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View Full Version : Misc What does anyone know about Camcorders???



Smittie61984
10-17-2007, 04:04 PM
Okay. I've been looking around at video cameras because I like to shoot videos and put them on youtube. Now I use a digital camera that also takes video. But for a camcorder I need one that can transfer to my computer in some sort of internet friendly form.

I've seen the Harddrive cameras but they start at $600. And hte DVD cameras aren't well suited for my purpose. A lot of the times we'll be using the camera on the tanks of motorcycles and the vibration and G-forces would make it skip.

I've seen some that seem reasonably priced. They are called MiniDV cameras. Which I guess means Digital Video. I'm wondering if that is transferable to a computer. And I've seen others that are MiniDV with Scandisk card slots. Which a Scandisk card slot would be perfect. But I'm not sure if it takes the video.

Any help is appreciated

quickdodgeŽ
10-18-2007, 03:58 AM
Okay. I've been looking around at video cameras because I like to shoot videos and put them on youtube. Now I use a digital camera that also takes video. But for a camcorder I need one that can transfer to my computer in some sort of internet friendly form.

I've seen the Harddrive cameras but they start at $600. And hte DVD cameras aren't well suited for my purpose. A lot of the times we'll be using the camera on the tanks of motorcycles and the vibration and G-forces would make it skip.

I've seen some that seem reasonably priced. They are called MiniDV cameras. Which I guess means Digital Video. I'm wondering if that is transferable to a computer. And I've seen others that are MiniDV with Scandisk card slots. Which a Scandisk card slot would be perfect. But I'm not sure if it takes the video.

Any help is appreciated

Nowadays, all camcorder videos are transferable to computer via either a USB cable or a firewire. I use Firewire as it provides a faster, better quality download. You can get those for $20 most anywhere. If you know what a Hi-8 camcorder is, a MiniDV is the same thing(in a way) except that it uses a smaller version of the Hi-8 tape:

HI-8 TAPE:
http://www.storiedigitali.it/image-01/hi8-1.jpg

MiniDV tape:
http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/dv/images/minidv-tape-200.jpg

This means you can not only download the video to the computer through the cable, but you can also keep the video on the tape for a hard copy back up or whatever. The other thing you mentioned is memory cards. It's called SanDisk, not Scan Disk. It's an SD card. Some of the newer camcorders use these. Later, QD.

Smittie61984
10-18-2007, 12:42 PM
Appreciate it. I saw a Panasonic MiniDV cam with a SD card slot for $250 with 25% off (Used from a pawn shop). I was wanting to get it but didn't know if it was worth it or not.

I'm still trying to do some research before I buy it but what do you think of that deal?

quickdodgeŽ
10-18-2007, 01:46 PM
You should make sure that it works and that it comes with some sort of money back/return policy. Also, if you can, look for anything Sony. They are the only company that offers night vision on their camcorders. Later, QD.