Decent Digital Video Camera

[zippy]

I am looking for suggestions from those that know.

What brand and model of digital video camera produces quality video and audio for trials but with a cheap price.

Cuz well, I am a penny pinching miser.

Thanks

[copemech]

I should send you this thing I got for $50 at Radio Shack! It is REALLY cheap!

Many digital cameras will take some halfway decent MPEG's . I always liked the Fuji's. Memory is cheap now, so you can get a lot of video time on a 2gig card.

Matter of fact, you might want my old one, not a bad rig till I went to the SLR Nikon, never did any vids with it though.

[zippy]

Hey Cope,

What got me thinking was I was admiring the quality of cman's vids he posts here occasionally, I asked what he was using ( Sony HDR-HC7 mini DV) but my quick Google search came back with lowest price about $830 USD.

That radio shack thing may be worth looking into.

What is the model so I can do some research?

Yep SD cards are rather cheap now roughly $15 to $30 depending on all the usual factors. Location, brand, yada yada

Thanks for the reply,

Hey I could trade you some snow for the camera.

I got about 2 foot deep on my roof alone. Got lots more in the yard!!!

[sting32]

I am looking for suggestions from those that know.

What brand and model of digital video camera produces quality video and audio for trials but with a cheap price.

Cuz well, I am a penny pinching miser.

Thanks

Zippy, if in usa, I say goto this page, I really liked the way they review stuff.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

they review most cameras worth reviewing.

Personally any of the canon g2 through g9 are nice consumer type cameras that gave good quality pics, decent lenght vids (usually max length = mem card size the camera woudl handle) Now know the g1 came out in 00, g2 like 01, etc. they sometimes vaulted up in specs and stuff. neat thing is if you know to watch for g3's in pawnshops or ebay or craigslists... you can buy used cheap. I like the g3 even though they are long in tooth. if you want new get the new one. 2 years ago I was going to buy the g3, but bought the Kodak competitor which was available local and 20 bucks cheaper and my my parents had the printer and yada yada.... I really have been 50% dissapointed in the friggin KODAK, and Steve kinda concluded to this in several ways (if you compare carefully). My coworker bought the g3 and still likes it.

Im making assumptions though, I havent read about a reviewed a camera in 2 years. There was a critical "teter toter" on the price/performance scales back then, and cheap cameras were too friggin slow to take pictures of sporting events! At least not without knowing several tricks... because by the time autofocus and flash were calculated (older Kodaks likes to flash if you need it or not BTW) the shot would have been mised by about the count of 3, as in one, two, three count... personally I find it is better to know people as "friends" that bought the high dollar SLR cameras, buy thier old ones or invite them to see and shoot! there is no comparison to the 1000 dollar camera and my cheap $200 consumer POS, even with me on the shutter button.

there are cheaper cameras out there im sure that work better then my old one, that is the problem, tech changes soo dang fast, by the time you choose, there is a newer better one being leaked out... just like PC's and bikes.

[copemech]

Yes, Cman's stuff looks pretty good on screen for a small cam.

The other stuff will probably give lower resolution(smaller screen) , yet a decent lens helps a lot.

I would call the cheap RS pos a (cheap pos) not worth having unless you wanted it for CHEAP special effects! Kind of why I got it, as I do no other vids at this this time , only stills, it was just a cheap experiment on the whim! But it fits in my pocket! Just next to usesess junk!

Basically , you are going to get what you pay for, but if on the cheap?

I really do need to drag out the Fuji just to see what it will do, probably 320x480 at best at 30fps.

[outlaw dave]

Hey Zippy - I just bought a Panasonic SDR S7 - mini camcorder and am very pleased with it

I bought a 8 mg card with it and can take about an hour of video with the stock battery - Its very small

and fits in the top pocket of my riding jacket. I got it at The Future Shop in Vernon. BC Canada for $259.00

[bikespace]

If you're looking at SLR type thing, then you can ignore what I'm going to say. I'm no photographer. I was looking at an SLR recently, but in the mean time I bought a couple of Canon Ixus second hand off Ebay for around 50 quid each. Eventually I decided I didn't need the SLR for what I wanted - the Canon slips in a pocket while riding round, takes great photos and vid, and if I break it it's not the end of the world.

I'm a fan of the Canon Ixus now, got a 5Mp and and 8Mp and both decent. I've been surprised how good the photos were. Recently took a great photo where I didn't get time to zoom in, was a fair way off, but was that clear I cropped it to about quarter size afterwards and was still a good photo.

[zippy]

Thank ya'll for the replies. Looks like I got some research to do

[cman]

I did this video with a Canon Power Shot SX100IS. Its 8 mega pixels with a 10X zoom. I think it was around $200.00. I forgot my other camera so this is all I had. Not too bad considering we mounted it to a helmet. Also the wife shot most of it too as she does most of the video.

[dfwilson]

cman,

What video camera do you normally use?

Thanks

DFW

[cman]

cman,

What video camera do you normally use?

Thanks

DFW

DFW,

I normally use a Sony HDR-HC7 mini dv.

[dfwilson]

DFW,

I normally use a Sony HDR-HC7 mini dv.

cman,

The Sony looks like a nice camera.

We are thinking about buying a Canon HF100. It uses a SDHC flash card instead of tape. The only thing that it lacks is an eye-level viewfinder. Since it's purpose will be mostly to record trials that might be a problem.

Thanks

DFW

[cman]

cman,

The Sony looks like a nice camera.

We are thinking about buying a Canon HF100. It uses a SDHC flash card instead of tape. The only thing that it lacks is an eye-level viewfinder. Since it's purpose will be mostly to record trials that might be a problem.

Thanks

DFW

That looks like a great camera. The eye level viewfinder should not be a problem. I have never used mine. The flash card cameras are more convienent. The lcd screen tilts all directions and makes it easy to get different shots. Some times I use a Canon XL-HI professional camera and you pretty much have to use it with it pressed to your eye. Its a great camera but more difficult to shoot with unless your a pro. I need to use it more because the quality is outstanding. Good luck.

Cman