Need advice on camcorders

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I have worked every weekend for years now, but often managed to make trades during the summer to get a Saturday or Sunday off once in a while so I could check out dd's tournament games. ?Recent changes in hospital contract now do not allow for trades, (bummer!!! ) so I'm gonna have to get a camcorder so the aunts can tape games for me.


I have never owned or operated such a device before (being the technophobe that I am) and am in dire need of basic (remedial, even) advice about styles/types/brands in simplest layman's terms. ?


This being an entry-level purchase, and going to be in the hands of several klutzes (apologies to my sisters and dd, but we must be honest about who we are ?;D), I guess I'm looking for something in a price range where I won't be completely crushed if something happens to it. ?


Does anyone have any recommendations? ?What should I look for, or maybe more importantly, stay away from? ?Thanks in advance.

 

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The Sony Handycam is a very easy, digital tape one to use. It can also take stills or video on a flash card that goes in. Small in size and have had it 3 years now.... Would recommend extra battery as it lasts about 2 games or so depending if you record each pitch and start/ stop or record the whole game....

Couple hundred bucks at Best Buy...

You can upload the flash stuff to your pc too...

 

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I like my Sony Handycam as well.

 

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Sony, Sony, Sony, the hard-drive if you can afford it, but the digital tape is OK.

 

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I have this one...

http://www.amazon.com/JVC-GZMG255-C...F8&s=photo&qid=1202241192&sr=1-15

...and couldn't be happier.

Lowest price seems to be here...

http://www.millenniumcamera.com/viewproduct.aspx?ID=3212653&l=Froogle

 

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I have the Canon ZR 200, mini DV. I love this thing! Easy to use, excellent clarity, connect to pc and send video to Grandma! Excellent!

 

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We just purchased the Panasonic 40 gig HDD camera. ?Over $400, but no messing with tapes or mini disks. ?Direct download to computer where you can edit and burn dvds (However, I have not done this yet.) ?Or you can just watch and delete (I have done this with my initial experiments). ?Also has scan disk for still pictures. Camera fits in the palm of your hand.

Overall verdict is still out -- but it is extremely easy to use.

 

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Thanks everyone. ?

Hopefully now I won't look like such a rube when I head out to Best Buy. ?

 

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Keep the reviews coming in! I'm getting ready to upgrade myself. Sony 8mm handycam too grainy then you have to transfer to DVD then download to computer. MAJOR PAIN!! Any reviews will help with my purchase. Thanks in advance!!!

 

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Keep the reviews coming in! I'm getting ready to upgrade myself. Sony 8mm handycam too grainy then you have to transfer to DVD then download to computer. MAJOR PAIN!! Any reviews will help with my purchase. Thanks in advance!!!

....and I will look a lot better in the future season's highlights..... ;D

 

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Keep the reviews coming in! I'm getting ready to upgrade myself. Sony 8mm handycam too grainy then you have to transfer to DVD then download to computer. MAJOR PAIN!! Any reviews will help with my purchase. Thanks in advance!!!

I've found that the best place to research anything I'm looking at buying is to go to Amazon and read the user reviews for the product I'm looking for. They don't always have the best price, but the user reviews are great. They will really tell you what they like and don't like about the product.

www.newegg.com is another online retailer that has an active user review community, but they don't have the selection you'll see on Amazon. They're strength is when you're looking for new computer components.

 

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Just bought the Sony hard drive. There is the tape,disk and now the hard drive. All have pros and cons. I myself liked the hard drive. Can burn DVD's very fast and easy. Paid 479 @ Best Buy.

 

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I have not owned a camcorder since my girls were small, but I have used quite a few to upload video to my computer to create skills videos. I am most comfortable with the MiniDV version as that is what I have used the most. However, once I would be used to the camera, I would probably also want the hard drive. You have the option of recording directly to DVD or on to the hard drive.

My video editing software tends to work better with the mini DV camcorders. I use Pinnacle Studio.

 

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If you are going to use it for downloading to a PC for skills review, the software people, like Right View Pro, say to go with the Mini DV tape models. The hard drive models use compressed files to store the images and the mini tape models don't.

 

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this is the BEST way.
Go to ecost.com and look for a hard drive camcorder re-manufactures 40-80gb should be well under 300 bucks.
No tape to lose, no dvd confusing stuff. It just plugs into you computer after you record an plays back in WMP or into your tv. they even come with easy to use software where you can burn to DVD.

www.ecost.com has tons of bargains
hope it helps

 

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Thanks to everyone for their wise counsel. ?

I finally ended up getting a JVC (35x optical/800x digital zoom) with 30GB hard drive. ?

Fun little toy!!! ?Don't know why I was so afraid to get one before?!? ?(As Uber has said in the past, I'm "leaping into the 20th century", lol.

Ha Ha, they saw me coming and even managed to get me to buy the tripod and camera bag. ? ;D?

So I'll be the big doofus messin' with the gear down the first base line. ? : ? Too bad I've only had one occasion to use it, so far. ? Dang rain. ?>

(btw---it almost killed me to pay $100 for a spare battery, oof!!! ? )