Author Topic: Used camcorder recommendations? (Read 2789 times)

Monkeyleg · « **on:** September 20, 2010, 01:13:34 PM »

I'm thinking about getting a relatively inexpensive used camcorder to make videos for my website. I'd also like the camcorder to have decent enough quality for home movies to show the south to my Yankee friends.

From the little I've read, it sounds like the MiniDV camcorders have better quality (or at least they did). Some camcorders apparently are more compatible with Mac's than others.

I just took a quick look on Ebay, and saw some Canon Elura 100 models for under $200.

Any suggestions?

Harold Tuttle · « **Reply #1 on:** September 20, 2010, 01:46:00 PM »

bought this one for my daughter

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/600651-REG/Sanyo_VPC_CG10BK_Dual_Camera_Xacti_720p.html

tape is extinct

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #2 on:** September 20, 2010, 02:05:26 PM »

Quote

tape is extinct

I noticed that the articles I'd read were from 2006 and 2007. I guess I should know better than to consider ancient technology.

Harold Tuttle · « **Reply #3 on:** September 20, 2010, 02:46:30 PM »

the problem with tape, is an hour of recording, takes an hour to spool off the mylar onto a harddrive.

BMacklem · « **Reply #4 on:** September 20, 2010, 03:52:42 PM »

I certainly hope you're not thinking about making "those" kind of movies now Dick.

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #5 on:** September 20, 2010, 06:58:41 PM »

Quote

I certainly hope you're not thinking about making "those" kind of movies now Dick.

I'm almost 60 years old. I can't even remember how to do that stuff.

sanglant · « **Reply #6 on:** September 20, 2010, 07:41:14 PM »

flip etc, cheap and better quality then you can afford to host.

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #7 on:** September 20, 2010, 10:28:10 PM »

Quote

flip etc, cheap and better quality then you can afford to host.

Sorry, I didn't understand that.

Harold Tuttle · « **Reply #8 on:** September 20, 2010, 11:33:38 PM »

gobs of data in equals lots of storage space to hold the files online

every viewing costs you bandwidth to deliver

i set my web videos up at ~500 KPS

what most people do is host the video on youtube and let google pay the frieght

sanglant · « **Reply #9 on:** September 21, 2010, 06:25:26 AM »

yeah that, here is flip's website. biglots had an older model for less than 50 bucks. of course it was 1 per store.

and 480i

sadly the cheapest flip i'm seeing right now is 109, don't need a new slr do you?

amazon's gold box said something about free shipping on them though.

and it would pay to check walmart, if you know where there clearance aisle is sometimes they have the older models marked down. sometimes they leave stuff like that at the main display. it's odd, almost like there's no one running the place.

here's a few to look at, i haven't tried any though. look bad enough in person no one wants to risk seeing me in video.

http://www.amazon.com/Veho-VCC003MUVI-Micro-DV-Camcorder/dp/B0029631VI/
http://www.amazon.com/Aiptek-HD-1-Definition-Camcorder-Storage/dp/B001GXR03A/
http://www.amazon.com/DXG-DXG-125VR-HD-Megapixel-All-Weather/dp/B002ISZE5S/
http://www.amazon.com/Coby-2-Inch-Camcorder-Camera-CAM5000/dp/B002DW97IE/
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-EZ2000-Wonder-Digital-Camcorder/dp/B003AVH0TK/

AJ Dual · « **Reply #10 on:** September 21, 2010, 08:06:27 AM »

Quote from: Monkeyleg on September 20, 2010, 10:28:10 PM

Sorry, I didn't understand that.

Even the cheap Flip cameras will record higher resolution than you can afford to host on a website. The video files without seriously shrinking the resolution and compression quality will be too large and cause you bandwidth overcharges etc.

The one thing is that as a professional photographer, you may be frustrated with the limited optics on most all of the affordable RAM and HDD camcorders that are out there. To "zoom" you walk closer to the subject etc.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #11 on:** September 21, 2010, 08:27:39 AM »

What about a digital camera that records HD video as well? My Nikon D5000 does that and you can change lenses, zoom, etc. It's kind of awkward to hold at times, but the quality is good to my eyes.

Chris

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #12 on:** September 21, 2010, 09:03:37 AM »

Thanks for the info. I don't want to spend any more than I have to right now, as my goal with putting videos on my site is to get traffic and increase search engine rankings. For example, putting out a video on shotgunning with an embedded link to my Mossberg page should help me rank for "Mossberg shotguns" if other people download the video and put it on their sites, which they're almost certain to do if the video is any good.

I'm thinking it might be safest to start cheap in case it doesn't work. I'd still like to have decent quality, though.

I'm still reading that the MiniDV format has the best quality. I saw Canon Elura 100's on Amazon for under $200. Are MiniDV tapes becoming unavailable?

Harold Tuttle · « **Reply #13 on:** September 21, 2010, 01:43:59 PM »

the tape is available
they are kinda pricey but an nice offline archive

I used to buy them by the case from Target distributing in Germantown MD
http://www.targetd.com/cgi-bin/onramp.exe?custnum=&pgm=search.bbx&itemdesc=&class=DVC&vendor=&Submit.x=42&Submit.y=7

the nice thing about hosting on youtube is, like facebook, youtube is a great aggregator of webizens

if you don't mind pink that sanyo xacti is only 119 bucks

it shoots impressive "HD" imagery, has a zoom lens and records to SD cards

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/601829-REG/Sanyo_VPC_CG10P_Dual_Camera_Xacti_720p.html

Marnoot · « **Reply #14 on:** September 21, 2010, 02:57:20 PM »

I can't vouch for that particular Sanyo, but I'm very happy with my Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1A (1080p/60fps). For the price, Sanyo's are hard to beat. Canon and other manufacturers are better in many areas, but you'll pay a lot more for that quality increase.

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #15 on:** September 21, 2010, 07:15:37 PM »

Well, despite the recommendations made, I went ahead and bought a Canon Elura 100. It's as new in box (owner says used once), and cost me $100, which seems to be a good price. The reviews for the camera were very good.

For $100 I figure I can sell it if it's not what I need and not lose much.

Now I'll have to head over to the University of Alabama-Huntsville to see how many young ladies would like to be in the movies.*

*I'M KIDDING!!!!!!!!!

sanglant · « **Reply #16 on:** September 21, 2010, 07:47:21 PM »

monkeyiality, i can see the news reports now.

Ben · « **Reply #17 on:** September 22, 2010, 11:39:59 AM »

Dick -- I'm sorry I didn't see this thread earlier. Is your purchase a done deal? Otherwise I have an Elura 100 in perfect condition you can have for free. I never use it anymore.

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #18 on:** September 22, 2010, 02:07:56 PM »

It's already en route, Ben. That's really generous of you. I'd hate to put the seller through the wringer, though, and I wouldn't feel right getting it from you for nothing.

If there's anything wrong with the one I just bought, I'll PM you about making an offer on yours.

News:

Author Topic: Used camcorder recommendations? (Read 2789 times)