Video Recorder/Camcorder worth it? Or the 700D good enough?

[mach9]

I have my kids 1st birthday coming up next month & obviously need to get the event recorded .. suffice to say I didn't really feel the need for a video recorder up until now.

So the question popped.. given the entire debate on the usefulness/decline of the camcorders .. if it's a dead investment to make or would i be better off with the EOS 700D.. (which will give me great shots to boot too)

The known issues of DSLR AF in video mode aside.. I'm kinda struggling to understand which of the 2 is actually the better option to put money on. I'm not pinning for one over the other.. I just have a tight budget & I need to get the best "ROI" over the next 3years.. It's why I'm not interested in going over the top on a camcorder for the best in class features/model.

One way or the other i need to buy one of the 2.. the question is which one? Buying the camcorder is buying a one trick pony I guess.. gets your video & thats it. The DSLR on the other hand will give me decent? video but will snap great as well.

Whats your take guys? Is it worth going 40k on the 700D or can i get away on the cheap with a decent sub-15k camcorder? Experts please weigh in!

 

[mach9]

bump.. come on! are there no experts on cams here? where's the DSLR bunch gone?

For the love of tech... just opinions will do!

 

[onlyravi]

City??
I am a 700D user and just did a birthday shoot in dec for my neice with my 700D.
Its not at all worth buying a handycam thats what I can tell you for now...

 

[mach9]

City??
I am a 700D user and just did a birthday shoot in dec for my neice with my 700D.
Its not at all worth buying a handycam thats what I can tell you for now...

Finally.. someone answered! was beginning to think the DSLR crowd are feeling too much heat on forums lately. Lol.

I'm in Mumbai. Thing is I'm well aware the DSLR's cannot match the continuous AF offered by camcorders, but rather than go by pure online reviews by sites, what I'm looking for is if someone who's used a DSLR to capture video - to tell me how usable it is for day to day stuff.. after all I'm obviously not looking to film a documentary with it.

If the video quality is usable (better than a smartphone) and not outright blurry in capturing typical party action.. I'm fine with it.

Could you share some video examples from your 700D if possible?

 

[onlyravi]

Finally.. someone answered! was beginning to think the DSLR crowd are feeling too much heat on forums lately. Lol.

Or it could be that you framed your question such that no one clearly understood what you have now and what you expect??? Could be right....

I'm in Mumbai. Thing is I'm well aware the DSLR's cannot match the continuous AF offered by camcorders, but rather than go by pure online reviews by sites, what I'm looking for is if someone who's used a DSLR to capture video - to tell me how usable it is for day to day stuff.. after all I'm obviously not looking to film a documentary with it.
If the video quality is usable (better than a smartphone) and not outright blurry in capturing typical party action.. I'm fine with it.

So reading your post again I presume that you dont own either a handycam or a DSLR. and thats what you want to decide...
In that case I would suggest you to go for a DSLR(or a camera) coz for obvious reasons that we shoot pictures more than videos in day to day usage...
For your kids birthday you can even borrow / Rent a handy cam for the function. The same you can do for DSLR also... This way you get to use it a couple of times and make your own decision.
Again the same for deciding between a Point and shoot and DSLR I would definitely suggest DSLR coz now they are affordable and fairly easy to use. and no doubts their Auto is better than the best of point and shoots can result.
The video quality of SLRs is very fine but again you will have to decide between videos or photos. Good idea is to have diff devices for shooting pics and videos.
Renting is the way to go before buying such stuff. Coz if you dont like what you bought the resale mkt is not a pleasant exp.

Could you share some video examples from your 700D if possible?

I have some videos but cant upload as they are huge. 1080p. You can easily search on youtube for videos from 700D or 1200D and you will find tons of it.

 

[mach9]

Or it could be that you framed your question such that no one clearly understood what you have now and what you expect??? Could be right....


So reading your post again I presume that you dont own either a handycam or a DSLR. and thats what you want to decide...
In that case I would suggest you to go for a DSLR(or a camera) coz for obvious reasons that we shoot pictures more than videos in day to day usage...
For your kids birthday you can even borrow / Rent a handy cam for the function. The same you can do for DSLR also... This way you get to use it a couple of times and make your own decision.
Again the same for deciding between a Point and shoot and DSLR I would definitely suggest DSLR coz now they are affordable and fairly easy to use. and no doubts their Auto is better than the best of point and shoots can result.
The video quality of SLRs is very fine but again you will have to decide between videos or photos. Good idea is to have diff devices for shooting pics and videos.
Renting is the way to go before buying such stuff. Coz if you dont like what you bought the resale mkt is not a pleasant exp.


I have some videos but cant upload as they are huge. 1080p. You can easily search on youtube for videos from 700D or 1200D and you will find tons of it.

Firstly, thanks for replying.

Thought i framed my question pretty clearly in the 3rd para on the 1st post itself.

Renting is not an option for me.. for one, there's not many places who are willing to rent, if they do, the upkeep of their equipment is more than suspect for me to base an opinion on it. Not many keep or offer camcorders on rent too. Besides, each of them come with a bunch of features that will take me time to get a hang of.. I cannot do that if i rent just before the occasion. I need to spend time with either & hence the purchase option only. Lastly, my point & shoot is due to be retired anyway..

I know youtube has a bunch of videos and they're too much to go through, besides there's no means of telling which had any post processing etc.. likewise I wanted to get feedback directly from owners who can interact & share their opinion directly. Else why'd I bother posting here?

Ideally i'd have bought 2 separate devices like you said unfortunately there are 2 issues with that.
1. Budget given the time frame.
2. My requirements are not heavily in either of the 2 camps.. although they are biased towards photographs for obvious reasons. Video's don't make up much of my specific needs & hence that is where the crux of the matter lies. Are DSLR video's liveable with enough to get it over a one trick specialist that is the camcorder.