for a backup, in case your fill the first card, or something happens and it malfunctions.

Memory cards vary greatly in price, not only between makes and types, but also between suppliers. There are a lot of fakes around, and second hand cards that are being sold as brand new, and so you need to be careful with where you buy them from. Also, some makes are more reliable than others. I have used SanDisk in my stills camera for years and never had a failure in probably around 20,000 pictures taken, and so would recommend the make to anyone. I have no personal experience of other makes, so couldn't comment about them.

If you are likely to take your camera on holiday with you, and shoot an unknown quantity of video, you may want to consider a back-up device, unless you are in the habit of taking a laptop on holiday with you. I have a pocket size photo downloader/media player with more storage space than I am likely to need in a hurry to back up my stills and videos. That way I can download the contents either daily or when the card gets full, and reuse the memory cards - I can shoot however much I want, and not worry about running out of memory space even on a long holiday with more subject matter than you can shake a camera at.

When choosing the camera, many of the same considerations apply as when choosing binoculars. Compare the different makes and models, and pick on a make that has a qood quality lens for better quality images. Also, make sure that you have a chance to hold the camera before you commit to buy. The modern cameras are so light that if it is not comfortable in your hand, there is a high risk of camera shake. Don't let the zoom range fool you. You are extremely unlikely ever to film anything at 1800 magnification, especially as the digital zoom works by recording a smaller area of the screen, in other words, the quality of the picture goes down very quickly. A camera with 30-40 times optical zoom gives a good range, but you may find that a monopod is still useful to steady it at the telephoto end of the range.

I hope this helps you. Good camera hunting.

Trochilus, thank you very much for such a long and detailed response.

I did think of HD, but then decided that we couldn't afford/justify the extra expense so have pretty much decided on the removable memory.

I agree with your comments about SanDisk, have always been happy with their performance in my compact and DSLR camera so always pick them, I buy them from Amazon as they usually have some pretty good deals, I think the supermarkets really rip you off with their prices for storage and am a bit cautious about buying them on ebay, not sure if you are getting the genuine article, pictures are too precious to lose.

Another question:-

How easy is it to copy to a DVD, We don't have a DVD burner on the computer at present (but I know a man who can fit one), I assume that you can downlaod from the memory card to the computer then burn to DVD this way?

Do you know if there is any way th we could playback on the camcorder and record with our normal DVD recorder?

I'm sure the volumes of instruction that will no doubt accompany the camcorder will explain all this, this will allow us to free up the memory card, rather than storing it on them for ever.

We are looking to spend about £200/250, have seen some Panasonic & JVC, should then be able to add a couple of memory cards and carry case, will hopefully bring the whole lot in for about £300.

Thanks again for your information.

Copying onto a computer is very straightforward, as is burning the files onto a DVD from there, although I have not yet tried this. The main difference with digital media and tape-based video is that with a digital camcorder, each recording clip is stored as a separate file regardless of its length. I am not sure, but I think you would need to use the editing software that comes with the camera to stitch these files together before burning it onto the DVD.

Most video cameras can be connected to a DVD recorder (or directly to a TV) to view the video on the TV screen. Again, I have not yet tried to record from the camera directly onto a DVD, but I cannot see why not - it did work with the miniDV tapes from our old camera.

Thanks again Trochilus

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY A LOT MY HUSBAND WENT ON EBAY AND BOUGHT A REALLY SMALL ONE CHEAP AS WELL

Yippeeeee

Have got the new camcorder,.........it's tiny!!!........a Canon Legria FS200.

Cannot believe how small these things are now.

Step aside Simon King.

Have had my first chance to play with the new camcorder, some good footage of Teal on the local patch and a robin singing in the garden (pity I can't upload it to the forum to share it).

Just a pity we didn't have the camcorder when we visited the Farne Islands last summer.....................

....................Shame....................We'll just have to go back!!!

Great to hear you got your new camera. Such a good excuse to go back to bird hotspots. Just gets me to think that I should take a trip to Farne Islands some time soon. Too many places and too little time...

Have now got the new camcorder on a monopod, although the weather hasn't been the best to really try it out I can see this will be really useful to avoid camera shake especially when using the zoom.

Would recommend a monopod to anybody who uses a camcorder to film wildlife, bought mine at the RSPB shop at Titchwell (quick plug), and with the camcorder mounted it is still really light, the whole kit only weighs about 600g so no problem carrying it about all day.