FARK.com: (1968309) TFer would like to buy a digital video camera but he has no idea what to look for in one. Can anybody help a brother out? #

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(Some Guy)		TFer would like to buy a digital video camera but he has no idea what to look for in one. Can anybody help a brother out? # (amazon.co.uk)		150
		More: Advice

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139 clicks; posted to Geek » on 19 Mar 2006 at 1:51 PM | Favorite | share:

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Nerdlinger		2006-03-19 01:42:39 PM

I'm looking for something inexpensive (~$300) and small that I can use to take on trips and record standard home movie type stuff. It doesn't have to be particularly fancy, but neat geegaws are always a bonus. The only thing I do know that I want it to have is a firewire interface so I can dump the video onto my computer for editing and burning to DVD. Other than that I am a total n00b to the world of home video. with my deepest experience being walking past the displays at Best Buy (and, I suppose, watching the Paris Hilton video).

So... any advice?

Formerly Known As Gnaget But now with long name		2006-03-19 01:44:41 PM

I just bought this yesterday

I have no idea if it is any good, but Crutchfield does have a $50 off coupon for it if you do some googling

Formerly Known As Gnaget But now with long name		2006-03-19 01:45:19 PM

hmmm, seriously messed up that html. I really should preview...

CtrlAltDelete		2006-03-19 01:45:30 PM

Sony, Canon, Panasonic all have MiniDV camcorders with firewire input/output at that price range. With the cheapies it's basically all the same, just check for a decent resolution and a nice low-light feature instead of just a slow shutter speed (pisses me off).

TemporarySanity		2006-03-19 01:45:35 PM

optical zoom.

spacely_sprocket		2006-03-19 01:49:40 PM

Buy a digital camera from a company that knows something about cameras/optics, i.e. stay away from Kodak, go for Olympus, Canon, etc. If you're going for personal use and not pro stuff, about 4 megapixels is going to be plenty; for snapshots you're unlikely to notice a significant difference in image quality and the money you pay for more resolution is not IMHO a valuable trade-off. I've had Olympus and Canon, and the controls on the Olympus are a lot simpler and user friendly/intuitive than the Canon. I bought them both at Office Depot for less than $200.

Formerly Known As Gnaget But now with long name		2006-03-19 01:51:38 PM

spacely_sprocket: Buy a digital camera from a company that knows something about cameras/optics

Or he could buy a video camera... :-)

Formerly Known As Gnaget But now with long name		2006-03-19 01:53:04 PM

greenlit?

spacely_sprocket		2006-03-19 01:53:09 PM

d'oh.

Nerdlinger		2006-03-19 01:53:34 PM

CtrlAltDelete: and a nice low-light feature instead of just a slow shutter speed

Is there any marketing speak I should look out for on this?
Waitaminute... why is voting enabled? I didn't enable it...

Nerdlinger		2006-03-19 01:55:10 PM

Formerly Known As Gnaget But now with long name: greenlit?

Whoo! I guess I'm supposed to get drunk now... right?
See. If I had a video camera, I could tape that...

madcharlie		2006-03-19 01:55:36 PM

Formerly Known As Gnaget But now with long name: greenlit?

Yeah, that's different. Maybe all of the people posting headlines about Futurama coming back broke the submission thingy.

H1P1NE		2006-03-19 01:55:47 PM

whoa, this is Nerdlinger:'s first greenlight, and its an advice thread? damn. how come my advice links never get greenlit? Expecially the one about the genital warts.

/actually in the market for the same type of camera as well, so I'm checking out the links too.

toddp10		2006-03-19 01:55:52 PM

get an ass master blaster from gaysex.com

they rule

TemporarySanity		2006-03-19 01:55:53 PM

Formerly Known As Gnaget But now with long name: greenlit?

obviously the modmins want UWIE.

staplermofo		2006-03-19 01:56:27 PM

Bwahaha, now the liters will know the devastating tedium of TF!

Nerdlinger		2006-03-19 01:57:05 PM

toddp10: get an ass master blaster from gaysex.com

Those have a built in camera? Hot!

CtrlAltDelete		2006-03-19 01:57:13 PM

Nerdlinger: Is there any marketing speak I should look out for on this?

Not at this level. Just check the reviews at CNet and stay away from JVC. I have a Sony I bought from a god damn Wal Mart that has decent enough lowlight capabilities than a $800 Canon I bought a few years back. The Handycam series isn't too bad, although the new "touchscreen" deal isn't for everybody.

Novacor		2006-03-19 01:57:51 PM

How long till someone asks what # means?

spacely_sprocket		2006-03-19 01:58:02 PM

comments regarding optics still stand.

/embarrasing; good thing I didn't enable voting, huh?

spacely_sprocket		2006-03-19 01:58:42 PM

d'oh!

CtrlAltDelete		2006-03-19 02:00:01 PM

staplermofo: Bwahaha, now the liters will know the devastating tedium of TF!

Whachoo talkin' about? Usually it's "TF'er is shooting his first incestual three way porno and only has a tripod and a desklamp. Too dark. Any ideas? DIT, LGN"

MrBigglesworth		2006-03-19 02:01:39 PM

ANYONE shopping for a digicam MUST use DPReview.com

It is an extremely valuable resource. You can compare camera features side by side, they have many reviews, and user submitted reviews and forums.

Learn it, love it, bookmark it.

toddp10		2006-03-19 02:01:44 PM

what does # mean?

Novacor		2006-03-19 02:02:07 PM

Actually, judging by the number of clicks, liters don't read the tech page.

MrBigglesworth		2006-03-19 02:02:23 PM

Crap, my mind did not parse "video" in the title. Scratch my above recommenation, unless you are into regular digital cams.

Megain		2006-03-19 02:02:49 PM

Novacor: How long till someone asks what # means?

i'm gonna guess about 6 minutes...

what's # mean?

CtrlAltDelete		2006-03-19 02:03:18 PM

Megain: what's # mean?

It's a number symbol, silly!

damageddude		2006-03-19 02:03:30 PM

Both me and my brother-in-law bought Minoltas. Both crapped out after about 2 years. Since then, I bought a Canon Power Shot A610 which I am very satisfied with.

landmantx		2006-03-19 02:05:37 PM

I have a Sony Cybershot and it takes great pictures and movies, just be sure to buy a larger memory card for long movies.

CtrlAltDelete		2006-03-19 02:05:49 PM

This thread is about VIDEO cameras.

There is no difference between good flan and bad flan.

There is no war.

Megain		2006-03-19 02:06:11 PM

CtrlAltDelete: It's a number symbol, silly!

a 'number symbol'? i thought they were all taken up by 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 & 9

CtrlAltDelete		2006-03-19 02:06:58 PM

Megain: i thought they were all taken up by 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 & 9

No, those are numerals.

# is a tiny tic-tac-toe board.

toddp10		2006-03-19 02:07:30 PM

oh god

another gay sex thread......

what does # mean?

Nerdlinger		2006-03-19 02:07:57 PM

Megain: a 'number symbol'? i thought they were all taken up by 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 & 9

Silly decimal-bound fools!

Nerdlinger		2006-03-19 02:08:46 PM

CtrlAltDelete: This thread is about VIDEO cameras.

Heh. Yeah... I suppose I should have said camcorder.

olavf		2006-03-19 02:08:48 PM

Megain: what's # mean?

It means "pound". Also, it's that funny button in the lower-right hand corner of the dialpad on your phone.

damageddude: Both me and my brother-in-law bought Minoltas. Both crapped out after about 2 years. Since then, I bought a Canon Power Shot A610 which I am very satisfied with.

How's the A610 with video?

Megain		2006-03-19 02:09:29 PM

sweet! i love tic-tac-toe

10011010011101011101000

staplermofo		2006-03-19 02:09:57 PM

Note to liters:

TF is usually much better with advice than this.

olavf		2006-03-19 02:10:38 PM

Megain: a 'number symbol'? i thought they were all taken up by 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 & 9

don't forget A B C D E F.

toddp10		2006-03-19 02:11:23 PM

staplermofo: TF is usually much better with advice than this.

ok

that made me laugh

woodpecker from mars		2006-03-19 02:11:24 PM

CtrlAltDelete: There is no difference between good flan and bad flan

The hell there isn't.

JJ Money		2006-03-19 02:11:48 PM

toddp10: get an ass master blaster from gaysex.com

I think this has already pretty well been covered.

Megain		2006-03-19 02:12:05 PM

staplermofo: TF is usually much better with advice than this.

yeah, it usually involves stapler porn. with pics!

JJ Money		2006-03-19 02:12:38 PM

toddp10: oh god

another gay sex thread......

what does # mean?

"POUND" it in my PEWPER!!!

toddp10		2006-03-19 02:13:50 PM

whats flan?

and what is #?

CtrlAltDelete		2006-03-19 02:14:03 PM

Here.

Go buy one of these (pops)

This is the one I use for our site; it's not bad.

olavf		2006-03-19 02:14:04 PM

Back to the original topic:
I've owned several camcorders over the years, and have found the Sony's to be the best, consistently. Go for the DV tape ones, they're more prevalent. I'd say stay away from the new HDD-based ones, because what do you do if you run out of storage? Personally, I'm waiting a few months for the next round of Hi-def camcorders to come out.

damageddude		2006-03-19 02:14:14 PM

olavf: How's the A610 with video?

So I missed the video part with the digital. No reason to be snotty. But to answer your question, both came with video and are good for short clips (make sure you have enough memory)