Recomend A Camcorder

[ubiediting]

Hallow to Fellow Members of Forum,

My Sony DCR-HC 40E Handycam's LCD screen is blank when switched on and having telephoned Sony the advice was to re-set the camcorder which I have done several times but screen remains blank. Any suggestions I will be very grateful for, if no affordable solution is found to repair my 8 year old Handycam, I would like advice on which make of HD camcorder at around £200.,gives a decent performance which is all I can afford as a 85 year old trying to live on my state pension, and will be grateful for your opinions. Regards, ubiediting

[Jim_Hardin]

I don't have anything specific ~ but keep in mind that ubiediting is from the UK so most likely he is after PAL and not ntsc...

 

Keep in mind that only applies to SD output as all HD is created equal

 

One trick I use when camera or camcorder shopping is to take along a SD Card and a Memory Stick (Sony)... That way I can try them out with my cards on board and take the results home to look at and compare

 

I tend to stick to "Camera Makers"! Canon, Olympus, Nikon, etc. Electronics manufactures like Sony, Panasonic, Casio, etc. offer features but lack the experience of cine or photography...

 

MY experience with the electronics manufactures making cameras/camcorders is that the results never seem to measure up to the features offered

 

This is why I bring test shots back home to examine more closely

[sknis]

A lot depends on what you want to do with it and what you consider HD. Since you didn't give us that information, it is difficult to guess. Go to a big box store and hold a couple of camcorders just to see what they feel like with your intended use in mind.

 

One thing - I'm not quite as steady as I used to be so one thing to do is to pick a decent sized camcorder and not one of the candy bar types. I own two HD camcorders; one is a Canon HV-30 (higher price and older ); the second is a Sanyo XACTI. The xacti is shaped more like a pistol grip. I can hold that pretty steady with one or two hands. It does have limitations. Edit: It looks like Panasonic now makes that style of camcorder - Sanyo maybe doesn't make or market these camcorders.

 

My advice is to stay away from hard disc or DVD type camcorders.

 

Go to the experts for advice!

 

Top 10usually has some good information.

 

cnet.com

[ubiediting]

Hallo to both Sknis, and also thanks Jim Hardin for your helpful comments. As I have telephoned twice to Sony and sent 2 emails over a week now without getting anywhere with a repair to the LCD of my Handycam, I made the winning bid on a new Sanyo Xacti-VPC-CG21 on ebay of £62., which I hope to use whilst awaiting either a repair to my Handycam, or the purchase of a better camcorder. I have no experience with HD so any tips will be appreciated. Regards to you both, ubiediting

[Jim_Hardin]

Well it looks like a little 'Hold 'n Hope' camcorder ~ you Hold it and Hope everything will come out good

 

 

I have had a couple like that so brace yourself when you shoot and plan on using the Stabilize feature of VideoWave!

 

IF you have a BD Burner get a disc or 2 of BD-RE so you can test it out as you are learning to use it If you don't have a BD Burner but have a BD Player, figure on using some DVD RW's as AVCHD Projects to see what it can do!

 

Don't be too suprised to see an AuthorScript error with HD... it happens

[ubiediting]

Hallo sknis,

Much obliged to you for the helpful information. I would like you to know that my interest is to video Family occassions, edit and transfer to DVD as well for others of my Family. If I cannot get the LCD on my Sony put right, the Sanyo XACTI sounds very interesting, they have several models with different features and I am wondering which one you use.I do not need special feature's such as underwater etc.,Regards,ubiediting.

[sknis]

When I looked yesterday, I could not find a dealer ANYWHERE for the Xacti (new) . Look for the offerings from Panasonic Toshiba, or Aiptek that have the same shape. Again, go some place where you can actually hold one. Some people don't like the shape; I don't like the candybar shape or the very small (palm sized) traditional shaped camcorders. I keep this one in the car for those unexpected moments. It does fit in my pants or shorts so I can walk around with it. No one has asked if I was happy to see them (old joke).

 

Note that most of these camcorders all have a 5X optical zoom. Don't ever consider electronic zoom. I saw on with a 10X optical but it was more expensive.

 

My Xacti is several years old and the max resolution is 1080 by 720. The newer ones will do regular HD but you would need to make blu-ray or ACVCHD discs (and play them on a blu-ray player) to make use of the HD quality. The model number is not on the camcorder so I'd have to find the manual for it -- not an easy job.

 

Both my camcorders are several years old so I haven't kept up with the new technology. Let's see what others recommend.