Digital Camcorder Recommendations?

**denisea** · 10-05-2004

Keith and I are considering purchasing a camcorder. Since we've never owned one, I thought perhaps some of you might be willing to offer up your expertise on the subject.

Here's our criteria:

Primary Use: Vacations and golf swing analysis.
Lighting Conditions: 80% outdoor/20% low light (indoors/night time)
Price: +/- $500 USD
Format: MiniDV

From what I've read, all of the new digital camcorders fall short when it comes to low light conditions. So this narrows the options down considerably. We also don't want a camcorder with lots of extra bells and whistles that we won't use... i.e. digital still photos is not an important feature for us because we have a Canon Powershot G1.

We're leaning toward the Sony DCR-TRV19. The price is right. It has one of the highest low light rating of all the digital camcorders. It doesn't have lots of extra bells and whistles that we don't need.

Questions:

Good/bad choice? Why?
What camcorder do you have? What are the pros/cons?
If you were going to purchase a new camcorder, which one would it be and why?

cuffedlinks · 10-05-2004

D~,

We've had a couple of that vintage...the 19, 20 and 22...

Worked flawlessly...The Canons have a tad bit more pass-through technology to the pc to digitize films, etc...

But you're choice is just fine - more than fine, really...Th low-light works very nicely but is more to the b/w or green tinted...No big thing...

One caveat however, the mic picks up a lot of wind noise...sounds like a gale is blowing when actually it is only a light wind.

**denisea** · 10-05-2004

Thanks Cuff. I'm a big fan of Canon and would actually prefer to purchase a Canon. All my current equipment (digital camera, scanner, printer) are Canon products and they work great with all 3 of my Mac's. However, everything I've read about Canon camcorders indicates that they perform really poorly in low light conditions... with the exception of a couple of models that are out of the price range. Of course, the other option is to wait a little longer until the low light capabilities improve on the digital camcorders.

I'd also considered a couple of Panasonic models, however, they do not interface with Mac's... so I had to scratch them off the list.

jtm1631 · 10-06-2004

Denise -

We have the Sony comcorder and love it. It does a good job of low light indoor shooting. Can't remember if we have the TRV - 19 or 22. The camera is easy to set-up and use and does a nice job of reproducing colors. The only issue we sometimes have with the camera is that it can pick up motor noise on the microphone. This does not happen too often, but is noticeable on certain shots.

As Cuffed mentioned, the microphone is not the greatest, but I think this is true of all camcorders with the built-in microphone.

We have recently started making movies and sending them to my brother (instead of birthday cards we make video skits wishing birthdays greetings, etc.) The Sony is easy to hook up to the computer via firewire and edit and burn DVD's. My brother is a video editor and for personal videos uses a Mac with his Sony digital Camcorder and loves it.

If you have any specific questions about the camcorder, just let me know. My brother may also have some of the video's we shot with the camera on his web site, if you are interested I can PM you the web address.

Critter · 10-06-2004

A friend of mine in England got around the noise issue on his Sony by buying and external mike. It works great with that mike.

Beachwolverine · 10-06-2004

Denisea,

I can't tell you a good choice, but I made a wrong choice in buying a Samsung SCD-23. I'm not pleased with the quality of the picture. It is very important with the swing analysis to get good quality at high shutter speed. I also found, much to my surprise, that the program you download to has a large effect on the quality. I was using WIndows Movie Maker (downloaded for free) for swing analysis and I had a difficult time seeing the club when stopped - very blurry, even at high speed. I bought some cheap swing analysis software (V1 Home Sports Analysis Software) and when I download the video from the camera into V1, I get decent results, much clearer than with the WIndows. So anyway it is not only the camera. The V1 software is good for the price (http://www dot golfshow dot com/getthev1software.asp), although since Keith is such a good golfer, he may want or have a better program.

Hope this helps,
BW

cuffedlinks · 10-06-2004

Except for the low-light facet of the camcorders...and my opinion of the low-light capacity is very mixed as they tend to record more to the b/w or green tint..is that many of them function similarly.

I've purchased them on ebay, tested them in practical applications and then re-sold them on ebay - in most cases actually for more than I paid - and I found that for my purposes the Canon mini-dv zr90 was a nice camcorder for the price with pass-through capabilities to the pc...1024 still photo resolution and streaming abilities too.

Of course as you're willing to spend more $$ the functionality increases as well - but I'm no professional...

jtm1631 · 10-06-2004

My Sony has a color nightshot feature in addition to the usual green nightshot. I have never used it as my wife won't let me, errr I mean since I have not had any nightshot situations arise yet, errr I mean...oh never mind.

**denisea** · 10-06-2004

Thanks guys. Not only are you providing me with the info I requested but you're also making me laugh and smile while doing so. Great job!!!

BW, I had no idea about the golf swing software... have I ever mentioned how much I don't like golf??? I guess it shouldn't really surprise me, there's a program for everything nowadays... I'll pass the info onto Keith.

Beachwolverine · 10-06-2004

Quote:

BW, I had no idea about the golf swing software... have I ever mentioned how much I don't like golf??? I guess it shouldn't really surprise me, there's a program for everything nowadays... I'll pass the info onto Keith.

Guess you don't watch the golf channel much eh? I'm sure Keith knows all about it. I wouldn't be surprised if you searched your hard drive, you'd find one.

And while we're guessing - I'm guessing that jtm and cuff both know who Kelly Tilghman is.

psst - Denisea - she's a host on the golf channel....

cuffedlinks · 10-06-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachwolverine

And while we're guessing - I'm guessing that jtm and cuff both know who Kelly Tilghman is.

psst - Denisea - she's a host on the golf channel....

Yup...

**denisea** · 10-06-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachwolverine

Guess you don't watch the golf channel much eh?

I actually watch very little TV... I could easily live without one in the house and never miss it. Now, Keith on the other hand is the complete opposite... the TV has got to be on all the time... whether he's in the house or not.

So no... I don't watch the golf channel much... when I do it puts me to sleep... watching golf is even more boring than playing.

jtm1631 · 10-07-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachwolverine

And while we're guessing - I'm guessing that jtm and cuff both know who Kelly Tilghman is.

psst - Denisea - she's a host on the golf channel....

Ditto what Cuff said. Also had a thing for Suzie Kolber of ESPN way back when she just started out on ESPN2. Not to the extent of Joe Namath however.

cuffedlinks · 10-07-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtm1631

Ditto what Cuff said. Also had a thing for Suzie Kolber of ESPN way back when she just started out on ESPN2. Not to the extent of Joe Namath however.

Sheesh, what a bad deal....He really embarassed himself by putting her on the spot like that.
I wish that she could have known by the undoubtedly overly alcoholic breath that old Super Joe was toasted before giving him the microphone...but then who knew what would come out of his mouth....He's had plenty of microphone experience too...

But he did say afterward that he needed to seek help so perhaps it all worked out for the best.

Haven't heard much since....

If it had been Jim Gray with the mic, he would have asked Ol' Joe if HE thought Pete Rose bet on baseball...

10-05-2004	#1 (permalink)
denisea Forum Goddess Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: On the road to ruins... Posts: 7,025	Digital Camcorder Recommendations? Keith and I are considering purchasing a camcorder. Since we've never owned one, I thought perhaps some of you might be willing to offer up your expertise on the subject. Here's our criteria: Primary Use: Vacations and golf swing analysis. Lighting Conditions: 80% outdoor/20% low light (indoors/night time) Price: +/- $500 USD Format: MiniDV From what I've read, all of the new digital camcorders fall short when it comes to low light conditions. So this narrows the options down considerably. We also don't want a camcorder with lots of extra bells and whistles that we won't use... i.e. digital still photos is not an important feature for us because we have a Canon Powershot G1. We're leaning toward the Sony DCR-TRV19. The price is right. It has one of the highest low light rating of all the digital camcorders. It doesn't have lots of extra bells and whistles that we don't need. Questions: Good/bad choice? Why? What camcorder do you have? What are the pros/cons? If you were going to purchase a new camcorder, which one would it be and why?

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10-05-2004	#2 (permalink)
cuffedlinks añejo Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The City of Presidents Posts: 16,003	D~, We've had a couple of that vintage...the 19, 20 and 22... Worked flawlessly...The Canons have a tad bit more pass-through technology to the pc to digitize films, etc... But you're choice is just fine - more than fine, really...Th low-light works very nicely but is more to the b/w or green tinted...No big thing... One caveat however, the mic picks up a lot of wind noise...sounds like a gale is blowing when actually it is only a light wind.

10-05-2004	#3 (permalink)
denisea Forum Goddess Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: On the road to ruins... Posts: 7,025	Thanks Cuff. I'm a big fan of Canon and would actually prefer to purchase a Canon. All my current equipment (digital camera, scanner, printer) are Canon products and they work great with all 3 of my Mac's. However, everything I've read about Canon camcorders indicates that they perform really poorly in low light conditions... with the exception of a couple of models that are out of the price range. Of course, the other option is to wait a little longer until the low light capabilities improve on the digital camcorders. I'd also considered a couple of Panasonic models, however, they do not interface with Mac's... so I had to scratch them off the list.

10-06-2004	#4 (permalink)
jtm1631 añejo Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,370	Denise - We have the Sony comcorder and love it. It does a good job of low light indoor shooting. Can't remember if we have the TRV - 19 or 22. The camera is easy to set-up and use and does a nice job of reproducing colors. The only issue we sometimes have with the camera is that it can pick up motor noise on the microphone. This does not happen too often, but is noticeable on certain shots. As Cuffed mentioned, the microphone is not the greatest, but I think this is true of all camcorders with the built-in microphone. We have recently started making movies and sending them to my brother (instead of birthday cards we make video skits wishing birthdays greetings, etc.) The Sony is easy to hook up to the computer via firewire and edit and burn DVD's. My brother is a video editor and for personal videos uses a Mac with his Sony digital Camcorder and loves it. If you have any specific questions about the camcorder, just let me know. My brother may also have some of the video's we shot with the camera on his web site, if you are interested I can PM you the web address.

10-06-2004	#5 (permalink)
Critter añejo Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Cerca de Washington DC Posts: 3,343	A friend of mine in England got around the noise issue on his Sony by buying and external mike. It works great with that mike.

10-06-2004	#6 (permalink)
Beachwolverine life=playa Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 615	Denisea, I can't tell you a good choice, but I made a wrong choice in buying a Samsung SCD-23. I'm not pleased with the quality of the picture. It is very important with the swing analysis to get good quality at high shutter speed. I also found, much to my surprise, that the program you download to has a large effect on the quality. I was using WIndows Movie Maker (downloaded for free) for swing analysis and I had a difficult time seeing the club when stopped - very blurry, even at high speed. I bought some cheap swing analysis software (V1 Home Sports Analysis Software) and when I download the video from the camera into V1, I get decent results, much clearer than with the WIndows. So anyway it is not only the camera. The V1 software is good for the price (http://www dot golfshow dot com/getthev1software.asp), although since Keith is such a good golfer, he may want or have a better program. Hope this helps, BW

10-06-2004	#7 (permalink)
cuffedlinks añejo Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The City of Presidents Posts: 16,003	Except for the low-light facet of the camcorders...and my opinion of the low-light capacity is very mixed as they tend to record more to the b/w or green tint..is that many of them function similarly. I've purchased them on ebay, tested them in practical applications and then re-sold them on ebay - in most cases actually for more than I paid - and I found that for my purposes the Canon mini-dv zr90 was a nice camcorder for the price with pass-through capabilities to the pc...1024 still photo resolution and streaming abilities too. Of course as you're willing to spend more $$ the functionality increases as well - but I'm no professional...

10-06-2004	#8 (permalink)
jtm1631 añejo Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,370	My Sony has a color nightshot feature in addition to the usual green nightshot. I have never used it as my wife won't let me, errr I mean since I have not had any nightshot situations arise yet, errr I mean...oh never mind.

10-06-2004	#9 (permalink)
denisea Forum Goddess Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: On the road to ruins... Posts: 7,025	Thanks guys. Not only are you providing me with the info I requested but you're also making me laugh and smile while doing so. Great job!!! BW, I had no idea about the golf swing software... have I ever mentioned how much I don't like golf??? I guess it shouldn't really surprise me, there's a program for everything nowadays... I'll pass the info onto Keith.

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