Recommendation for Video Camcorder?

Evelin Turlich: I would probably get a "3CCD" camera that records to minidv. I don't like Hard drives because you eventually have to put them on a DVD, and I don't like DVD cameras because it degrades the quality. A lot of pros go miniDV, it's been around a while and now you have HDV (which is miniDV, but HD). I myself have been interested in the Canon HV30, which is a HDV camera that has had some pretty good reviews. Although it isn't a 3CCD camera, it has the CMOS sensor which is becoming pretty popular these days. You can probably find it for somewhere in between $600 and $700....Show more

Brenton Cornwall: The price range you cite is "entry level". Anything below are in the "toy category. As such, the camcorder lenses are small - as are the imaging chips. Next step up is closer to to the $900 range. Lenses are slightly larger as are the imaging chips.Camcorders using different media store different digital video file formats. The common media available toda! y used by consumer camcorders are MiniDV tape, hard disc drive (HDD), flash memory and DVD.Digital video compression = discarded video data = reduced video quality.DVD based camcorders immediately drop from the short list because they compress the digital video stream the most of the available storage media resulting in poor video quality. Their video can be challenging to transfer to a computer.HDD and Flash memory (like the FS100 uses) use the same digital video files types - hence similar video compression and quality can result. I stopped recommending HDD camcorders when I learned of their known problems with loud audio (and the resulting vibration) and high altitude. In both cases, HDD camcorders' hard drive heads can park and not capture any video. Loud audio could be a loud crowd or marching band - or amplified music or heavy machinery or other loud engines, among other sources. High altitude is considered anything over about 9,800 feet (not enough air pressure). Ne! ither flash memory nor miniDV tape suffer from these issues. A! s well, HDD based camcorders could have issues with file recovery if the camcorder is damaged before the files are transferred to a computer. Data recovery services like DriveSavers REALLY want people to get HDD cameras. With flash memory or miniDV tape, remove the media and put it in another camcorder.Flash memory is still a bit on the expensive side, but a decent way to go if you are OK with the high compression. In the case of HDD and flash memory, after taking the video and connecting the camcorder to your computer, the normal flow would be to copy the files to the computer's hard drive... then do it again to another hard drive. Delete the files from the memory card and be prepared for the next video capture activity. The second copy if a backup in case of computer failure. You *should* also copy these raw files to some sort of long-term archive (and while the easiest is to make use of DVD blank data discs, DVDs are not generally considered an appropriate long-term arch! ive media.MiniDV tape stores the least compressed DV (and HDV) digital video. If you don't re-use the tapes, they can be considered a stable long term archive media. Transfer of DV or HDV is over Firewire (also known as IEEE1394, i.LINK, and in this context, DV).The FS100 is an OK, entry level, flash memory, standard definition camcorder as are the FS10 and FS11. The video from all camcorders, regardless of manufacturer, will be about the same in the same price range. If you need to stay in the FS100 price range, then the easiest thing to do would be to identify the other camcorders in the same price range and promote or discount each one as you whittle down the list. If you decide to move up to the next range, then the Canon HV30 and Sony HDR-HC9 would get my vote....Show more