Opinions...what's a good video camera to buy?

[Veleno]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to buy a video camera and would like to know what everyone else is either using or reccommends. I am looking for a reasonably priced camera that I can use for:

-in car recording
-creating .mov or .wav or similar movie files
-just about everything else

I'd like it to be compact(small as possible) and with a display screen if possible. I'm thinking a mini-dv would work best??

Thanks for the help.


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Richard
NSXTASY

 

[NeoNSX]

u can't go wrong with a sony.

mounting camera's in cars has been discussed in a previous thread (u'd need to search)

 

[ANYTIME]

Richard,
Here is my new setup. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but it can be used inside or outside the car(glass only for me). The camera mount I chose are way overkill for my camera(that camera in the pic is huge, and the suction cup is about 8in. around) I got the suction mount and superclamp combo(CMK kit), which was about 100 shipped.

The camera I purchased is a Sharp NZ100U from Costco for 3 hundred and some change. Sharp has a 100 dollar rebate going on right now, ending March 31st. Sharp website
Here is a pic of the camera I bought.

The best thing that I found out about the camera is that the viewing screen can be flipped towards you(picture also flips, so the view is not upside down when mounted inside on your back window facing fowards), allowing you to see if it is pointed in the correct direction. It also came with a remote, so recording can be done without taking your eyes of the road. I know there are many other cameras that you can chose from, but this was fairly inexpensive for what I needed to do.

 

[akira3d]

-in car recording
-creating .mov or .wav or similar movie files
-just about everything else

Well, well, well...this is MY kind of topic.

I echo the comments about the Sony video cameras...I strongly recommend them. I'm not biased just because I work for one of Sony's video game divisions...I also like the high-end Canon video cams.

I personally own a Sony VX2000 3CCD mini-DV camcorder and a Sony IP55 microMV camcorder...and I use them in very different ways.

The VX2000 is nearly professional grade in all of its components...think of it as a top-of-the-line consumer video camera. The optics produce amazing broadcast quality images, a lens fast enough to record surprisingly well in low-light situations and quite long (10x zoom). The miniDV format means that it is easy to edit on computers with i-Link/Firewire/IEEE1394 support and 7200 RPM harddrives. Unfortunately, the VX2000 is quite expensive and very large, so you wouldn't want to use this in-car...nor would you want to travel with it. I use this camera for my more serious video projects.

On the opposite extreme, my IP55 is about as small and light as you can get...but it is still not cheap. Due to its small size, the optics aren't nearly as top notch as the VX2000, but it still features a quality Carl Zeiss lens (also 10x optical zoom)...it just can't record nearly as well in low-light situations (unless you use the NightShot modes). The small stereo mic tend to record audio that's a bit tinnier than the VX2000, but still quite acceptable. The IP55 achieves its small size by using a smaller Sony-proprietary video format called microMV (only the IP5 and IP7 are smaller, but the IP55's quality and comfort of handling are superior to Sony's earlier microMV offerings). Though based on MPEG2 (think DVD, but at a higher 12Mbps bit rate), the microMV format is new and not widely supported by DV editing software (the only computer software that can capture and edit native MMV video is Sony's Movieshaker...not exactly something you'd want to use for serious projects...and I think this is only available on the PC) and, being proprietary, it runs the risk of being made obsolete far quicker than the widely used miniDV format. That said, the IP55 has features that make it extremely quick and easy to get video on the net including the ability to record directly to (or from tape to) Memory Stick using standard MPEG1 video (videoCD quality 352x240x30fps), the ability to upload files via Bluetooth wireless networking, and the ability to stream video via USB (like webcams). A lot of Sony's newer miniDV camcorders also support the latter features...and some are also quite small...so don't think you have to go microMV to get such conveniences. In fact, I wouldn't recommend microMV as your first digital video format just because the support is not yet there. But nothing beats shoving my IP55 into my coat pocket and walking around as if I'm not carrying anything. I brought it with me on a recent trip to New York and Paris...and on a snowboarding trip...can't beat its portability.

And if you saw this earlier post, you'd know that it works quite well in-car on a Hama Universal Video Camera Mount.

On a PC, miniDV camcorders natively capture to AVI format using the DV-codec. DV-codec is very cool because the initial compression is handled in-camera...and simple edits won't require recompression. Premiere handles DV-codec material beautifully (you can easily export to MOV, WAV, or any other files you might wish to share)...and version 6.5 can export MPEG2 clips for burning on DVD-R.

MicroMV captures as MMV format, a variant of MPEG2, and, as I mentioned before, only Sony's MovieShaker 3.1 currently supports it. I found a command-line utility that can convert MMV files into more uesable MPG (MPEG2) files almost instantly. But, at least on my machine, Premiere 6.5's timeline doesn't playback MPEG2 files very well on the timeline making the editing process quite difficult. And though these MPEG2 files are technically the same format as DVD, they need to be recompressed at a lower bitrate before you can actually play them on DVD players (I think DVD's maximum video bit rate is 9.6Mbps).

Unless I'm mistaken, all of the Sony vid cams have flip around color LCD screens. The IP55, however, features a touch panel...which accesses some unique features (spot focus or spot expose based on where you click on the actual image).

When I get a chance, I'll take a picture that better shows the relative size of these video cameras.

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--akira3D
'00 Acura NSX-T (red/black), '97 Honda Civic HX (black), '01 Lexus IS300 (black/black)
"Reality is better than the dream..."

akira3d.com/nsx

[This message has been edited by akira3d (edited 03 February 2003).]

 

[Honda4Life]

Its all about SONY!!!

I swear I would tattoo the Sony logo on my body I am so confident in their products!

I love my Sony Digi Cameras as well as all the rest of the Sony stuff I own.

 

[scottjua]

I like SONY very much for alot of things...but Video cameras, I have to be the oddman out. I reccomend anything Canon.

I shoot almost exclusively Canon after much trial and tribulation. I have a ZR-10 and we use a friend's XL-1. Both represent opposite ends of the price spectrum, but the results are not leaps and bounds in between for picture quality differences. I personally tend to like Canon's optics and feature sets over most of the Sony line as of late.

just my .02

edit: spelling

[This message has been edited by scottjua (edited 04 February 2003).]

 

[NeoNSX]

Originally posted by Honda4Life:
Its all about SONY!!!

I swear I would tattoo the Sony logo on my body I am so confident in their products!

I love my Sony Digi Cameras as well as all the rest of the Sony stuff I own.

...except your name is HONDA4Life... not SONY4Life...

i like sony equipment too... must be something about Japanese quality (hence our love for Honda/Acura

)

 

[Veleno]

Thanks for the great info so far guys!

How about wide lens, do the above mentioned video cameras have this feature? I'd like to be able to record in a wide/panoramic view if I wanted to.

Thanks again.

 

[akira3d]

I have to be the oddman out. I reccomend anything Canon.

Hey! I mentioned that I like Canon vid cams!

How about wide lens, do the above mentioned video cameras have this feature?

The Canon XL-1 (and XL-1s) sports true interchangeable lenses (compatible with Canon EOS lenses)...making it quite flexible in that regard. I almost spent the extra bucks just to get this particular feature. Note that, like the VX2000, this is a large and very expensive camcorder...not exactly what you are looking for based on your inital post.

I also tend to prefer the color quality of the Canon digital still cameras over the top Sonys...they tend to be truer to life. But you're talking big bucks to get these.

Most Sony camcorders accept wide angle (not exactly panoramic) or telephoto conversion lenses that depending on which you choose, only slightly degrade the image quality (the one I bought for the IP55 features 0.6X magnification...note that it tends to throw the auto focus slightly off, but I usually leave the zoom set fully wide and focused to infinity when mounted in-car).

I'd also recommend getting a polarizing lens for in-car use (to diminish the reflections off the windshield and get a clearer view of the road). Unfortunately, I can't use my conversion lens AND polarizing filter simultaneously.

Here is the size comparison of the VX2000 and IP55 as promised (I threw in a number of familiar items to help you judge the sizes):

[This message has been edited by akira3d (edited 04 February 2003).]