Choosing a Cheap Camcorder

I'm looking to get a new camcorder for some amateurish projects (student films, etc) and really like the Sony HDR-HC1... but it is a little out of my price range.
I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on similar cameras that may be older models or just cheaper in general. The one I've found so far that looks alright (but obviously no HD) is the Canon Optura XI.
What I like about the Sony:
Widescreen LCD
HD... I know nothing cheaper will have it
3CCD
Zoom/Focus ring
Size (compact but not tiny)
Accessory expandability
Thanks for any suggestions!

I use the SONY HDR FX1
It's a little older than the SONY model you describe, but probably won't be much cheaper.
I also used the original JVC JY-HD10U single chip 720p30 camera. You could probably get one much cheaper. If you can control the lighting (contrast range), the single chip camera will do better than you think. Also with a progressive camera you don't have to deal with interlace artifacts.
the SONY FX1 is pretty big, but I love the way it operates. The big back/front lit LCD panel swivels and has controls that make it easy to use right next to the ground. It's really great! I have the wide angle lens adapter which I use all the time. It makes it possible to do "steady cam" well "a little steadyer cam" stuff which is a lot of fun.
3CCDs are not the magic bullet(s). If you have a really wide contrast range the video still looks like X%$*@. Those fabulous rich HDTV video scenes you want have rich texture and carefully controlled lighting.
Also I have never figured out how to export a 1080i HDV movie from FCP that doesn't have unacceptable interlace (Venetian Blind) motion artifacts.
I have made a lot of DVDs where I throw away one field which eliminates the interlace problem, but doesn't exploit the full resolution of the camera.

Similar Messages

  • What CHEAP camcorder for FCP (UK)?

    Hi all,
    I work in a college and we have lots of cheap mini DV camcorders which we use with FCP. We find cheap is better cos on our limited budget we cannot afford to replace expensive kit, and also we have so many students doing media we could not afford expensive camcorders for all.
    Obviously now mini DV is on the way out we are hoping to gradually go over to flash-memory based camcorders. I am aware that FCP does not handle AVCHD easily, and it seems most (all?) camcorders in the sub-£400 bracket are AVCHD based. Can anyone recommend any camocorders that are not, and that work well with FCP6? If not, what about FCP7?
    Thanks,
    Sean

    seanofford wrote:
    ...transcoding does not take for ever, and file sizes are only about the same as movs?
    Sean
    Transcoding times are directly dependent on the type of the machine, the file size and the end medium. You're using a laptop so it's not gonna leave markings on the tarmac.
    ProRes is a very fine format. It is much bigger than AVCHD but we're talking about a master quality professional codec with relatively small size compared to a codec never meant for editing. Try not to confuse the .mov extension, it is a wrapper and can contain from e.g 4k RGB 10 bit uncompressed up to plain ol' .H263-4, and the sort.
    If you're going to use an AVCHD camcorder you're going to have to deal with the this process or switch to something like Adobe CS5 which has however yet to prove its robustness. CS4 proved to be very, very, very buggy and unreliable.

  • Cheap camcorder suggestions / that can be easily uploaded to computer for editing

    Hi all,
    I am looking for a camcorder for under $150 for my son who likes to make little videos.  He wants to be able to upload the video to his computer and edit them.  He does have Microsoft movie maker.  What would you suggest, the kind that have the USB port or the ones that record on to SD cards?  Also what type of file should the recording be in, so you can edit it?  Sorry I have no idea about editing features.  Any camcorder suggest would be appreciated. 

    If you are looking for a simple camcorder for fun little videos, and not for professional ones, I would reccomend the Kodak Playsport HD Camcorder. For the price, its is a nice little camcorder that shoots in 1080p and takes 5 MP stills. It connects to your computer via USB, so you can easily transfer the videos and pictures to your computer, and has an expandable memory slot so you can hold more videos and pictures at a time. It's also waterproof up to 10 feet, which is always a fun little feature. Great starter camera for fun videos to share with friends, family, and on the internet.
    Store 112 in Thousand Oaks, CA
    My opinions do not in any way shape or form represent Best Buy's Official decisions.

  • Using a camcorder as analogue converter

    I'm considering buying a cheap camcorder to use as a analogue converter to a reasonable sony crt monitor for color correction of a HDV project. The monitor isn't hd and isn't fully color managed but would this be a better setup than using my calibrated computer monitor for judging corrections.

    Thanks Guys. So if I go through the cheap camcorder onto a reasonable TV then I should get a pretty good estimation of what the colors will in the final output. The project I'm working on is my first and my background is in stills retouching so I have a couple calibrated Dell 20" screens but have found that after transfering a couple corrected shots they appear too light on dvd/tv (the look the direct is after is very dark). Would this setup help get me an picture that is close to the final look?

  • How to fix camcorder audio in Soundtrack Pro

    Hi all,
    I just finished editing my short film in Final Cut Pro. The footage was awesome, however, the audio was horrible. I shot this footage using Panasonic PV-GS320, a pretty descent 3CCD camera. Unfortunately, it doesn't have any external mic output, which makes it flaw.
    My question is: is it possible to "fix" this problem using Soundtrack Pro? To fix meaning to change it from a typical, cheap camcorder audio to a professional boom microphone (louder, clearer, and better).
    The sound from this camera isn't that bad, actually (because although it doesn't come with any external microphone output, it does have "zoom microphone" -- whatever that means), BUT if you were a sound artist/ filmmaker/ college film instructor, you would know that my project wasn't done using an external microphone -- thus you would think that it's just a typical short movie that will end up on Youtube -- and you wouldn't give me a good grade for it.
    SO is it possible to make some changes in Soundtrack Pro? I would really, really appreciate it if you guys could help me with this problem.
    Thanks very much!

    Hi Joe,
    It is possible - within reason - to undertake some cleaning up of audio within STP. I am in the middle of doing this myself.
    Take a look at this great article that explains the round trip between FCP and STP plus the various tools on offer and what they can do: http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/soundtrack_pro_newspencer.html
    Best of luck, Mike

  • Looking for Camcorder to interface with IMAC 10.6.8

    I'm trying to choose the right camcorder. The main focus of this camcorder is to make an instructional video to be sold on the internet.(not u-tube)  It will be on a tripod the whole time. Would like to use an SD card of some kind for storage.My computer is a Mac osx10.6.8 and will be using I'Movie to edit. Want it to be in HD, good still shots if possible, good sound and no more than $700. Could anyone recommend a specific camcorder or at least the specs I need to accomplish this.. Just sent back the Sony HDR-CX260V.Beautiful little camcorder but wouldn't interface with my Mac. I'm so frustrated especially because I don't know anything about camcorders or what I should be looking for. HELP?

    Hello
    try this
    put your tow imac side by side then plug an ethernet cable between us , ethernet logo look like that
    then on each imac desable wifi ( air-port )
    go to system preferences -> network , you should see somthing like that
    select from Configure IPv4 to MANUALY on both imac , then fill info for ehternet exactly as folow
    for 1st Imac
    for 2d Imac
    then try launch again migration assistant , or use file sharing options on old imac
    HTH
    Pierre

  • Cheap camcorders for fcp - workflow - compatibility - quality

    Hello List
    I am looking into purchasing a cheap camcorder (under $500), that are compatible with Final Cut Pro. Tape or Card are ok. The important thing is that I can easily edit the footage without having to do any conversion or ripping.
    There used to be a supported cameras list for earlier versions of final cut. Is there one for Final Cut Pro 5?
    Regarding HD versus SD in the under $500.00 camcorder pricerange, what are people's experiences / opinions regarding workflow and image quality? I understand that with a cheap HD'ish camcorder you'll get more pixels but in an 'inconvenient' delievery format that needs to be converted for FCP. Is the final image quality compareable to an uncompressed miniDV image that is smaller yet not compressed?
    What about the workflow, how much of a pain is the additional conversion from mp4 or mpeg4 ( or whatever format these camcorders output ) to a dv quicktime movie?
    any advice or receommendations are much appreciated.
    Thank you.
    Regards
    -sk

    On an other list one guy recommended this camera:
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8661959&type=product&id=1196470790 863
    The price is $250.00 which is super cheap! Will my friend be able to log and capture with this camera without any hassle?
    Is there a camera compatility list for FCP / FCE and IMovie?
    Thank you all for your help so far. I appreciate it.
    sk

  • Movies from a camcorder to mac

    Hello,
    My camcorder has a broken firewire port and fixing it would cost more than the camcorder itself.
    Is there a way that I can transfer the movies to my MacBookPro through the analog port on the camcorder (port that connects to the TV)? Any other options? The camcorder is Panasonic PV-GS39.
    Thanks for any tips,
    Mark

    Only with an Analogue-DV converter which will cost as much as a cheap camcorder.
    Borrow a camera or buy one is the only solution.

  • New camcorder for budding cinematographer

    Been browsing the web searching for a semi cheap camcorder I can start learning on, figured I might as well post. I did search many posts, but couldn't find much specifics.
    I need a camcorder that has manual mode, as I feel I shouldn't learn in automatic mode. Is there a semi cheap solution I can check out? Something I can color balance, etc. Any thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated, just brainstorming and doing research before investing.
    Thanks!

    I have to say, I disagree with the idea of getting a lesser camera to start with. The only reason for doing that is to cover the possibility that you don't want to be in this business and you might be stuck with an expensive camera. Otherwise, why buy a camera that is limited if you want to be a professional, only to have to spend more money later on a better camera to fit your professional needs. I agree with the first post, get the highest level camera you can afford, and take the time to learn how to use it. The high end cameras usually have both manual and auto modes for everything, so you can start learning each function individually. As you get better with one function, set another to manual and learn that with the others on auto. you get the idea...
    the reason being, it doesn't REALLY matter where your footage will end up to decide what camera to buy. If you want to stand out on the Web, put a real nice looking piece on your site, and it will stand out like a pearl in front of internet swine... posting to the Web is a function of data compression, not camera quality. Camera quality has more to do with lenses and functions. A cheap camera has a cheap lens. And a cheap lens makes a cheap image.
    Of course, not knowing what content you want to create, I would also remind you that content is king. If you are telling a story then you better have a good story to tell, and good people in front of your camera to tell it. If you have that, you can use a VHS camera and people will watch it...
    HV20 is an okay camera, but you can't have everything on manual. If you use manual iris you are stuck with auto focus and vice versa.
    *Panasonic DVX-100* is a great choice and is more affordable now than it was before, but is only SD
    *Panasonic HVX-200* is great, but P2 cards are expensive, even if you find a good deal on the camera.
    *Sony Z1U* is nice and has a few really nice functions, like an automatic focus puller... these days you can find a good deal on one if you know where to look.
    *Sony A1U* is okay, but it is a CMOS chip instead of CCD. Read up on that and decide if you can deal with CMOS image sensors.
    Do you need HD or is SD all you want...?
    Message was edited by: RedTruck

  • Compatible cheap camcorders - under $500.00

    Hello List
    I am looking into purchasing a cheap camcorder, that are compatible with Final Cut Pro. Tape or Card I don't care. The important thing is that I can easily edit the footage without having to do any conversion or ripping.
    There used to be a supported cameras list for earlier versions of final cut. Is there one for Final Cut Pro 5?
    any advice or receommendations are much appreciated.
    Thank you.
    Regards
    -sk
    Message was edited by: skstuff
    Message was edited by: skstuff

    Regarding HD versus SD in the under $500.00 camcorder pricerange, what is your opinion regarding workflow and image quality? I understand that with a cheap HD'ish camcorder you'll get more pixels but in an 'inconvenient' delievery format that needs to be converted for FCP. Is the final image quality compareable to an uncompressed miniDV image that is smaller yet not compressed?
    What about the workflow, how much of a pain is the additional conversion from mp4 or mpeg4 ( or whatever format these camcorders output ) to a dv quicktime movie?
    Any insight or advice much appreciated.
    Thanks
    sk

  • Which SD/SDHC camcorder?

    Hi - I would like to buy a cheap camcorder, most of which are based on the SDHC (or just SD in some cases) format. Has anyone got any recommendations? I like the look of the Toshiba Camileo ProHD in terms of 'bang for buck', and Genius G-Shot DV5131 in terms of value, but can find no positive experience from anyone using them with iMovie. Maybe there is cool website somewhere where someone is compiling this information?
    Your help greatly appreciated

    Be sure to check out the Apple compatibility list, before you buy any camcorder.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1014
    You can get an inexpensive miniDV tape cam that will give better quality video and easily connects to iMovie 08 AND iMovie HD6, should you decide you might like to use that version instead. HD6 requires miniDV.
    If you want good info on any cam, go here:
    http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

  • Lip sync audio without clapper-board - is this possible?

    Is it possible to film an interview with a mobile phone or digital camera, record separate audio (with a Zoom recorder) at the same time, without a clapper-board at the beginning and end of the sequence, and then edit the two together in iMovie 09 so that they remain in perfect sync?
    The reason for this? Very discreet and informal documentary filming with low-end cameras, discreet quality sound recording.
    Am I dreaming here?

    You say "..I know how to do this in QuickTime pro.."
    But in QT Pro it's absolutely simple. As you say, you can "..use this ... for stretching or shrinking the off-camera audio recording."
    In QT Pro, open the video and trim it to the length you want ..in other words cut out any extra beyond the end of the interview. Then open the audio in a separate QT Pro player window. Trim it to match the ending point of the video. Then Select all the (trimmed) audio and use ⌘+C to Copy all that audio.
    Switch to the other, video, QT player window, and choose Edit and then Add to Selection & Scale (..or press AltShift+⌘V..)
    That will add the audio to the video, and will scale the audio to match exactly the duration of the video. If the audio was off by half a second, it'll now exactly match the length of the video, so it'll be in sync at the start, in sync at the end, and halfway through it may be off by about a quarter of a second. The pitch will - probably unnoticeably - shift very slightly up or down if the audio is thus speeded up or slowed down slightly to match the duration of the video.
    "..I’m trying to shoot very simple interviews while on photo assignments, either with an LX3 or a mobile phone and I’m looking fora way to improve the sound quality.."
    It sounds like you're really just creating problems for yourself. The LX3 is a nice little camera ..but you're carrying two devices: a Panasonic LX3 camera and a Zoom H2 which is nearly twice the size of the LX3.
    What you should do is choose a small camcorder - something like a little JVC miniDV-tape camcorder, or a Sony TRV-14 or similar (..tape-based cameras are very cheap now, or get a small Panasonic AVCHD camcorder..) - and plug a small directional 'zoom' mic on top of it. The size of camera and mic will be smaller than your combined LX3 + Zoom H2 recorder, and you won't need extra hands to handle two devices.
    Choose a camcorder which also takes still shots ..instead of using a stills camera which also shoots moving pictures.
    With that all-in-one setup of a camcorder with a zoom mic on top you just press the button to start shooting, and press again to stop. Everything will be in sync - always.
    With your LX3 - or mobile phone - plus Zoom H2 scenario, you've got to switch on the camera/phone, then switch on the H2 ..and in the rush to do it right you'll make a mistake, or won't set the H2's recording volume high enough, or will choose the wrong audio setting (Mono/90-degree stereo/120-degree stereo/front only/front & back), you'll have two batteries to worry about, you may not be sure that the H2 is recording ..and then you've got to stitch together the separate recordings afterwards.
    You want something foolproof, with one Start/Stop switch, nothing to worry about, but which gives good sound in-sync with the picture.
    Get a little camcorder.

  • Need help to implement a small data warehouse or datamart

    Hi all,
    we want to improve our reporting activities, we have 3 production and relational oracle databases and we want to elaborate 1 database as reporting database with historized and aggregated data responding to our reporting needs.
    The database we are using are oracle database 10g.
    actually we still are doing query to retrieve informations from databases for reporting purpose, but fropm inetrnet search i know that we can implement datamart or datawarehouse to group all aggregated information for reporting.
    The information i need are: is there a tools in Oracle for Datawarehousing, Is Oracle Warehouse Builder is the right tools as the sources of our data are all from Oracle database and some flat files.
    Could yo advise what i'm going to use for that kind of reporting needs, can i use Oracle warehosue builder to develop ETL ...
    Do i need license to use Oracle Warehose Builder
    Thanks,

    As simple answer to all your questions: YES
    Yes, Oracle warehouse builder could be a tool to use.
    Yes, Orace warehouse builder needs a license.
    Besides that you also need a license for that extra Database.
    if you already have that, and you have the queries with which you now retrieve data, you can always choose the cheap way and build materialized views with these queries.
    Keep in mind however that a materialized view ( of snapshot ) does not support inline selects.
    HTH,
    FJFranken
    My Blog: http://managingoracle.blogspot.com
    P.S. If this answers your question, please set the thread to answered and award the points. It is appreciated

  • This operation could not be completed as there is no video - capturing PAL

    Ok, I tried all the suggestions I've seen here. I have a Sony FX-1000 and I'm trying to capture a PAL mini-DV tape (which is easily read and played on this camcorder) using Final Cut Pro - latest version. The connection is iLink / Firewire 800 and has been used to capture many NTSC videos in the past. I have tried all settings on Final Cut Pro - under Capture Settings - to no avail.
    In all cases, "Preview Disabled" is displayed in the color-bar window. However, the playback controls (rewind, play, ff) all work fine using the buttons under the window. The miniDV plays fine on the camcorder - both picture and sound.
    After starting the playback, and pressing "Capture Now", I get a solid black window indicating that the capture software is "waiting for timecode", even with the tape obviously playing. After about 2-5 seconds, I receive the error message "This operation could not be completed as there is no video".
    I've tried several computers, several cables (both Firewire 400 and 800) - as well as all the PAL settings and FC Pro and FC Express 4.0. So, any suggestions? I could use some help.
    Thanks

    Solved the problem. I used an old Sony Handycam DCR-HC28 with Firewire connection and used Final Cut Express with the settings: PAL, DV-PAL DV Converter in Easy Setup.
    I was NOT able to control the Handycam with this setting but I could start the capture and then press "play" on the Handycam and it captured. Strange way to solve the problem. Hope this helps someone.
    BTW - the HDV FX-1000 did not work this way. I guess the cheap camcorder works better at this!
    Thanks to all for the help!

  • Small Office Looses Business L7780

    Have been a hp owner since 1989 have bout about 10,000 dollars in printers over the years.
    They need to make some changes. Problem one is my office is down because there all in one printer L7780 has an error print head color I do not even use.
    I can't fax, I can't san to computer, I can't print in black witch is all I need.
    In the  90's if a color went out you could still print black and use the unit.
    So I bought a new printer head per error This new printer head cost over 90 dollars with shipping because office max and staples don't carry "It has not fixed the problem".. I check several other problem that may be Rollers, jams, Cleaning ect.....
    HP has to change there software to allow operation of other devices. Going to buy else were until they do problem still not fixed. Magenta/cyan print head problem
    P/S were do I collect on my warranty's for print heads they have a good till warranty dates?
    One pissed off customer office is down.
    George Cizek

    I was looking originally at the 3750 series (1000 and 100 and using the stacking ports) but the cost may be a little high.
    You will no longer be able to purchase FastEthernet 3750 as Cisco has announced the End-of-Sale of the 10/100BaseTx of the 3560 and 3750 since January 2011.  Cisco has also announced the End-of-Sale of the 3560G/E and 3750G/E back in March 2012.
    So this leaves you with the 3560X and the 3750X and I can assure you this variety doesn't come cheap at all. 
    This leaves you with the last remaining stack-capable model, the 2960S.  Like what Paul has said, the 2960S is a "triple speed" variety:  10/100/1000BaseTx.  You can have uplinks of 1 Gbps fibre or 10 Gbps fibre.  You can have "half" PoE or Full PoE.
    But what sets the 2960S different from the 3750X (in terms of stacking) is the amount of switches in a stack.  The 3750X can support up to nine but the 2960S can support up to four.  This factor was set deliberately to prevent potential users to choose the cheaper 2960S instead of the 3750X.

Maybe you are looking for