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dig video cam

N

netcoord

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Messages
255
my girl friend wants a digital video camera for xmas. i know nothing about them. what should i look for in a good one?
 
I've seen many threads with this exact topic gradually slowly drop off of the first page here without a single reply. I just don't think there are many people frequenting this forum who are into it. I have no advice myself, but there are some good buying guides online. Check out this one from PC World. It's more of an introduction and a list of things to look for and understand about digital video cameras. More directly, there is this list on ZDNet of cameras, sorted by rating. You will need to scroll through a few pages to find the right price range, probably, but each item links to a full review (example) plus user comments. Good luck, and let us know if you find anything that sounds particularly good!
 
Also, this review site gives a lot of good info. http://www.camcorderinfo.com/d/Reviews&level_b=Camcorder.htm

Just don't be sucked in by all the "low light" negative remarks - low light = 15 lux, which is pretty damn dimn. My Canon ZR-40 has dismal low light ratings, but I have only been disappointed in its low light performance on one or two occasions in the 2 years I've owned it. In general, just like digital cameras, look for the largest sensor you can afford while looking at cameras. Most small cameras use a 1/6" sensor. They can get twice as big - ranging from that 1/6 to 1/4.5 to 1/4 to 1/3.5.

One user review on that site put it this way:

Low Light Shmo Light
Don't be take in by all this low light mumbo jumbo. I purchased the JVC GR-D33 because of good low light reviews on this site. However I was extremely dissapointed, the video was not sharp and it was very choppy. I think the 3D noise reduction on the JVC cameras is probably what makes video look blurry on the edges. It seemed like the JVC couldn't keep focus and couldn't process image fast enough to keep up with camera movements. According to reviews on this site the JVC GR-D33/72 performs slightly better than the GR-D93. I exchanged the camera for the Elura 60 which has the same optis as the 65/70. In my opinion the Elura far outperforms the JVC. The canon has sharper and smoother video than the JVC and the focus is much better, which I find to be much more important. In my opinion this low light talk is over exaggerrated. In my living room at night with the only light provided by my ceiling fan which has four 40 watt lights, the video from the Elura looked much better than the JVC video. I will never need to shoot in less light than that. A little advice to everyone, do not make your purchase based on the over-hyped low light ratings on this site. On the other hand I am very thankful to this site for giving us reviews, that no other site offers.
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Additionally, for me, any digicam I buy MUST have an external MIC jack. Not necessarily a hot-shoe, but some connection for an external MIC. Most small DV cams have motor noise that gets picked up on tape during quiet moments of taping. Some are worse than others (canon ZR series is notorious). But all have it. A powered external mic almost completely eliminates it - though mine now picks up the zoom motor on the zoom lense. It is, however, LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than using the internal Mic of the camera.

BB
 
that's good info about mic. whats good in the way of night recording, and pixels in ccd?
 
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