camera experts/ Your favorite digital dvd camera?
 

we would like to buy a digital dvd camera, and i am confused with all the offers. i was wondering if there are some opinions out there for certain brand/s that are good value, but high quality and easy to use?

options we should make sure to get?
best place online to buy it?

thanks in advance.

I just asked this question here yesterday and ended up buying the Sony P200 digital camera. My first one yeah!!

I just bought one last month and it is a complicated process. I decided on a much more sophisticated camera than I had originally thought I would buy. First you need to decide what features and size you are looking for. Go to this site. it is very helpful for the process because it sorts by size and then gives you rankings based on the camera's strengths (with links to reviews).

www.neocamera.com

Beware of the on-line prices that seem too good. there are a lot of scammers out there who sell photographic equipment.

If you see a price you are interested in, check out the seller's reliability at www.resellerratings.com

Whichever camera you buy, be sure to upgrade the memory card. I find that a 512 card will hold about 400 pictures at standard resolution with my 4 mp Canon. The Canon line also seems to go very easy on the batteries - a definite plus when travelling. Rechargable batteries are also a plus. AA alkalines tend to be quite expensive overseas.

What is a digital DVD camera? Is it something new? I'm always interested in new gadgets, but when I searched the web for digital DVD cameras it only came up with DVD camcorders.

i didn't know the exact name. a digital recorder of videos/dvd's.
sorry.

That terminology was very confusing to me also. The end sounds like you want a VIDEO camera with the newer DVD recording system (not a tape but a dvd disk), have seen them on QVC. In other words not a DIGITAL camera . You should get a lot of interesting ideas. Good luck. halfpint

Hi Linc,
I love my Canon Mini dv camcorder. I can usually buy the mini dv tapes cheap, and since I video edit on my computer, I burn the finished movie to DVD when I'm done. There are many opinion sites out there for recommendations, (CNET, Epinions.com); If I were to buy again, I would have heeded the advice on my model that it performed poorly in low light - Alot of footage from inside churches and at night has come out less than stellar.

Whitey

PS It's very easy to make a DVD from footage using a mini Dv tape(you needn't spend extra for a camcorder that burns right to DVD). It's also very easy to create your own movies with sound and captions etc. using the free Movie Maker program included with your Windows software. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to reply.

Whitey

Please also consider the fact that the laser in a DVD recorder consumes enough power to light a small city (well, a slight exaggeration...)

But the battery life will be poor, and the replacement cost high. If I were shopping, I'd get a high-quality digital tape recorder and plan on editing from tape to DVD at home.

While we are on the subject of battery life - it's a good idea to pick up a second battery for your camcorder because the original battery included will probably last only a few hours at a time between re-charges. You can usually find a generic replacement battery with a longer charge-life online at about half the cost of retail stores.

If it's a camcorder you're in the market for, I'd second the motion to just go for a mini dv cam ... skip the dvd-in camera option.

If it's a digital still camera, there are a few things to consider. I'd recommend a 4 or 5 megapixel. That's pretty standard today, and also very well priced. Definitely pick up extra memory. Look for a decent optical zoom (4x and up), pay no attention to digital zoom unless you have a tripod (and even still, the quality isn't *great*).

I've worked with several brands, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. I'd go for Canon myself, with Nikon, Olympus, and Panasonic right up there too.

Oh! Forgot to mention. Just my two cents, but I'd recommend visiting your local camera shop. Not only will they show you how to use it and let you try it out in the store, their prices are (in my experience) the same as you could get them at a big box store or online. With a camera, I wouldn't buy online unless you've seen it previously and know what you're getting. The other thing about the local camera shop is that anytime you have a question or a problem, you can drop in and ask them.

Good luck!

linc--no need to apologize. Mrs. Fly will be happy that it's not another new gadget for me to fantasize over.

I recently bought a Sony DCR-HC90 mini DV camcorder. It performs well in lowlight situations. I also looked at the direct-to-DVD models, but they seemed to have a lot of problems.

One thing that I really like is the Easy Mode button--Mrs. Fly can just press that and everything is automatic. She can tape with good results without having to come to me for help.

I bought online from a SONY-authorized dealer at a considerable savings ($250 less) over Circuit City and Best Buy prices.

I just bought my first camcorder, after much research. After a while, you become even more confused!

I ended up buying a JVC GZ-MG30u. This records directly to a hard drive and it's very easy to burn the video on to a dvd. In the not-so-distant future, all camcorders will be hard drive. I am very happy with the ease of use and the picture quality. I am not happy with my lack of skill, but hopefully that will improve!

Hi Barbara,

I haven't done much research on the hard drive camcorders, but I'm interested... How many hours of storage do you have on the hard drive and if you were on a two week vacation away from home, how could you efficiently save your footage to free up space for more?

Whitey

Hi Whitey,

First, bear in mind that I am not an expert! Also, the whole hard drive thing is new and these are the first, so I'm sure there will be improvements.

The hard drive on my camera is 30GB. What the literature says is 7hrs of "ultra fine" recording, 10.5hrs of "fine", 14hrs of "normal" and 37hrs of "economy". In my ignorance, I would expect "normal" to be the most used, as I'm certainly not using it for any commercial purpose. My ex, who does do professional video recording, is quite impressed by it. I don't know the answer to your second question.

thanks so much for the clarifications, and advice.

we already have a digital camera, but am looking, (as you realized) for a camcorder which i guess is called the dv.

anymore easy to use, good value ones to suggest?

thanks again in advance.

ttt