Which Camcoder ? Help me select one !

A

Anish

Skilled
Well guys I need a camcoder urgently (by 20th August), so I need your help ASAP in picking the right one. Here are some specs required :

USES:
Apart from everyday recording of birthdays and all, basic requirement is recording of professional table-tennis matches. That means the camera should repond quickly to fast ball movements, which are indeed very quick. It will be mounted on a tripod though.

Then, the videos must be 100% compatible with the PC ensuring high-quality viewing on the PC. If Firewire is present, the better !

SOME CAMERAS
I am a complete Sony freak and have a Sony DSC-W1, but this time, Sony's Handycams arent looking that convincing.

I primarily want a Mini-DV camera, and JVC is looking awesome.

Some models I have checked are :

Sony DCR-HC42E
Sony DCR-DVD602/E

The Everio series from JVC is stunning, it recordes on a internal HDD than a disc or a tape !

JVC Everio GZ-MG20

Though I am scared about the price ! I'll set the tab at about 30k not above that, please help me out in picking the right one !
 
I use a panasonic gs400 at my office, but i think it costs >60K. Awesome camera though. 12x optical zoom, and 4 MP stills.
 
Well I was looking at the HC42E, seems to be a good deal, how much did you buy the DVD 802E for Nikhil ? I think the DVD602E also looks pretty good !

BTW, anybody here has info on JVC camcorders ???
 
^^ Argus, is the HC42E fully compatible with a PC ? I mean I want one-touch transfers of videos to the comp, and then further editing without quality loss...
 
Anish, check this site:
camcorderinfo.com...they have very detailed reviews for most handycams....
I have a Panasonic GS15 (loder brother of Panasonic GS35) and a Sony HC32.....
They are both comparably priced (The Panasonic is slightly cheaper)
The chief difference is this:
- Panasonic has a plethora of manual features...You can twek with every setting to getthe best possible videos....If you are comfortable with the idea of adjusting the aperture/f/exposure/White Balance....Go for this without a second thought....It does have an auto mode too if in case you do not feel like tweaking the settings each time you shoot....

- Sony HC32 does not allow you many manual options...on the other hand, its auto mode implementation is the best I have seen on any handycam.....So the Sony will give you the convenience of just Point and shoot......Under Auto mode it will give you the best possible results.....However, remember that under the auto mode, you won't get the most optimized videos.....

Thus if you were to do a point-and-shoot shootout b/w the two cams, the Sony would win hands down....However, If you wanted the best possible videos under an given set of circumstanmces, the Panny would give you better results,,,,,

In the end, all I'd say is that I bought the Panasonic for my own use.....However, I needed to gift my dad a handycam and so i bought the Sony for him......
 
As for your query on transfer from a handycam to a PC, you can use Microsoft Movie Maker2 (Comes preloaded on XP SP2) for one touch (almost) transfers from any Mini DV camera (any make)
For a more detailed tutorial, I had posted a detailed tutorial on this long time back...serach for miniDV in the tutorials section and you will find it....
 
Ok, thanks for the awesome reply Superczar ! I am settled on the HC42E, I guess but before I buy I wanted to check JVC out as well. Will check and post back...
 
Done get settled anything less than 3CCD.

3CCD is must in handycam.

i am using panasonic GV400 its expensive but nice quality.

there are some cheaper models like GS125 something
i dont remember exactly but you can get pricelist from JJ Mehata.

Panasonic Video Camera
Market Price*
Panasonic GS25 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 1pc MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag 17995
New Low Price
Panasonic GS35 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 1pc MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag 19995
New Low Price
Panasonic GS25 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 64MB SD Card , 3pcs MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag
Note : 64MB MMC Card will take approx 300photos 18500
Special Price
Panasonic GS35 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 64MB SD Card , 3pc MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag
Note : 64MB MMC Card will take approx 300photos 20500
Special Price
Panasonic 3CCD Video Cameras

Panasonic GS75 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 1pc MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag 26995
New Low Price

Panasonic GS75 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 64MB MMC Card , 3pcs MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag 27500
Special Price

Panasonic GS150 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 1pc MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag 34500

Panasonic GS150 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 128MB SD Card , 3pcs MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag 35500

Panasonic GS250 MiniDV Video Camera
plus 1pc MiniDV Cassette + Handycam Bag 42500

hope this helps........
avi
 
HC42E is almost the same as a HC32....However, it has a higher CCD resolution....On the low side, it has a lower (Think 12X) optical zoom than the HC32 which has 20X.....Just disregard the digital zoom aspect as it is just a marketing gimmick,,,,,,

Frankly, higher CCD resolution won't help you much unless you have a HDTV....Regular TVs support even lower than the 690K resolution on the HC32....The HC42 1M CCD will not give you any incremental benefit (except stills for which it is anyway not advisable to use handycams) over the 690K of a HC32....hoever, the additional optical zoom would defenitely be a big incremental benefit....this is the reason why I chose the HC32 over the HC42....
 
Well stills arent a consideration (already got a 5.1MP Sony W1 ;)) so its just video quality that matters. Also I will mostly be using the videos to analyze table-tennis matches on my comp, edit and burn them to DVD's. What about the JVC DR-GF550 ? Nobody posted about that...

@Avi- Thanks a ton for the info mate, will look into it. 3CCD isnt in my reach and something about Panasonic puts me off.

I am just looking for a compact MiniDV cam with good image quality, I will check the prices of Sony's DVD range as well, I will most probably be buying from Alfa (in Mumbai) or maybe Dubai (if my uncle is going)...
 
what is your budget ?

You can get panasonic one in just 17K+ which can give you MiniDV.
and i am using it so dont worry about quality.

i will search some info about jvc one.
 
Well budget is upto 25k maybe stretchable to 30k, I know I can easily get MiniDV but I am going to check Sony's DVD range prices as well. Can't get through to Alfa in Mumbai, damn, phones are down !!!
 
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