Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

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jbk
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Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by jbk »

I'm a little sluggish on the technology thing, but on occasion I take video of events involving my kids (i.e. birthday parties, etc). I bought a Sony mini-DVD camcorder in 2006 and it still works well, but now I'm down to using it just a few times a year. Over the past couple of years I've joined the tablet and smartphone party and seem to be able to take video of similar (if not better) quality than the dedicated camcorder. Do I still need to keep the camcorder at the ready? Is there some advantage to a camcorder I'm missing? Is it better to have videos on DVDs than in the "ether"? Thanks in advance.
ieee488
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Re: Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by ieee488 »

I also have a mini DVD camcorder.
One thing I don't like about it is that you can only record 1 hour of video on a standard tape.
With the newer camcorder using flash technology, the amount of video is only limited by the storage size which is in the gigabytes.
You can still burn videos to a physical DVD if you want, but the newer camcorders make sharing videos on Youtube easier.
The smartphone video recording is good for impromptu recordings, but I would still want to have a regular camcorder with good optical zoom.
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Alex Frakt
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Re: Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by Alex Frakt »

I was recently interviewed by a professional videographer. I was surprised to see him set up a standard digital SLR camera on the tripod. He told me the video quality is at least as good from the camera as his dedicated video gear. He did say the audio wasn't up to pro quality, so he recorded that separately.
scouter
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Re: Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by scouter »

Digital SLR and other still cameras now take excellent HD video, but there are two major drawbacks that I've run into.

1. Some won't let you zoom in or out once you've started recording, and the ones that do have a jerky zoom and/or a noisy zoom. This is because smoothness and quietness of the zoom wasn't part of the design for a still camera, and the video capability is considered an "extra".

2. Many still cameras will set the focus when the shutter button is depressed halfway, and once you start recording video, the camera will not re-focus. So if your subject moves or you're panning, (or using your jerky/noisy zoom), your image will go out of focus and will not re-focus.

They do work well in the situation that Alex described. Subject is sitting still, camera on a tripod. No panning, no zooming, no movement of subject in relation to the camera.
chaz
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Re: Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by chaz »

I get great quality recording on my iPad.
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fatlittlepig
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Re: Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by fatlittlepig »

jbk wrote:I'm a little sluggish on the technology thing, but on occasion I take video of events involving my kids (i.e. birthday parties, etc). I bought a Sony mini-DVD camcorder in 2006 and it still works well, but now I'm down to using it just a few times a year. Over the past couple of years I've joined the tablet and smartphone party and seem to be able to take video of similar (if not better) quality than the dedicated camcorder. Do I still need to keep the camcorder at the ready? Is there some advantage to a camcorder I'm missing? Is it better to have videos on DVDs than in the "ether"? Thanks in advance.
no, use your iPhone 5. the videos are superb 1080p.
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mike143
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Re: Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by mike143 »

If you need optical zoom, then yes, either in the form of a camcorder or camera.
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jupiter_man
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Re: Do I Still Need A Camcorder?

Post by jupiter_man »

jbk wrote:I'm a little sluggish on the technology thing, but on occasion I take video of events involving my kids (i.e. birthday parties, etc). I bought a Sony mini-DVD camcorder in 2006 and it still works well, but now I'm down to using it just a few times a year. Over the past couple of years I've joined the tablet and smartphone party and seem to be able to take video of similar (if not better) quality than the dedicated camcorder. Do I still need to keep the camcorder at the ready? Is there some advantage to a camcorder I'm missing? Is it better to have videos on DVDs than in the "ether"? Thanks in advance.
If your kids do any activities that require a 30x Optical Zoom in low light (like school stage performances ? ) then a camcorder is the right equipment for these activities. iPhones, tablets or Smartphones are not great for capturing these from far, and in low light conditions its terrible.

If you want to upgrade, look for the new inexpensive HD Camcorders. I don't own one, but the Sony HDR CX260V seems a good model from the amazon reviews. If you can, please wait couple of months for the holidays and new models to show up and the 2012 models will be on sale.
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