any recommendations on a hd camcorder

willywonx

Hi im looking for a hd camcorder with a budget of 450 - 600 dollar price range i was looking at the sony hdr-xr200v on ebay for around 500. what would you buy if you had that budget. im willing to push it to 1000. if i have to. me and my wife are expecting our first born in a couple of weeks and we want to capture all the great moments on video. I dont know much about camcorders all i do know is it has to be HD. Thanks in advance to everyone who contributes their opinion.
p.s i will also be using the camcorder to take pictures.

oblioman

Canon Vixia HF20 is one damn fine camcorder in your price range. Still practicing with mine, but have yet to find something that me does not like about it. It has 32 gig on board memory plus the ability to use flash cards. A mini-hot shoe, shoots in 24p, does great in low light conditions,,,and the HD video is fantastic. The zoom is 15x optical with DD sound. Just keep in mind that when rendering video,,,your computer should have a dual core or better.

84Resort

Just got myself a Canon HF200 for 2 weeks and this is my 1st camcorder. Must say it is quite easy to use and the image quality is excellent. As for your budget, do put a side some money for other bits and pieces. You will need a bag, extra media/memory and extra battery almost right away. The std battery that come with HF200 doesn't last long. Although at full charge the screen say 65min but it feels like 35min to me. Maybe I spend too much time fiddling with it??
Other items like monopod/stabilizer and computer software are also important but they can come a bit later.
Getting the camcorder is the beginning of an expensive hobby....

Oh yes! You might want to add a multicoated UV filter on the camcorder as a protraction to the expensive lens.

Have fun and congratulation.

teds12

For crying out loud, I have the HF-100 with the original battery plus another original battery. The battery when fully charged gets an indication of about 80 minutes; as you use it that time gets shorter and shorter, virtually on a minute-by-minute basis, BUT IT'S ALWAYS letting you know how much time is left.

I don't know what ELSE you expect.

I'm amazed at how "spoon-fed" people want to be nowadays!

The HF-100 at ~$500 takes videos 10X better than my Sony Hi8 (first US model ever at ~$2000) ever took - that includes at night and indoors; it has an anti-shake that's close to that ONCE GREAT Hi-8 unit!

oblioman

Not so sure that 84resort wants to be spoon fed,,he just brings up a good point in having an extra battery. Me HF20 has enough on board storage to require 2 extra batteries on a remote shoot.

NHMark

I'm petrified about buying an HD camcorder and then not having enough PC to edit or process the footage. I have a Dell Studio 540, with an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU that runs at 2.33 GHz, with 6 gigs of RAM. I've got a copy of Pinnacle Studio 11.1.

Is this going to work for me, if I buy a Canon HF20 or HF200?

oblioman

In a nutshell,,,no. You will be able to transfer and edit video, but to render even a short 10 minute clip at the highest rate will take hours. Your time should be worth more than frustration.

NHMark

Hmm. So I could record in HD, edit the HD ... but, practically speaking, could only output to DVD in low-definition?

If that's the case ... short of buying a new PC, sounds like my best option is buying a really nice, non-HD camcorder.

Chris Gerhard

No, get an AVCHD camcorder. I can't play my HD video on my PC but I can sure play it in high def using my PS3 or other Blu-ray player. Even a modest PC with a DVD writer can write AVCHD files to disc. I record directly to DVD-R but that is just because I don't want to mess with a PC interim step.

Chris

NHMark

I think my hopes are more ambitious than my PC. I'd like to be able to edit what I shoot. While my PC is 'rendering' a clip, do I have to sit there? Or can I go drink mint juleps or mow the lawn or whatever while the PC is sweating away?

oblioman

What Chris G said is true,,you can burn directly to dvd and watch your videos. But in your case, wanting to edit and re-compost, you will need more computing power. if you don't want to add music, titles, chapters or any effects,,,you could import the avchd files into a simple editor, cut what you don't want, and simply save and burn. Your computer would handle this. But if you decide to drink mint julips,,,we all must be invited,,,then we could all haggle over the pro's and cons of having a damn good camera. personally,,,,,the vixia HF 20 is one fine piece of machinery.

Chris Gerhard

I would still get an HD camcorder and your ambitions can be realized when you ultimately get a PC that can do the things you want. If you are burdened with only SD video to view on your HDTV, I don't think you will be happy at all. Watching less ambitious HD has got to be preferrable to viewing SD video edited the way you want.

Chris

NHMark

Thanks to both of you for your guidance. Very helpful!

Foto_Guy

Many reviewers say HF20 is NOT good in lowlight conditions. I am looking for a HD camcorder with great low light performance. Any such cam out yet?

oblioman

As an owner, the HF20 does great in low light conditions. The first low light test me put it through was hot air balloons, at night, camera on automatic and no external lamp. The end result was very good with minimal noise. of course if one wants to shoot fast action in limited light conditions one should be prepared to pay two to three times what the HF20 cost's. For the average home videographer and for it's cost, it does great in low light conditions.