Advice needed on buying a HDD camera

Greenblood · 26-05-2008, 16:49

We're having a baby in a couple of weeks so I'd like to get a half decent camera to mark the event. We can't really afford a HD camera so were considering some of the HDD ones as they look good for editing and making dvds on the computer.

We've currently got an old Samsung DV camera which is now quite old and not been used to years. We dug it out the other day and the quality now looks terrible, the picture is very grainy and a bit hazy. I'm hoping someone can reassure me that the new hdd ones will be better than this other wise it seems all a bit pointless.

We've been looking at the JVC range mianly the JVC GZ-MG333H but are open to ideas so any help wold be very gratefully recieved.

Cheers
Rich,

Orbitalzone · 26-05-2008, 22:49

As far as I can tell, an HDD camcorder that records in standard defintion won't be any better than a miniDV type camcorder... infact miniDV records in a much less compressed format than HDD camcorders I understand, although the difference between MPEG2 (as used by many HDD cams) vs DV-AVI (used on miniDV) is fairly negligable to the average eye.

However lens quality and other processing within the camcorder can make a difference so I'd hope a decent priced HDD would be as least as good as a good performing miniDV cam.

It sounds like your old one isn't performing that well, unless you're looking at low light indoor footage which is often grainy and poor with many miniDV (and other digital) cameras.

Check out http://www.simplydv.co.uk/index.php for reviews on various HDD camcorders and maybe ask in their forum.

xman · 27-05-2008, 13:04

Got a sony one about a year or two ago and its been great.

The thing to remember is that within reason its not the quality that's important when taking video of your kids. It's being able to grab the camcorder quickly and just start recording without having to worry about finding a blank bit of tape.

We leave ours on a shelf in the living room (away from inquisitive hands!) and have been able to capture some great moments when the kids just started doing something unexpected. With a tape/cd camcorder we would have missed so much by the time we found a blank bit of tape etc.

Its also great being able to play various clips back quickly using the touch screen menu system or remote. With tape this is very slow.

In terms of quality, the extra you get from DV is lost anyway later on if you transfer stuff onto DVD for easy replay. The bigest negative is that HDD camcorders tend to be quite small, and use smaller lenses and CCD's. This means that they don't perform as well indoors in dimly lit rooms. But there not that bad, just a bit grainy at times.

digimon900 · 29-05-2008, 18:09

I cant advocate tape enough.
If you have a tape camera you can remove the media for someone else to use the camera. HDD cameras are awkward in that if you lend or someone else uses it they then have access to your footage that you may not necessarily want to share, they might equally delete or damage your footage.
Then you have to have access to a working computer and the time to download the footage to free up HDD space...
Mini DV is wonderful format and tapes are cheap nowadays, there are a multitude of compact mini DV cameras around that take near broadcast quality footage in good light conditions.
One thing I would advise against is cameras that record direct to a DVD disc.
The discs contain very little space and the resolution and quality is generally very poor. Not all devices read them well and many editing programs find the footage problematic.

JBlink · 31-05-2008, 15:11

One comment regarding the OP's choice of JVC. That is one of the few I have found with a DV connection. Most HDD cameras only seem to have USB which is fine if you want to dub to a PC, but not for most DVD recorders. I have yet to invest in an HDD camera, but the issue of HDD vs tape is one of the reasons I want easy dubbing to my HDD/DVD recorder. However, the big plus of HDD over tape is the capacity of the HDD even at max quality.

I have also looked at HD HDD cameras. Great, but is there a sensible cost effective and quick way to dub to Blu-Ray yet?

digimon900 · 31-05-2008, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBlink

I have also looked at HD HDD cameras. Great, but is there a sensible cost effective and quick way to dub to Blu-Ray yet?

unfortunately Blu ray is stuck at 4x writing for now!

Quick it isnt!!!
All the drives are prohibitively expensive and geared towards PC users

pandamoanium · 02-06-2008, 17:01

I purchased a Canon Vixia HF100 Camcorder about a month ago after allot of research. There are two version of the camcorder, the HF10 which has a 60GB hard drive & HF100 which only has space for a SD card. I went for the HF100 and purchased a 16GB SD card. For such a small camcorder the HD recording on it is amazing. I'm using it for holidays, any events I go to and of course the birth of our child.

Here is one of the forums which has allot of information about the camcorder.
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=723673

Good luck with the new baby and hope you find a camcorder you will enjoy to use.

26-05-2008, 16:49	#1
Greenblood Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 28	Advice needed on buying a HDD camera We're having a baby in a couple of weeks so I'd like to get a half decent camera to mark the event. We can't really afford a HD camera so were considering some of the HDD ones as they look good for editing and making dvds on the computer. We've currently got an old Samsung DV camera which is now quite old and not been used to years. We dug it out the other day and the quality now looks terrible, the picture is very grainy and a bit hazy. I'm hoping someone can reassure me that the new hdd ones will be better than this other wise it seems all a bit pointless. We've been looking at the JVC range mianly the JVC GZ-MG333H but are open to ideas so any help wold be very gratefully recieved. Cheers Rich,

26-05-2008, 22:49	#2
Orbitalzone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Sussex Posts: 12,173	As far as I can tell, an HDD camcorder that records in standard defintion won't be any better than a miniDV type camcorder... infact miniDV records in a much less compressed format than HDD camcorders I understand, although the difference between MPEG2 (as used by many HDD cams) vs DV-AVI (used on miniDV) is fairly negligable to the average eye. However lens quality and other processing within the camcorder can make a difference so I'd hope a decent priced HDD would be as least as good as a good performing miniDV cam. It sounds like your old one isn't performing that well, unless you're looking at low light indoor footage which is often grainy and poor with many miniDV (and other digital) cameras. Check out http://www.simplydv.co.uk/index.php for reviews on various HDD camcorders and maybe ask in their forum.

27-05-2008, 13:04	#3
xman Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Kent Posts: 44	Got a sony one about a year or two ago and its been great. The thing to remember is that within reason its not the quality that's important when taking video of your kids. It's being able to grab the camcorder quickly and just start recording without having to worry about finding a blank bit of tape. We leave ours on a shelf in the living room (away from inquisitive hands!) and have been able to capture some great moments when the kids just started doing something unexpected. With a tape/cd camcorder we would have missed so much by the time we found a blank bit of tape etc. Its also great being able to play various clips back quickly using the touch screen menu system or remote. With tape this is very slow. In terms of quality, the extra you get from DV is lost anyway later on if you transfer stuff onto DVD for easy replay. The bigest negative is that HDD camcorders tend to be quite small, and use smaller lenses and CCD's. This means that they don't perform as well indoors in dimly lit rooms. But there not that bad, just a bit grainy at times.

29-05-2008, 18:09	#4
digimon900 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Pennsylvania USA Posts: 3,830	I cant advocate tape enough. If you have a tape camera you can remove the media for someone else to use the camera. HDD cameras are awkward in that if you lend or someone else uses it they then have access to your footage that you may not necessarily want to share, they might equally delete or damage your footage. Then you have to have access to a working computer and the time to download the footage to free up HDD space... Mini DV is wonderful format and tapes are cheap nowadays, there are a multitude of compact mini DV cameras around that take near broadcast quality footage in good light conditions. One thing I would advise against is cameras that record direct to a DVD disc. The discs contain very little space and the resolution and quality is generally very poor. Not all devices read them well and many editing programs find the footage problematic.

31-05-2008, 15:11	#5
JBlink Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 2,926	One comment regarding the OP's choice of JVC. That is one of the few I have found with a DV connection. Most HDD cameras only seem to have USB which is fine if you want to dub to a PC, but not for most DVD recorders. I have yet to invest in an HDD camera, but the issue of HDD vs tape is one of the reasons I want easy dubbing to my HDD/DVD recorder. However, the big plus of HDD over tape is the capacity of the HDD even at max quality. I have also looked at HD HDD cameras. Great, but is there a sensible cost effective and quick way to dub to Blu-Ray yet?

31-05-2008, 15:29	#6
digimon900 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Pennsylvania USA Posts: 3,830	Quote: Originally Posted by JBlink I have also looked at HD HDD cameras. Great, but is there a sensible cost effective and quick way to dub to Blu-Ray yet? unfortunately Blu ray is stuck at 4x writing for now! Quick it isnt!!! All the drives are prohibitively expensive and geared towards PC users

02-06-2008, 17:01	#7
pandamoanium Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 195	I purchased a Canon Vixia HF100 Camcorder about a month ago after allot of research. There are two version of the camcorder, the HF10 which has a 60GB hard drive & HF100 which only has space for a SD card. I went for the HF100 and purchased a 16GB SD card. For such a small camcorder the HD recording on it is amazing. I'm using it for holidays, any events I go to and of course the birth of our child. Here is one of the forums which has allot of information about the camcorder. http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=723673 Good luck with the new baby and hope you find a camcorder you will enjoy to use.

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Advice needed on buying a HDD camera