I want to buy a video camera in the next few days (hopefully I could pick one up in the sales) but I havn't got a bleedin clue where to start.

Are there any good review sites?

Or decent magazines?

What features should I look for, and what type of camera more importantly?

Is there such technology to transfer recordings via a memory card to the computer as I do for pictures from my mobile? Then I could burn any data I want saving onto a DVD, is it really that simple?

I don't need anything too flash, just something half way decent that is simple and practical to use with useful features.

TVM

We have just bought a video camera.

I think that if you're after something that you can easily transfer the movies to a computer from then HDD is the way to go.

Ours has got a 30GB hard drive built-in and a USB port, simply plug it into the pc and transfer the video files onto the computer.

Its a JVC Everio G and is pretty decent... was under £300.

ive always stuck with sony cams myself, they have the carl zeiss lens (which are brillaint) plus they tend to do most formats.

My fav is still mini dv tape. it just seems to give a really nice quality to the film (it was good enough to film 28 days later!)

but you have got dvd and hdd versions now. the only issues i can see is if a tape stops working its cheap and easy to sort out. if a dvd lens or hdd fails it could be epxensive.

they do HD filming now too so it depends on what you want to film. imoa if its just family hols etc just get a mini dv one with widescreen so it looks proper on your tv. make sure it has dv output and thats all you need

Best advice is to first set yourself a budget because it's very easy to get carried away when buying one. Mine is a few years old now, but there are plenty of review sites on the web (Google is your friend) which compare cameras. I was sold on a Canon one until I went to Curry's and tried it out and found it felt awkward and clumsy in my hand. I also ruled out JVC as the model I was looking at didn't feel very well made and I ended up with a Sony one.

I opted for a miniDV one (ie tapes) as it means you have limitless recording potential and the tapes aren't too expensive and record in an uncompressed format so you don't lose any detail. Mum has a DVD recording one which is fine if you just want to film and then play, but if you want to do any editing it can quickly become complicated.

You also need to identify what you'll be filming. A lot of the cheaper cameras have issues with low-light/indoor filming so worth bearing in mind. You can also get a lot of tape whirr on the built in mic. Also, how portable does it need to be, battery life, tripod mountable, do you want to take stills with it, do you need a bag, what computer connections will you use USB/Firewire, etc.

What I ended up doing was wandering down to Comet/Currys with a shortlist of ones I liked the look of and then trying them out to narrow it down to one model. I then went home and found the best deal on that model

Chris

I've managed to untangle a bit of the web and found these features desirable so far....

Hard drive recording

Image stabilisation

ability to take stills

Nightshot feature

Decent battery life

Crystal lense (not sure how expensive this would make it)

My own personal take is I wouldn't bother with hard drive recording as it limits the amount of video that can be captured and I also wouldn't bother with ability to take stills (your phone will take better pictures than a video camera imho)

Chris

I see your point on stills Chris, but the limiting of captured video doesn't seem a problem. Some of the ones I'm looking at have 30GB of storage allowing 20 or 30 hours of recording before you have to offload some of it to your PC. Recording in high quality can bring that down to seven hours but that is still loads of recording time.

What do you think of this?.....

Sony DCR-SR32 Hard Drive Camcorder - Jessops

Looks good, although I'd find out at what resolution/quality that 20 hours and 50 minutes of recording is quoted for, in case it's for the lowest quality. Definitely worth a look though

Chris

Most HDD cams are crap when it comes to quality and from what ive seen dont work well in low light. Now i will admit that was a JVC Everio like phil said.

I would personally avoid this camera for a few reason which i must stress are my own.

The files that it records in are proprietary so limited editing

They dont work to well with a mac and need to be converted before editing.

Also like chris said if you want to do editing after id still look at DV tape or if you want a HDD/Solid state one then be prepared to pay for it.

Again i know that im being Mac biased but check what SW you want to use will work with the camera that you plan on buying because if its AVCHD then you might have some software issues

Sony HDR-SR7E 60GB High Definition Camcorder was meant to be the dogs acording to the Gadget show the other week, if you fancy spending a decent wedge

I want to buy a video camera in the next few days (hopefully I could pick one up in the sales) but I havn't got a bleedin clue where to start.

Might I suggest that you start, for example, at a large consumer electrical shop that sells video cameras? There are several well known shops that sell video cameras to be found on the mainland.:P

Should keep you busy for a bit

Camcorders Index - TrustedReviews

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Might I suggest that you start, for example, at a large consumer electrical shop that sells video cameras? There are several well known shops that sell video cameras to be found on the mainland.:P

My God, how on earth did I cope before I knew you? :P

I am making my way very nicely through the maze but have yet to be able to make it to play with any in the flesh so to speak. I havn't even written any xmas cards out yet. I want to be able to actually fake it well enough when I'm being preyed on by a sales person.

I find HDD ones OK. Even on the highest quality settings, you still get a fair decent amount of time. If it's anything like 10 hours, that still compares to 10 DV tapes to carry around with you. The instant access and ability to delete stuff so easily with HDD ones make the "limited" space not an issue, for me anyway

The next question is if you want a high-def camcorder or not. In terms of format, the Sony ones at least record in industry standards - MPEG2 for standard def, MPEG4 VC-1 for high def so you're never going have any ability reading back the files on your PC. Most camcorders will come with some basic editing software anyway.

Oh and another thing about tape is that when you do want to transfer it, it's at realtime, so when you come back from holidays with your, say, 10 hours of footage, it'll take you 10 hours just to get it on the PC before you can even start editing.

Thanks for everyones input. I went and bought the Sony DCR SR32E in the end, by the time I've sent off the cash back offer it would only have cost £250 so it was perfectly in my price range. It has some good features but I'm a point and poke type person.

I havn't even put the CD in my PC yet but I've taken some footage of Harri opening her presents yesterday and Mr P's dad prentending to perform origami on the serviettes yesterday when they actually had come fully formed in a packet

Hee hee - didn't take you long

Must be similar to wife - Wendy. I call her Spendy :(

I normally take a bit longer and research stuff to death which can be annoying to myself. I went into currys and had a go on it aswell as a Panasonic one. The sony felt a lot better to hold and the offer of cashback was if you bought it before xmas eve, so no contest really. I will post some footage when I return from my trip to Bristol next week.

I will post some footage when I return from my trip to Bristol next week.

There'll be a lot of injured people around Bristol next week, then

I'm a point and poke type person

There'll be a lot of injured people around Bristol next week, then

Forgive me, but I've been up since 05.30 so am sehr tired. What do you mean?

Forgive me, but I've been up since 05.30 so am sehr tired. What do you mean?

There's a lot to forgive :P

Spullt out - you're going to Bristol. You will be taking vids with new camera - but you're a 'point and poke type' person.

So a lot of peeps will be having black eyes etc.

A lot of folk will have ear damage too, as I'm taking singstar with me aswell:thumbup: