Help with camcorder?!!

[mouse_chalk]

I've taken some videos with my compact camera the past couple of days, and they've just come out so fuzzy and blurry looking, you can barely tell that there's a bunny in the video!

So I'm looking at buying a camcorder, but it'll have to be a really cheap one. I can't afford much, going away next week etc....

Problem is, I don't really understand which type to buy? I want one that I can load the videos onto my laptop, but my friend was saying something about having to have a firewire port? I think I have one of those, but I need to double-check lol....

Can anyone help? What am I looking for?! Will a really cheap one just be rubbish too?

Sooo confused lol- and yet I know cameras pretty well! :?:?:?

 

[JadeIcing]

I cant help none of the ones I am looking at are cheap.

 

[Luv-bunniz]

The cheapest I have seen (from Makro pro stores):

Samsung
Flash Memory
Camcorder
VPMX20
34x optical/1200x digital zoom
2.7" LCD widescreen
Digital still function
Record to MMC and SDHC cards
2.5 hour battery life
Ref: 325859
£99.99
OPTIONAL EXTENDED WARRANTY (3 YEARS FROM PURCHASE) - £18.99

^ Loads straight up to You Tube aswell.

 

[mouse_chalk]

Oooh we have a Makro near us!! I might have to have a look...

I just found this on Amazon. Some of the reviews are quite good, but obviously it's a cheap model, so I'm wondering if it's going to be any good or not.... It doesn't have expandable memory though, which is a downside, but I guess it wont be often I'll be making more than 60mins worth of video lol!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0018RUCG6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[mouse_chalk]

Ok. I found this one, which seems a lot better. I need to find more online reviews of it though.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001B3HLXO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It seems very cheap for what it supposedly does! :shock::?

 

[Little Bay Poo]

Does your compact camera have a quality setting for movies? For almost a year I was recording video on the standard quality which had chunky pixels throughout. Then I discovered that it had a setting for "fine" which actually looks better than my friend's camcorder. My digital camera is a Sony by the way, and I have a Sony camcorder that I bought in 2001 that I was pleased with at the time. Haven't used it in many years since it's pretty big and the digital camera works better.

 

[pinksalamander]

I have a Camcorder, a Sony DVD92E and I HATE it! It uses mini-DVDs, and I have yet (I've had it for a year) worked out how to get the videos from the DVD to the computer in GOOD QUALITY.

I would, althought they are more expensive, get a hard drive camcorder if you can. They work the same as a digicam, so you plug them in, whereas mine I have to finalize the disc and rip it to my computer, but for some reason when I rip them they come out awful quality, and if I rip them with a higher setting they don't show up on my computer!

Thats all I've got to say! LOL. Although I've been using my Mum's camera, which isn't a very good camera (it has this weird slow delay flash thing which means when you taje a photo it takes like 10 seconds to take) but the video quality is amazing. I swear on the computer it looks like it could be telly. Its an Olympus C-70 zoom. I can upload a video taken on it for you to see. I was very impressed with it. I would use this camera for videos any day over my camcorder, even if my camcorder worked like it should.

http://uk.shopping.com/xPO-C_70

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[Little Bay Poo]

Fran, I agree with what you said about camcorders. Using those special programs to get camcorder video onto a computer always screws up the video quality. That's why my fairly cheap digital camera takes better video than my friend's Sony camcorder, which is pretty sad. With my digital camera I just drag the files like I would with any pictures, and they copy into the folder...it's so simple! I will never go back to a camcorder!

The camera I use for video is a Sony Cybershot DSC W50, which takes crappy pictures in my opinion, but great video. Granted, it does have some trouble with white balance on video mode (it also has this trouble with still pictures). I can't zoom while in video mode either, so I make my own zoom by moving myself around

The last 5 or so videos I uploaded onto youtube were taken in "fine" quality, but you'll probably have to click "watch in high quality" to get an idea of what that looks like...and even then I think youtube diminishes the quality.

Here's short clip from photobucket showing how the camera works on close ups...it only does autofocus here so it will go in and out of focus, but I think it's pretty good quality for a digital camera.

 

[pinksalamander]

Yup, my camcorder - I swear I'll never use it. I just don't think they are very good! Cameras are so amazing right now. The camera I'm talking about is 2 years old and the videos are amazing!

I'm just uploading one now...

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[pinksalamander]

Here is a video. Photobucket made it a bit crap actually, it could be better...



Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[mouse_chalk]

Oh, I see..... Now you guys are just trying to distract me with cute bunny videos! Well, it worked!!

See, I would consider buying a new camera that does video and using that instead, but I really don't need a new camera, with the DSLR that I have being so amazing, and having a compact for nights out etc that's pretty good as well. I might trade up soon, but if I do it'll be for a 'bridge camera' that likely wont do video anyway..... :? Unless it's the bunnies, I really don't use video all that often...

So, I really need just a video camera. I don't want something reeeeeallly amazing, it just has to produce fairly good quality videos, and be easy to connect to my computer and upload. By good, I show you the video standard I'm currently at:




You can just about make out that they're bunnies, but I mean, even the grass is fuzzy!! :X So I have no great expectations, only a camera that records the buns not so fuzzy and looks nicer than that

 

[Little Bay Poo]

Jen, that video looks good to me!

I pretty much know nothing about camcorders so the only advice I can offer would be to stay away from the ones that record onto tapes or DVDs...unless you have the patience and knowledge to convert those files onto your computer. The videos tend to lose quality during the conversion process unless you really know what you're doing and can get a good program. You also have to have the correct settings or else your video may convert with weird lines every time something moves (I forget what that's called) or the opposite which is fuzziness when things move.

So if you can find one that records the files into a readily compatible format that can be directly put onto your computer (in the same way a digital camera's pictures can be transferred) I'd look into that. Although I'm not sure if the quality suffers in those kinds of camcorders compared to ones that record onto a tape or dvd. I guess it's something you'd have to research and test out :?

 

[mouse_chalk]

Thanks LittleBayPoo!

I guess then what I'm looking for is a camcorder with some sort of expandable memory, like SD cards or something, or one with a hard disc. They're expensive, so memory card it is! I found.....

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1747879/art/toshiba/camileo-pro-hd-high-defin.html

Which says it's HD, takes SD cards and is fairly cheap, but I'm not sure.....

My camera takes fairly decent indoor movies, but for some reason as soon as I use it outside, and from a distance, the bunnies just go into fuzzy blobs :? Up close they're ok, but far away you can only just make them out lol :?