Terzo 333

Pretty simple really, I'm after a camcorder for about £300 - £400, I have no idea about the latest technology, I just want something to film my newborn next year...

And advice appreciated

TopBanana

In true Scoobynet style, I'll ignore your parameters and recommend something way out of budget

Canon HV20 - yours for a whisker over £500 and high definition.

gazza-uk

what about this one banana?

Sony HDR-SR5E Hi Def 40gb HD Camcorder - £425.95 - HotUKDeals Forum

stringostar

i'm looking for one meself... want a hard discdrove one tho.... the DVD's are much kop IMHO, and the tapes are out dated... but cheap!

TopBanana

I did a fair bit of research, and it seems that the HV20 has some really ground-breaking features that make it possible to do some really creative stuff. The biggest one is 1080p/24 which make it look really film-like. Here's a film that someone put together using this mode (and a bit of post-processing!):
http://www.nightfallinteractive.com/sc/HV20/rain.wmv (warning 30MB!)

In my opinion, this camera is a bit 'special' so I don't mind paying out the little extra.

bob r

iTrader: (46)

I recently bought a new camcorder and ended up with a Sony mini dvd.
On reflection I should have gone for the hardrive model as when I have been attempting to record, the display often tells me the disc needs cleaning (when it doesnt) which has become a pain.
Overall I am still happy with it, as technology moves so quick and I compared it to a Canon (video 8) that I have (and was still [embarassingly] using up till 12 months ago) and the difference in size is amaizing.

Don't be ashamed to barter as I also got £20 off it through being a bit cheeky.

Brendan Hughes

I got a sony HD memory stick one. Gorgeous to use, as yet hell to edit as the software is barely on the market

Terzo 333

Thanks for the replies.

Excuse my ignorance but what is the difference between a "harddisc" one and a "dvd" one

Oh and my budget is still about £300 - £400

Cocker

iTrader: (3)

Bought myself this for xmas - cant wait to crack it open and have a go. Although please tell me where it is for £500. Cheapest i found was closer to £600 and buy the time i added on tapes and a bag it was around £640 i think

TopBanana

You really want to know!?

I bought mine from cameras2u.com. Camera + Lowepro Edit 100 bag + 5x Sony tapes - £12 voucher - Quidco came to £551.12.

SJ_Skyline

Cheers Top Banana - we've been looking into getting one. That site seems to have an issue with their servers so I'll have look for it later. How did you find Quidco?

TopBanana

Quidco's dead easy to use. Got back £215 this year from online shopping!

Cocker

iTrader: (3)

Doh - just checked my order, Camera + bag + 6 x 60min tapes + delivery = £614.10

That was from pixmania......oh well lucky im rich ha ha

Just checked pixmania again - the same deal is now £568 instead of £614. Reminds me of when i bought my HD TV 18 months ago. £775 off internet, £1000 in Comet etc. Now Comet are doing it for £599 so prob £400ish on the internet.............

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

A hard disk one is one that properly has something like 40 to 100 GB memory, and would properly plug either into your TV or Video player, where as the DVD one is that you record straight onto a DVD take it out of the camera and pop it into your DVD player, If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will put me right
Cheers
Colin

TopBanana

Always the way isn't it! If it makes you feel any better I've just found out that I definitely won't be receiving it in time for Christmas

With a code (Pixmas11) + Quidco you could get that price down to £534.

SJ_Skyline

Cheers TB

EddScott

We got a £200 Mini-DV recorder 2 years ago and its been perfect. Only thing I would say is that its angle isn't wide enough for certain shots if your in a small room.

Easily solved with a wide-angle lense attachment. Records onto the HD of our DVD recorder and I can edit it on to disc without issue.

gallois

wow, nice one TB, that really is amazing quality, and it is the camera i will get, i just had a bravia 46" 1080p/24, so will go nicely.

edit although the spec actually looks like 1080i/25p, still, very good camera.

TopBanana

In fact it does record 24p. My understanding is that it uses a special trick to get it recorded on to tape as 24p isn't a consumer standard. There is currently a bit of 'workflow' to get this converted into true 24p after you download it. I'd expect the software to catch up pretty quickly however.