Video camera less than 20K

[fourtheboys96]

nakita ko sa website ng sony na meron sila video cam na less than 20K or something around that price range. ok kaya ito? affected ba ito nung problems ng sony cameras.

gusto kasi namin bumili ng video cam for general use lang. no need for hi-tech features etc. pero syempre dapat yung ndi naman masisira agad.

may ibang brands ba na competitive ang price with sony?

any advise or comments appreciated!

tnx!

[kimpOy]

baka naman video 8 pa yan ?

atleast get the miniDV

[Bogeyman]

The last time na pumunta kami sa Metrowalk mga last week, they were having an appliance sale there, mostly Sony products (flat TVs, components, even Walkman mp3 players). I don't know if it's still there.

I saw a MiniDV Sony Handycam, DCR-HC28, retailing for around 12k lang (mall price is 25k). Kaya lang medyo duda kami na smuggled yun kaya mura.

[fourtheboys96]

baka naman video 8 pa yan ?

atleast get the miniDV

yung iba video 8. for as low as 9K meron ka na.

yung miniDv from 17K to 25K meron din.


can't afford pa pag yung tipong DVD or HDD type na video cam.


ndi naman siguro smuggled ito kasi sony phils mismo nag post sa online catalogue nila.

[fourtheboys96]

buhayin ko lang itong thread na ito.

ano palagay niyo mas ok na bilihin: for home use lang yung camcorder.

1) sony DCR-HC38

2) canon ZR 830

3) panasonic PV-GS85

All are priced the same at 23K (canon with ipod shuffle 1 GB for additional 2K)

All miniDV

All with USB terminal (can this be used to transfer video to PC by playing the miniDv and capturing the vid to the PC)

Sony and canon with CCD lens

ano ba dapat dun sa mga specs and features ang dapat icompare? can you suggest at most 5 features to easily compare camcorders.

[Bogeyman]

I suggest comparing them based on the following:

1. Zoom capability
2. Battery life
3. Startup time
4. General ease of use
5. Price

Don't rely on USB alone for transferring videos to your computer. Sooooooobraaaaaaaaaaaaaang baaaaaaaagaaaaaaaaaaaal. Get a camcorder which uses the IEEE 1394 protocol (FireWire/i.Link).

[fourtheboys96]

those criteria /specs should be easy to compare.

paano malalaman yung specs nung USB? yung IEEE---- na sinasabi mo? ndi kaya sa mga high end models ito?

kung sobrang bagal yung standard USB ng camcorders, mas ok ba na yung walgn USB na lang ang kunin ko then bili ng card to transfer the video to the PC. what do you think?

[Bogeyman]

I haven't tried transferring video from a camcorder to a computer via memory cards, but I'm guessing that there might be a difference in video quality compared to a miniDV source.

It's either USB 1.1 or USB 2.0, although it's safe to say that practically all camcorders today use the USB 2.0 standard. However, mas mabilis pa rin ang IEEE 1394. Many computers intended for home or professional audio/video use have built-in FireWire ports (including all Apple, Sony laptop computers and most Dell and HP models currently produced). It is also widely available on retail motherboards for do-it-yourself PCs, alongside USB.

My mom has a Sony Handycam DCR-HC28. It's not really a high-end camcorder compared with today's models, pero it comes with both USB and IEEE 1394 interfaces as standard. We just had to buy the Sony i.Link cable separately (alternately, it might work with a generic 4-pin Firewire cable, mas makakamura ka pa). Of course, this is assuming that your computer has an IEEE 1394 port (4-pin for laptops, 6-pin for desktops). Kung desktop ang gagamitin mo, all you need is a 4-pin to 6-pin IEEE 1394 cable.

One other advantage of using the IEEE 1394 standard is, it allows you to remotely operate your camcorder's functions (play, rewind, fast forward) from your computer, habang nagta-transfer ka ng video.

[fourtheboys96]

ah ok. so i think i wont have any problem with the camcorder with regards to the speed of the USB.

my concern now is my old but still reliable compaq evo n410. pentium 3 lang kasi but with lots of USB ports.

thanks!

BTW, how is ur mom's sony video cam performing? my target camcorder is almost similar to hers.

[Bogeyman]

Ok naman ang performance niya, for home video use lang naman. My only real gripe is the operational time of the included battery; even my sister complains that's it's only good for one hour's worth of recording.

You can either buy a larger capacity battery separately, or implement energy-saving measures while you're using the camcorder i.e. plug in the camera sa outlet for indoor shooting, use the optical viewfinder instead of the LCD screen when composing your shots, etc.

[Jun aka Pekto]

I've never seen a MiniDV videocam that used usb to transfer videos. Every single one I've seen used USB for still image transfers. All used Firewire/iLink for video transfers.

If you're going to use a tape format other than MiniDV, don't go any lower than the Sony Hi-8 format. From plain eyeballing, it's virtually indistinguishable from MiniDV. It's also proprietary to Sony. Of course, you'll have to buy a Sony Hi-8 camcorder.

But, MiniDV is so common, why get anything else unless you have a preference for the more expensive DVD disc or hdd storage formats?

With your Pentium 3, you should be able to make VCD-quality discs or maybe SVCD for a max. Anything higher and you risk audio/video sync issues. But, you still want to use firewire to transfer the video from camcorder to pc. So, invest in a good pci firewire card (if you don't already have firewire).

[StraightSix]

ftb96, the models you listed all have Firewire ports.

[Bogeyman]

I've never seen a MiniDV videocam that used usb to transfer videos. Every single one I've seen used USB for still image transfers. All used Firewire/iLink for video transfers.

Exactly.

We loaned the DCR-HC28 on a trip to Baguio, so that meant a lot of video shots. Intending to edit those videos for an AVP, we connected the camcorder to our ASUS A3L laptop (with AVID Express) using the supplied USB cable, and waited. And waited. And waited. The transfer status window didn't even move an inch.

We bought a Sony 4-pin i.Link cable and tried using that to connect the camcorder and the laptop. Much, much better, considering that the laptop only had a Celeron M processor. The only bum side is that the Sony cable is a bit pricey (2k!!!), which is why I'm wondering if a generic 4-pin IEEE 1394 cable will do just as well.

[Cult Zero]

With your price range, you can get a decent minidv videocam. Sony and Panasonic are good brands. Just check out the malls especially during sale.

I've never seen a MiniDV videocam that used usb to transfer videos. Every single one I've seen used USB for still image transfers. All used Firewire/iLink for video transfers.

Our Panasonic MiniDV videocam uses USB to transfer videos and stills. We bought it last year, not sure of the model tho...

[Jun aka Pekto]

Exactly.

We loaned the DCR-HC28 on a trip to Baguio, so that meant a lot of video shots. Intending to edit those videos for an AVP, we connected the camcorder to our ASUS A3L laptop (with AVID Express) using the supplied USB cable, and waited. And waited. And waited. The transfer status window didn't even move an inch.

We bought a Sony 4-pin i.Link cable and tried using that to connect the camcorder and the laptop. Much, much better, considering that the laptop only had a Celeron M processor. The only bum side is that the Sony cable is a bit pricey (2k!!!), which is why I'm wondering if a generic 4-pin IEEE 1394 cable will do just as well.

A generic cable is fine. But to cover my bases, I have 4-pin to 4-pin, 4-pin to 6-pin, and 6-pin to 6-pin firewire cables. If I buy a Mac with FW800, then it's yet another cable I need to buy.

[Jun aka Pekto]

With your price range, you can get a decent minidv videocam. Sony and Panasonic are good brands. Just check out the malls especially during sale.



Our Panasonic MiniDV videocam uses USB to transfer videos and stills. We bought it last year, not sure of the model tho...

Then, that'd be the first one I've heard of. But if it's Panasonic, I'm not surprised. Panasonic does tend to include features in their products no other company would attempt. It was among the first to offer Divx, wma, SD card support, 3 ccd, etc.

I do know some DVD-based camcorders (Toshibas?) used usb2 for video transfers. But FW/iLink is still the most common method of video transfer for MiniDV camcorders.

[Asus700]

whats the usual recording time ba of a minidv.

if you want to record a seminar that is 4 hours, whats the ideal equipment to use?

[StraightSix]

JAP, my mom had a JVC miniDV when she came over for a visit a few months ago. It had a USB 2.0 port for data transfer. I didn't get to try it because the CCD lens failed when I tried to use it. JVC UK will not repair it for free (it's a defect) so she had to take it back stateside for its repair.

The price of UK repair was so much that we ended up buying her a low-end Sony miniDV with only an i.Link port for transfers. It sucks the camera didn't come with a firewire cable. Fortunately I have one from my old A/D-D/V video converter.

[Jun aka Pekto]

I was just looking at some instruction manuals for JVC MiniDV camcorders. Although the models have changed, JVC still uses usb for still image transfer and firewire/iLink for video and still image transfers.

http://resources.jvc.com/Resources/0...52-001B-EN.pdf

We're still using our old JVC DVL-510U which has still image capability and an SD card port. So, it has both a usb and 4-pin firewire port.

I haven't checked out yet the HDD or DVD models.

[StraightSix]

I was just looking at some instruction manuals for JVC MiniDV camcorders. Although the models have changed, JVC still uses usb for still image transfer and firewire/iLink for video and still image transfers.

Parang ayaw mo maniwala, ahehe. Sabagay, I've only seen it once. Maybe I just didn't notice that there was a Firewire port.

I called my mom to ask for the model number, but unfortunately she can't remember where she put it, and was in a hurry to go out. I'll give her a call again tomorrow ... just to have a chat, really. She's been complaining that my calls have been less frequent even though I signed up for unlimited calls to the US (bless her).

In the meantime, you can browse the manual for another model, like the GR-DZ7US miniDV. http://resources.jvc.com/Resources/0...T1314-001B.pdf
Though this model has both USB and Firewire ports, it says you can also transfer videos recorded on tape via the USB port

---

Asus700 - There are different MiniDV tapes. The most common I think is good for 60 minutes. The longest I've seen is 90 minutes. But if you record on LP (on lower resolution) you can extend the time by 50% more, which isn't worth it, IMO.