Digital camcorder

[manuel]

I plan to buy a camcorder next year when I moved to Japan to take movies of my son and of Japan so I can show them to my family and friends in Germany.

Now I'm thinking and researching about what type of camera would be good. First I thought I'd like one with high definition video. But then I don't even have a HD TV-set. Also, I guess my videos probably won't win much from high definition, so I will buy a normal standard def camera.

But then there's the other question of the recording media. HDD, mini dv tapes, DVD-R or flash memory.
First I tended to flash memory, because of the camera's little weight. On the other hand I read that tape is good, because the recorded video is uncompressed (negative point: it's a linear recording medium). As I'd like to edit the videos a lot and burn them on DVDs later maybe tape is the best choice?

What do you guys think? What type of camera would you recommend to a beginner like me?
What cameras do you have?

[JC]

so I can show them to my family and friends in Germany.

And to us. -- I don't know anything about camcorders.

[manuel]

And to you guys of course.

I hope somebody knows something about cameras...

[kite200]

The benefit to tape is the no compression, but aside from that the pain is capturing the video onto your computer takes as long as the actual video file.

so basically, if you shot 1 hour worth of footage, it will take one hour to spit out an avi file on your computer.

flash memory is (nearly) instant

[manuel]

So it comes down to how much footage I will take, right?
The more I take the more time it will take to get on the PC.
But as I'm used to working with slow computers maybe I'm ok with waiting an hour to get a tape on the PC.

Very hard decision... I can't afford to buy another camcorder soon, so I'll have to stick with the one I buy for several years.

Oh, and I need one that can take good movies in dark places. I want to film a lot at night, because a lot of festivals in Japan are at night.

I now have my eyes on this camera from JVC:
http://www.jvc-victor.co.jp/dvmain/gr-d850/index.html
The specs say the minimum light it needs for taking movies is 12lux, where all other camcorders need 20lux. And it has a 35x optical zoom.

[kite200]

ships the first month of 2008??!?!?!


it's not even out but damn it looks nice

[manuel]

Well, it is out already. Many big online shops have it in stock already.

Until June there might even be a price drop. 

[manuel]

I have found my perfect camcorder! (through http://www.camcorderinfo.com/)
The Canon HV 20.

http://cweb.canon.jp/ivis/hv20/index.html
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=177&modelid=14869

It's a High-Def recorder, but it can also record in SD and uses MiniDV tapes, so it's the best I could hope for. It it said to take very good movies in low light.
Best thing: It's in a price range I can afford!  At the time it costs around 75000 Yen (about 670 US$) on the net. I think it will get maybe a 100$ cheaper until I buy it.
It's no beginner's model, but I look foward to it. I intend to use it a lot, so spending a bit more might be appropriate here.
BTW, a friend of mine works for Canon Japan. Maybe he can get me some savings on it.

[FamicomFreak]

That's a really good model! The price is also right!

[manuel]

Yeah, I SOOO want it now, but I'll have to wait until June. 

[kite200]

i think if he works for canon he might be able to get the employee discount

[manuel]

I hope for that. He works in the lens development department, which I think is very cool.

I'll have to mail him about that. I wonder how much employee discount employees get.

[FamicomFreak]

maybe 40 percent?

[manuel]

40% would be VERY nice. 
I will ask him before I move.

[manuel]

My friend at Canon told me they DO get a discount, but it's still cheaper to buy at big retail stores like Yodobashi Camera. 

A successor model to the HV20 has been announced. Maybe I'll get that, when the price is right.
I like the black color.



http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=177&modelid=16206