HD Drama
So if you’ve been watching the Moxie Mo Show, you know that I’ve been wanting to purchase a HD video recorder but I don’t want to spend the money that most of them cost. I’ve decided to take this discussion to the “blogwaves” and ask you, the educated viewers, on which HD camcorder should I purchase?
I’m wanting to spend no more than $300 to $400 and I realize this may present a bit of a challenge, but surely I can get a nice quality HD camcorder for that amount? Surely.
Cali Lewis, the host of Geekbrief, suggested I look into the Canon HV30 which does look like a great choice however it’s pricey.
Can any of you suggest any HD camcorders I should look into? The main purpose would be to film my podcast as well as my daily crazy, goofy shows which I’ve been currently filming with my Flip Ultra. I love my Flip. Here again was a great buying choice for me. It didn’t cost much at all, it’s super easy to use and the quality of the video isn’t bad at all for SD.
I truly appreciate your suggestions! They will be taken with great consideration.
Tags: Best Choice, Camcorder, HD
July 20th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I use a Canon HV-20. Works great for HD video and 3Megapixel stills w/ flash in a pinch. If you’re using for web video, don’t hold your breath because video quality won’t be that much better.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
I think you might find the choices few within that price range, unless you’re willing to buy one used. Currently I am mostly using a Xacti HD1000, which is a nice little camera, but 1) more pricey than you’re looking for and 2) puts out a format that doesn’t play well with Macs. (I’ve still got a big Windows desktop that I use for most of my editing.) I’ve also got a Sony HDR-SR1, which records to a hard drive and is a nice camera, but a bit aged and a little bulky feeling now that I’ve got the Xacti. Finally, I’ve got Cali’s old Xacti HD1A, which I liked enough that it inspired me to buy the HD1000. So, wow, that was unhelpful, wasn’t it? Try this link to Amazon, see what you think: http://tinyurl.com/5tx5fk . I guess the main thing I’d keep in mind (that you may not be thinking about) is file format compatibility with your editing system. There are more subtle shadings of codecs running around out there than I ever would have guessed.
July 20th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I use an Aiptek Action HD that I got for $200. It’s not the world’s greatest camera, but if you have a tripod ,it’s more than adequate. It records in 1080p at 30 frames/sec and 720p at 60 frames per sec.
For storage, it uses SD cards.
Joe
dOgBOi on Twitter
July 20th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I use a Canon HV20. I bought mine as a factory refurb from B&H for a little over $400 and I love it, Only had it a little over a month now, it has a great community of uses at http://www.hv20.com, Check out some of my stuff on
http://www.vimeo.com/offback and look at the HV channel at http://www.vimeo.com/HV20 for a sample of what the camera can do.
Good luck with whatever you go with.
Phil
July 21st, 2008 at 9:32 pm
All of you ROCK! Thank you SO, SO, SO much. I’m researching every and every one of them.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Jeff,
I’m curious what HD camcorder you ended up going with (if any). Lots of good suggestions here. I also wanted to mention this website we just finished building with MotionBox, called ShareMyHD.com. It lets you upload, store, share, and even do some basic editing of HD footage online. Very curious to hear what you all think about it.
Thanks!
-David