My first camcorder?

14 Nov 2006 8:29 PM

Mama Bear

I've never had a camcorder before and am thinking about what I can get for
under about $400 that would be good.

I'm primarily looking for something that could be easily transferred to
VHS tape, to send my dear old dad, and am not so concerned about the
latest technology or DVD recording etc.

What's well reviewed out there in that price range, and how does it get
transferred to be saved on VHS after I record the video?

Night vision would be cool too, so I could record the racoons that come to
eat on the back porch at night. Sometimes the motion detector light goes
on and sometimes not, but it's low light anyway.

--
- Mama Bear

15 Nov 2006 9:56 PM

iws

"Mama Bear" <MamaBear@No-Spam.noo> wrote in message
news:Xns987B8934B342AMama@216.196.97.142...
> I've never had a camcorder before and am thinking about what I can get for
> under about $400 that would be good.

Panasonic, Canon and Sony among others all have basic offerings under $400.
Camcorderinfo.com has lots of reviews.

> I'm primarily looking for something that could be easily transferred to
> VHS tape, to send my dear old dad, and am not so concerned about the
> latest technology or DVD recording etc.

Typically, your camcorder will have A/V outputs that can be connected to the
recording inputs of a VCR if you don't want to actually edit the video on
your computer.

> What's well reviewed out there in that price range, and how does it get
> transferred to be saved on VHS after I record the video?
>
> Night vision would be cool too, so I could record the racoons that come to
> eat on the back porch at night. Sometimes the motion detector light goes
> on and sometimes not, but it's low light anyway.

Lower end camcorders with small sensors don't usually do too well in low
light. If you get an image, the colors will be poorly rendered and the video
usually grainy. Many Sony camcorders have "Nightshot" which uses infrared to
get images even in the dark. They're quite poor though and I think it's more
of a gimmick than all that useful.
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> --
> - Mama Bear

15 Nov 2006 10:49 PM

Jukka Aho

iws wrote:

> Lower end camcorders with small sensors don't usually do too well in
> low light. If you get an image, the colors will be poorly rendered
> and the video usually grainy. Many Sony camcorders have "Nightshot"
> which uses infrared to get images even in the dark. They're quite
> poor though and I think it's more of a gimmick than all that useful.

It should be emphasized that the Nightshot mode does not help a bit with
color rendition. Switching on the nightshot mode will remove the IR
filter in front of the CCD chip, inside the camera, but it will also
switch on the black and white mode. (Or, actually, the camera will be
switched into a green-tinted monochrome mode for gimmicky
Hollywood-esque spy/military gear imititation reasons, though you can
_make_ it black and white by using the on-camera B&W effect while
shooting.)

Nightshot images can be pretty good, though, if black & white suffices
for your purposes, and especially if you're using an external IR light
source instead of the tiny IR leds on front of the camera. (That is, if
you can come up with a sensible reason for shooting black & white video
in complete darkness in the first place.)

--
znark

16 Nov 2006 2:43 AM

iws

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"Jukka Aho" <jukka.***@iki.fi> wrote in message
news:VPM6h.53017$Oa1.20143@reader1.news.jippii.net...
> iws wrote:
>
> > Lower end camcorders with small sensors don't usually do too well in
> > low light. If you get an image, the colors will be poorly rendered
> > and the video usually grainy. Many Sony camcorders have "Nightshot"
> > which uses infrared to get images even in the dark. They're quite
> > poor though and I think it's more of a gimmick than all that useful.
>
> It should be emphasized that the Nightshot mode does not help a bit with
> color rendition. Switching on the nightshot mode will remove the IR
> filter in front of the CCD chip, inside the camera, but it will also
> switch on the black and white mode. (Or, actually, the camera will be
> switched into a green-tinted monochrome mode for gimmicky
> Hollywood-esque spy/military gear imititation reasons, though you can
> _make_ it black and white by using the on-camera B&W effect while
> shooting.)
>
> Nightshot images can be pretty good, though, if black & white suffices
> for your purposes, and especially if you're using an external IR light
> source instead of the tiny IR leds on front of the camera. (That is, if
> you can come up with a sensible reason for shooting black & white video
> in complete darkness in the first place.)

Exactly! I used it a couple of times with my old Digital 8 Sony more for the
gee whiz effect than any true need. The novelty wore off quickly and I won't
miss it on my new Elura 100 when it arrives.
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> --
> znark
>