New camcorder suggestions

I have a Sony TRV 900 camcorder that is about 10 years old now and still working fine, but it won't last forever and I am looking for a possible replacement.
The TRV 900 was a great camcorder with 3 ccds, manual exposure and audio levels, and both analogue and DV in/out, and I am looking for something with similar features.
The new crop of camcorders today seem much more limited in terms of full manual controls unless you are willing to spend several thousand pounds.
I think that the AVCHD and memory card recording format sounds like the best choice for the next generation of camcorders, based on what I read, so I am looking for something that uses that. I don't think that hard drive camcorders are robust enough and the mini dv tape ones appear to be using aging technology.
Can anyone please suggest some camcorders around the 1500 pound price point that might be comparable in manual control features to my great TRV 900 and use the memory card/AVCHD format?
Obviously, image and sound quality are critical, too, but I definitely need good manual controls for exposure and audio levels.
Thanks a lot for any advice.

I'm in the same boat as you.
I own a couple of TRV 900s and have grown accustomed to their small size, huge monitor and easy access to key functions . I've been praying that Sony (or anyone for that matter) would introduce a new camera with all of the attributes of the TRV in a small package but it's not looking good. What's most annoying to me is that built in mic/handle that seems to have become an industry standard on many prosumer cameras. I prefer to use the mic of my choosing and have a smaller profile camera.
As you've learned it's either spend 3-4k on a larger camera or deal with the clumsy & limited functionality of the smaller cameras.
Here are a few that I've considered:
JVC GY-HM100
Not shipping yet & Over your budget. But I think this might be the one to watch.
Sony HDR FX1000
Over your budget and larger than the TRV but looks like it has decent access to functions.
Cannon HV-30
Affordable - Tape based. menu style functionality
Cannon HF11
Flash memory
Sony HDR-HC9
Mini DV
Hope that helps!
g

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I need a new camcorder

I am totally confused (and not a little annoyed!) with camcorders currently available. I use an IMac running under Leopard 10.5.6 and Final Cut Express version 4.0.1. I need a decent new camcorder - don't care what make so long as it works OK with my hardware and software without any trouble. I don't care whether it records in normal definition or high definition provided I can produce DVD's in normal definition. I don't care whether it records onto DV tapes, a hard disk or an SD chip. I don't care whether it uses Firewire or USB to connect to the computer. Just so long as it works out of the box!
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RRB Hampshire, England

FCE works with DV, HDV, and AVCHD. It is a little hard to suggest a camcorder within those categories as we don't really know what you are looking for (price, specs, etc).
I use an AVCHD [Canon VIXIA HG21|http://www.amazon.com/Canon-VIXIA-AVCHD-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B001DTXK8G/re f=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1241355747&sr=8-1] that works well with FCE. Maybe this will help get you started. However, there are many other good DV, HDV, and AVCHD camcorders that I'm sure you would find if you simply googled "HDV camcorder" or something of that variety.

Importing video from old camcorder to mac without using a newer camcorder?

I'm trying to import old home videos from a camcorder (from about 1991) that uses cassettes, onto my Mac. I tried searching for this here and I found this: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1943045&#1943045. But I actually don't have a newer camcorder to rerecord it on. Is there a way to get it on my computer without it?

Hello Cris,
you actually don't need a new camera to get analog video into your mac, in fact there are not so many cameras that support AV-in.
read the thread you posted in your question again and you'll find an AV/DV converter, a device that "translates" from analog to digital, mentioned there.
these converters are not as costly as good camcorders, but of course they do only this one thing, so if you think about buying a new camcorder in the near future, you could buy one with AV-in .... two devices in one.
oh yeah: the canopus converters mentioned in that thread are supposed to be good.
hope this helps
viva la mela

Just got a ipod 7th generation and having some difficulty copying tunes from 5 generation to new ipod; cant seem to sync old with new. any suggestions?

just got a ipod 7th generation and having some difficulty copying tunes from 5 generation to new ipod; cant seem to sync old with new. any suggestions?

Plug your iPod in and when it appears in iTunes, click on it from under Devices in the left hand pane. This brings you to the Summary tab. Locate and click on the Music tab. What configurations do you have made from under this tab? Is your iPod configured to sync those playlists?
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Using old version iMovie and import from new camcorder

I got a new camcorder which won't let me import to the old version 4.0.1 Does anyone have any idea how to move the clips to the old version from the 7.1.4 version which is sooo infuriating. The old one was soooo simple to use as I don't need 90% of the NEWER features. I also miss being able to turn one frame into a photo.

I got a new camcorder which won't let me import to the old version 4.0.1
As an iLife '08 owner you are also entitled to a free download of iMovie HD v6.0.4 if you want it.
Does anyone have any idea how to move the clips to the old version from the 7.1.4 version which is sooo infuriating.
You can open the named_Event folder containing the iMovie '08 imported clips and "drag 'n drop" them to an open previous version of iMovie or you can open the previous version of iMovie, select the "Import" option, navigate to the named_Event folder, select the file(s) you want, and import it/them to the older application.
I also miss being able to turn one frame into a photo.
JPEG images are automatically created in the named_Project folder any time a single frame is selected/added to an iMovie '08 project. They can also be created by QT Pro ($30) or MPEG Streamclip (free) directly from a source video clip.

Questions on making Movies with new camcorder

Hi all,
First, let me say these forums are extremely useful. Thanks for taking a minute to read (and maybe respond). I have a couple of questions / need some advice about making iMovies with my new camcorder.
My camcorder is a Sony DCR-SR40 - it's a 30GB hard-disk based digital camcorder. It creates MPEG-2 files (and connects to my G5 with USB2.0).
1. When I get the camcorder connected and copy over the files, I can't play them in QuickTime 7 (I got an error opening the file). So I spent $20 and bought the QT MPEG-2 plugin - now I can play them but there's no audio. Am I doing something wrong or is there a bug with QT?
2. So I downloaded Streamclip and can happily convert files to a bunch of different formats (what a neat app!). Is there a format that would be best to convert to for making iMovies (iM 6)? DV? MPEG-4? (see next question).
3. When I create my iM6 project, should I create DV or MPEG-4? (Is there a good summary anywhere on all these formats? It confuses the heck outta me.) I want to turn my iMovies into DVDs to watch with my family and QT movies that I can leave as files and watch on my work laptop. What's the best format (DV or MPEG-4) to use?
4. Assuming I create DV iMovie projects, my thought was to convert my MPEG-2 files (from the camcorder) and AVI files (from my digital cam that takes short movies) to DV using Streamclip, then import those into iMovie; all that seems like a bunch of work (I guess I could use the batch function) - but is this the right way of doing things? Or can I just let iMovie do the translation to DV when I import?
Sorry for all the noob questions here, I just don't have a lot of time to tinker (15 month old and newborn) so I'd prefer to just get advice from the folks that know (you all!).
Thanks so much
Steve

Hi Steve,
as you allready realized: the iApps are made for miniDV/D8, … but you have found the workarounds...
1) … you hear no audio when exporting/converting the mpegs with QT... that's no bug, that's due to the nature of mpeg2... the audio and video are "woven together" (tech term= muxxed)... QT supports this playback-format for ... ehm, playback, but "de-muxxing" is not supported by QT....
2) best format for use in iM/iDVD? my standard reply: DV
(I've read in the meantime, some report using the Apple Lossless Codec, you should find in the export options of SC, delivers better results - beauty lies in eye of... needs a powerful Mac and "eats" 4 -5x more diskspace then DV)....
3) DV; mpeg4 is supported to handle iSight "video" and some digi-stills deliver in this format; again, mpegs are for delivery, not for processing.... I didn't found THE website for explaining all that, you can spend hours on wiki and many, many more sites... for the average user (as me), I wrote (still write...) a short summary, click here >> Codexx; an excellent source for background info is forum's member QuickTimeKirk's "book" (=.pdf delivery), you get for 10$ here >> QTpro explained
4) … that IS a bunch of work, because you tought the old dog new tricks... with my miniDV and still-cam all that is done with a single click and works like charm ...
this board is full of Qs concerning support of DVDcorders/HDcorders... One can just speculate, wether Apple will implement the support of these formats... I strongly guess NOT, … we saw in the past e.g. no support of (S)VCD, another popular format (to its time), but not fullfilling the high standards of SJ....
no, you're not a noob - excellent prepared, precise discription of your problems... I wish, all posts are read like that....
have fun with your kids! it's getting better every day!! (my son now is 6y, in two weeks he starts with school....adventure!!!)

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.

Date Time Info - New Camcorder Advice

Can anyone tell me if there is a newer camcorder (HDD or flash based) which will import into iMovie and retain the date and time that the video was shot? With miniDV camcorder, events are correctly listed based on the time the video was taken, however with DVD camcorder (wife wanted this piece of junk) the date and time are when imported not when taken. I would like to buy a new camera and don't want to have the same hassle with a new one - Any advise.

afaik, ANY camcorder except these DVDcorder-thingies transfer the timestamp to iMovie
consider to purchase iLife09, which offers, aside tons of other useful effects, a very conveninient manual change of timestamps in iMovie..
for iM08 follow advice given on my site
http://karsten.schluter.googlepages.com/im08changeeventdate
ah, and Welcome Pittsburgh V Man to the  iMovie boards

Buying a new camcorder

Hi All,
I have iMovie HD 6 and am going to buy a new camcorder. I am looking at a Sony HDR SR12 which is a high definition one.
What I wanted to check was that will the footage I shoot be compatible with the iMove HD6 and will I be able to produce dvds that will still play on non high definition TVs.
Also does anyone have any comment on that camcorder or another one that has a hard drive and works well with the Apple machines. I went for Sony as I heard they were compatible.
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Steve

Get a mini DV camcorder with a firewire output. I own 3 different Sony Hi-Def HDV camcorders that work very well with iMovie and iDVD. Hard drive might seem like a good idea, but mini DV tapes are $2 each at Costco and you can save the footage as long as the tape will last; with hard drive you have to transfer and edit everything you shoot right away to make room to shoot more.
(Just like every digital camera owner has had to delete photos to shoot more photos when the memory card is full)
iDVD does a great job of converting your movie projects to standard def if you edit in HD in iMovie, but remember HD takes up about 4 times the hard drive space, so be sure to have lots of hard drive available to capture and edit (WD 1 Terabyte $199 @ Costco)
With Toast 9 you can actually burn Hi-Def DVDs that will play on a Blu-Ray player, but you are limited to about a half hour, or an hour if you use a dual-layer DVD.
Hope that helps.
David Y
Message was edited by: David Yellen

Considering a new camcorder (HDD type)

I'm considering getting a new camcorder, and I'm looking at the hard disk drive types. I've been using miniDV for awhile and although I've had no real problems with it, I confess the thought of recording straight to disk is very appealing. I have imported all my raw footage of a dozen+ miniDV tapes to a Western Digital My Book Pro (raid 1), and from there I use iMovie 08 to compile various projects.
Are there any issues I should know about with HDD models? Per Consumer Reports, right now I'm looking at a JVC GZ-MG730 and Panasonic SDR-H60 (leaning toward the latter, based on prior experience with the brand).

From your post:
"Are there any issues I should know about with HDD models? Per Consumer Reports, right now I'm looking at a JVC GZ-MG730 and Panasonic SDR-H60 (leaning toward the latter, based on prior experience with the brand)."
From my post in another thread:
"Another poster today, on another thread, mentioned getting a JVC, since it was top rated by Consumer Reports. I am a big CR fan and I have noticed their ratings for camcorders lately have focussed on all these newer formatted cams, while relegating miniDV to a side bar type mention. I am of the opinion that they have lost their focus (no pun intended) on this issue because they are not considering the editing aspects of those cams. We see far more problems with HDD, flash and DVD cams here than there ever was, or is, with miniDV, still the best quality video for your dollar."
If you want an informative read about the varied cam formats, read what Davd Babsky had to say in this thread. The main piece is several posts down in the thread.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8546986#8546986

Purchasing a new camcorder

I'm on the market for the purchase of a new camcorder. My Sony PC9 is clearly outdated. I've had it for over 8 years now and although it works fine, I would like something smaller and sharper. I do mostly sports videos such as ski and bike trips. I need a small, light, high definition camera with good zoom capability. I'm looking at the Sony HDRCX12 and the Panasonic HDC-SD100. They are pretty much the same size and offer similar options. I would normally lean towards the Sony, but the Panasonic HDC-SD100 is a 3CCD camcorder. The Sony HDRCX12 has only one (although sensor is much larger). To my knowledge, a 3CCD will give me a much better, professional looking image. Is this true? I've surf the internet for an answer and it is rather confusing. I know lens quality is also an important factor, which makes it even more confusing.
Thanks for you help.

If you plan to shoot with any of these AVCHD camera's then you'll probably want to take note of the inherent limitations of working with that format in FCP. You'll need VoltaicHD to transcode the raw source to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) in order to edit it. These are BIG files, not like your trusty DV format, so you;ll want good large fast hard drives for storage.
If you want direct support in FCP then you'll be looking at both a hardware upgrade to an Intel based Mac and a software upgrade to FCS2 (FCP6). AVCHD support via Log and Transfer was only introduced since the FCP6 version came about and requires an Intel Mac.
With that in mind you might want consider at the very least a flash based HDV camera which can be effectively used via the new ClipWrap app, or just plump for a tape based HDV camera.

I want to buy a new camcorder and don't know what to buy. I am running snow leopard and have imovie09

I need some advice on buying a new camcorder. I am running snow leopard and have imovie09.

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Buying a new Camcorder. Which one ?? Need Help

Hey guys, love the site and the advice. I am really learning a lot.
I have recently sold my Sony DCR DVD403 b/c it does not have a firewire and I cannot go though all of those steps on a weekly basis to convert videos to my mac.
Now, this is my first mac..woohoo!
In Decemeber I got a imac g5, 2.1 ghz, 1.5 gb, final cut express.
I am now in the market for a good camcorder to have fun with. I am in the range of prosumer. Maybe from 1000-1500$ unless you guys can convince me otherwise.
I have been looking at the Panasonic gs400 but gotten mixed reviews. I also looked at the sony hdr hci, but i understand you cannot burn your HD footage to DVD's???
The new panasonic gs500 is coming out in a couple weeks, but have no idea of quality!
I am looking for experience here. What do you guys suggest as far as a camcorder that I can use weekly with family, friends, weddings, etc and edit as gifts and hopefully learn enough to open my side business.
thanks.
G5

Hello Jack,
It is always a big deal to figure out what camera to buy. So many pro's and con's and the best bang for the buck. We're all in the same boat. In the Digital World, there is one point that can make the descicion on Acquisition and Editing very simple. What will your output be? You admit that you are just beginning and that your goal is to share video experiences with friends and relatives. Today, that means via DVD or Internet. Since you have a Mac and have FCX-HD, you have an excellent base to learn from. Good start.
Now you want an Aquisition Tool (Camcorder) and you would like to go in the right direction. It is a popular opinion, at this time, to think "Evergreen". That is, buy something now that will serve you well in the future; grow with the changes in technology. A good thought, but not always practical. You have the right computer that will be good in the future. You have a good editing platform that will serve you well to produce the video's you are dreaming of. FCX-HD will teach you an editing system that will allow you to grow with a more complex system (FCP) if the future deems you need it. The most important thing for you to consider right now is getting the most editing experience you can. This is truly the most honest advice anyone can give you. To get the most editing experience you will need a video source that can be easily captured into FCX-HD. That will be DV SD, not HD. The FCX and FCP editing platform is based on the marvelous QuickTime file system. Video signals captured by a camcorder have the video and audio signals for each frame locked together. DV SD video when captured to a QuickTime based editing system is seperated into video and audio and Timecode added. HD video remains as a "stream" output and will only conveniently work in systems like iMovie and iDVD. To make HD work in FCP or FCX all the captured video needs to go through a very long process of Rendering. This is an important point. Many people pass over that fact like it isn't there; they are enamored by the sales pitch of HD. This is confusing enough and professional experience is speaking here. Also, the issue of 1080i, 720p or card versus tape hasn't even been discussed, yet. Confusing! HD is in the future, yes. For archival reasons many pro's have begun to shoot HD with the intention of using the HD media in future HD releases. This is also the course that the camera manufacturers want everyone to take.
The summation of this long explanation comes to this. Choose a good DV camera, like a used VX-2000, as someone else suggested. Start shooting, capturing and learning to edit. Don't go into business right away. Take some time to learn how to polish your "look". It will be less stressful and more rewarding. You will then impress your friends and that will start your customer base. If you want to be good at what you do, you will start and restart several times before things are on a roll. That's evolution. If you don't master the editing - all will be frustration. Choosing HD at this time will most likely cause you nothing but that. Shooting DV SD will get you into editing quicker and believe me, even FCX-HD has a steep learning curve,; but it is really powerful. Convenient capture and editng will teach you the most about video, and today, that means shooting DV SD. Buying a good camera like a used VX-2000, will also mean that in the future when you want to change to a new camera, yours will sell easily, because you made a wise choice. That DV-SD video that you previously captured will probably be already disseminated as SD DVD's and you won't care about it much anymore. Actually DV-SD will be able to be converted to HD, if you need to. Another cumbersome point, is that to watch an HD stream from your HD camcorder to an SD-NTSC set recquires conversion (like an AJA converter) which adds more expense.
Hopefully this argument for editing experience will get you on the right path. After all that, Welcome to the World of Final Cut; a place of wonderful creativity. And Welcome to the World of Mac!
Tim
G4 DP 1.42 GHz, 2GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Searching for advice on buying a new camcorder! PLEASE HELP!

I currently have a JVC Everio and it just is way too difficult to get to work with my new iMac. I would like to buy a new, somewhat affordable, camcorder that takes great video of my nine month son AND is easy to download with the basic Apple video processing system. PLEASE HELP!!

hey there BuckeyeHoov,
i hesitate to make any sort of recommendation on a specific cam as specs change, models are discontinued & replaced. i have always liked & used Sony, but i've had my cams for several years & the features that made them quite workable are no longer offered in most consumer cams by any maker. sorry, but beyond the previous suggestion to look @ Canon, Panasonic, Sony to see what they offer, i can't be more specific. i have noticed that BestBuy doesn't seem to carry as many as they used to & many of them are only available on-line, very similar @ Circuit City. take a look @ their websites, checkout the user reviews & see if they have anything in their brick & mortar stores you can go touch. again, get a MiniDV tape-based cam w/ FireWire=i.Link=IEEE 1394. someone else may have a cam pref to post.
good luck.

New camcorder suggestions

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