Tiggs

sorry, i know this topic has been done a bit but i've read the old post and im none the wiser... so, in very simple terms!, whats a good digital camcorder for £500-800ish for filming my kids before they turn into teenage idiots.

and how can i get the stuff stored onto a cd/dvd as that sounds the easiest way to store the stuff?

help...

Tiggs

Hunk

When you would like to edit your movies on the computer make sure you buy a DV-camera with DV-out AND DV-in.

Making your own DVD's is very, very easy but a bit expensive if you buy a new Apple G4 with superdrive. It writes standard DVD-roms and you can play 'm on every DVD-player. Briljant movie-editing and drag-and-drop DVD software included.

Tiggs

am i right that most camcorders can be modded to have dv in if they dont come with it??

also, assuming i want a cheaper option for dvd's can i still do it with ease??

tiggs

DazV

Tiggs, some camcorders have the DV I/O facility disabled for reasons best left to the manufacturer. Its these camcorders than can be hacked with software and have the I/O re-enabled.

KF

If you go DV, you will need a DV camcorder with DV-In and DV-Out, a powerful PC, a firewire card with compatible software that also does bi-directional transfer, and editing package and a CD/DVD writer.
Unless you have most of those things, £800 isn't going to be enough.
For £800 I would buy the best DV camera I could afford, and then do the rest (editing and storage) when someone buys me more stuff for Christmas , or get the full solution to create analog tapes.
KF.
BTW : Not *all* DVD players will play CDR's or consumer recorded DVD's.

KF

The reason that the cameras have the input disabled is because they are then considered means of digital copying. There is then an additional "tax" placed on the camera by the copyright bods which disproportionately increases the cost of the camera. Thus the manufacturers sidestep this by not making it officially available on cheap gear.
KF.

Tiggs

ok, so i get a £800 camcorder, then get the rest later- does my pc have to be anything flash??

also i need a new dvd player so i guess just get one that will play my home made dvds?

Tiggs

Nimbus

Tiggs,

I asked this questions a few months back. Here's my post and some useful replies...

http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...threadid=18581

edit to get the URL to work



[Edited by Nimbus - 11/6/2001 2:49:31 PM]

KF

PC-
If you are getting a new one, the Processor will be fine. Normally >600Mhz is recommended.
Spend the money on the HardDrive and memory (although RAM is dirt cheap now). You may like to consider getting a built in Firewire and SCSI card, as that way you are openning up the opportunities for expansion and serious kit that SCSI allows (but opening the flood gates on cost ).
Consumer DVD writers is something I know little about. There is a war with all the competing formats and I wouldn't feel happy commenting on their compatibility / competitive advantages.
Most new DVD players read CDR's, so printing and reading videoCD's should be fine.
Have fun
KF.

Tiggs

sounds good, my current pc is 800mhz so i guess i just need to consider more hard disk space.

nimbus, what camera did you end up with?

Tiggs

Nimbus

Tiggs,

Got at Sony TRV230. It's Digital 8 (records digitally onto Hi8 tapes) as I've got some Hi8 stuff I wanted to be able to edit onto disk, other wise would have probably gone for DV, but they were more expensve..

Very pleased with it and saved £180 buying from Empirer Direct on the net.

Tiggs

did u ever find a forum or similar for camcorders- there seems to be a hugeeeee choice of cameras with £'000's difference for what looks like no difference in spec (to the untrained eye )

tigs

Nimbus

Tiggs,

Try www.computervideo.net for a DV BBS. Usually find some good info there on whatever you need.

alistair

Get the best DV camera you can and worry about the rest later. I plan to keep all the original DV tapes anyway then I can always edit them onto whatever format I want in future with no loss of quality. That works out at about £5/hour.

The variables are really features, size & cost. I wanted something small because I knew if I got a big camera I'd never take it anywhere. I bought a Sony PC9 and it really is the dogs - palm sized and the picture quality is awesome.

www.askelectronics.co.uk were the cheapest when I bought it.

Mkhan

I also have just bought the same camera as you the Sony TRV230...great camera, they are on special offer right now as D8 is old hack (so they say). I then went and bought DV Studio which comes with a three port firewire card 2 x external and 1 x internal connection for £49 also on special offer from £99

They work together Gggreat I can control the camera from my pc, cut bits out, add effects, voice and music...... the only thing you really need is at least a 20Gig HD and a s**t load of ram.

I spent £450 on the camera, £50.00 on software, £79.00 on an in car charger for it and £89.00 on a in car camera mount thingy.... it's great.... done my first load of editing the other day and I am well pleased with it...

I know there are smaller and better camera's out there but this one is cool for me... after all I not David Bailey

Tiggs

sorted! im going for the sony pc6, alastair- i think this is one down from yours? it seems the main difference is no dv in but i assume i can mod this when ready to do pc editing? as its £793 as opposed to the £980 for the pc9 it would seem cheaper to mod the pc6

Tiggs

anyone think the pc6 is a bad idea speak now!

Nimbus

Tiggs,

Check www.lynxdv.co.uk for the list of camcorders that can be DVin enabled... Their s/w costs about £40 and you can enable/disable your camcorder as many times as you need (for servicing etc).

Tiggs

nimbus,

ive just spoken with them, they reckon anything with sony on is agood idea

they also suggested i use the pc to edit my video but store it back onto the DV tapes. as i'd only want to watch the tapes on a TV this seemed like a good idea.

Tiggs
ps- there seems to be no info. on the web on this- where are product reviews etc??? loads of places selling but the only usefull info on what to buy came from a bunch of car nuts