Camcorder Advice

**OTEP** · February 25th, 2009 01:58 PM

Hi guys, I currently have a Sony camcorder which uses a MicroMV cassette. It works well enough but now I'm a bit frustrated since I cannot find MicroMV's for it anymore. Phase out na ba ang ganitong format? Even the Sony outlets cannot help me.

So now I'm in the market for a low budget camcorder whose format will hopefully not go Betamax within the next 3 years or so.

Any advice you can give me? I'd appreciate a compact model which I can use as a dashboard mounted camera also (like in those police chase shows).

What is the preferred format now? Buti pa ang Video8 buhay na buhay pa din.

Are there cams that record sa memory card?

I'm really a newbie sa ganito. Sorry.

**Horsepower** · February 25th, 2009 02:29 PM

Hi Doc, you might wanna look into those Sony HDD-equipped cameras. Videos are already in digital format so everything will be easier for you (no more syncing with the firewire).

The preferred format now is High Definition (aka High Resolution) cameras. 720p is more than enough but you'd usually find 1080p.

from the Sony brochure I have:
for the HD 1080p | Harddisk Media | prices start at around 52K
for the non-HD | Harddisk Media | prices start at 29K.

I don't think the Harddisk format will be replaced anytime soon.

**ab_initio** · February 25th, 2009 02:51 PM

i dunno if this addresses your query, i hope it does. here's the ebay link:

http://electronics.shop.ebay.com/ite...286.m104.l1199

**testament11** · February 25th, 2009 03:14 PM

sir, i recommend dual type, like my camcorder. dvd camcorder, at the same time, it has memory pro stick slot. madami dyan sa market sir

**woohoo** · February 25th, 2009 03:42 PM

I'm afraid to use camcorders na DVD ang bala. It's too easy to ruin a disc as opposed to using tapes.

Kaya I chose a Mini-DV camcorder, which was still the norm 3 years ago... HDD-based? No thanks. Camcorders are hand-carried while being used a lot of times, at kalaban ng mga HDD ang motion... Kung SSD sana yan...

Just sharing my thoughts. No offense to HP and Testy.

**testament11** · February 25th, 2009 03:51 PM

ok lang yun woo, ikaw pa...

**Horsepower** · February 25th, 2009 05:03 PM

wh, none taken. hehe

HDD based camcorders have motion sensors to guard the harddisk. I witnessed a JVC HDD camcorder before (natabig ng bata sa la mesa), about 1m high. after two years, it's still working. hehe.

Madali lang naman palitan ng SSD kung kailangan talaga. All it takes is money. The thing with HDD is that it's a proven technology too mature that it's too cheap nowadays. They added protection by surrounding it with cushion material.

There's the Panasonic Leica that uses SD cards. Choose one that's SDHC compatible, it's currently at 32GB max. cards. Hi-Def, Non-Hi-Def.

**ess** · February 25th, 2009 05:27 PM

As for DVD Camcorders --
They're pretty much okay. I remember dropping one dvd on the floor tapos nasipa ng guest... so I had to chase it. Puro gasgas. Washed it down and ... okay pa rin yung data sa loob. Another nice thing is once you finalize a disc, you're pretty much ready to play it on a standard DVD player (yun nga lang, you'll prolly want to edit the data on your PC first).

Now for my gripes:
Those DVDs only last for 25 frikkin minutes! If you're in your kid's party and taking a video, you're going to be swapping DVDs like machine gun clips in a gunfight.

Pero ...it's just a minor annoyance since you're not really going to shoot continuously anyway.

They're bulky compared to the HDD camcorders. (Nandoon yung umbok ng disc.)

**testament11** · February 25th, 2009 05:52 PM

ah, palit ng mabilis? there are some dual layer dvd's. also double sided dvd's. media is cheaper...

**Monseratto** · February 25th, 2009 07:36 PM

Uso na nga yung SD-HC memory or both HDD and SD-HC camcorders. Yung pinak-sulit ngayon yung mga gawa ng Canon. I was able to purchase the 1080P HG-20 60 GB HDD from Amazon during the holidays, cost less than P30k discounted w/ shipping. It records AVC format at 24 mb/s at 1920x1080. Alble to view it via PS3. Yung Sony would have been better had not it cost more and memory stick lang ng Sony ang pwede...

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-VIXIA-AV...REJBS4RK15FWTJ