Camera Or Camcorder?

I am looking to spend about 350 dollars on a digital camera or a camcorder. I was wondering which one in each category would you guys recomending? I am looking fors ones to use on nothing but coasters. If you could get back with your opinion I would greatly appreciate it, thanks!

you can't take either on coasters!

not to take on coasters, to take of coasters.

Dont some Camcorders have a picture mode?

Most all Digital Camcorders have a still picture mode, though, they're only about .5MP, and you have to have a memory card/stick. Some newer, and pricier models do have 1MP still capabilities. I'm a Sony everything kind of guy...TV, DVD, VCR, Camcorders. With a Camcorder, I'd suggest going with a Sony DCR-TRV480 Digital 8, which is around $350. Or I would even more strongly suggest to spend an extra $50 if you can, and get a mini-DV like the DCR-HC21. I love my HC30, and have pretty much stopped using my old D-8 TRV-350. Much smaller and fits into most cargo pockets.

I guess more of a question is what you want to do with your work? Do you plan on just taking pictures and/or video and doing nothing with what you have or do you plan on Photoshop editing, making videos, etc.? With photo editing there isn't a vast amount of computer power needed in comparison with video editing, which can sometimes even bog down my 2.5GHz 512MB CPU. This is just food for thought mind you...

Digital 8! WHY?

Get a MiniDV. They're the best quality for the price. I love mine.

Edit: You have a Sony DCR-HC30?? Thats what mine is!

I don't even use the memory stick for stills. I just record it and freezeframe it from the tape. *** Edited 6/5/2005 5:03:17 PM UTC by PKIDelirium***

Digital 8 is the second worst thing you can buy, second only to VHS. Why the hell did Sony pack industry standard DV into a proprietary format? Did they not learn from Betamax?

No, they didn't. I just trashed a piece of Sony equipment that was a great disapointment in both quality and time of service.

Does GM own them? ;)

MrScott

Go with a camcorder with mini-DV tapes. They are excellent. But, as a suggestion, I would also plan on buying a mini-DV player for viewing at home. I say this because I know someone whose camcorder use was about 75% playing tapes vs 25% actually shooting movies. Over several years this took it's toll on the heads and other moving parts of the camcorder. Big $$$ to get fixed. Just something to consider.

I started my digital photography with a Sony Sureshot and I loved it. I have since moved on to a digital SLR, but I still use the cybershot now and then.

CPL

They're so cheap now that you just replace it if it dies. My miniDV camera has been kicking now for six years. DV decks are not cheap.

ah yes just re-read the original post - saw the dollar figure he was looking to spend. The other mini-DV camera I was talking about was a $3000.00 Canon GL2 (I think) camera he uses for his business. In the case of a $350 camera it would make more sense to just buy another if the first wears out. I think I need to increase the font size of my screen... heh heh.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration when buying one. Like: size, format, capacity, quality modes, video vs. non-video.
Last year, I bought a Sony DVD Camcorder. Reasons for my choice was:

1) Format. I did not want tape. Digital or not, it will wear. Memory cards were out of the question due to capacity.

2) Size. Small enough to fit in fanny pack so I can keep out of way when riding. It is not heavy at all. I did not want anything big and bulky to have to find a place to put it.

I have been very happy with it. Even though it is only 1 MP, it takes great shots during the day. The only downside is it is not that great in low light conditions or indoors. I have lucked out and got a few good shots at night of maxair on opening day and fireworks as well.
Also, the anti-vibration worked rather well considering my model is from the 1st generation of Sony's DVD Camcorders.

If you are going for a camcorder, go digital. If you are planning to do any editing at all, go DV.

Now, unlike Jeff, I am not going to absolutely condemn Digital-8. Digital-8 is still DV format, and if you have a library of Hi-8 tapes, it might make some sense, particularly since it is cheaper than Mini-DV. The advantage to Digital-8 is that you get the benefits of the DV format, but you get lower initial cost, compatibility with analog 8mm stuff, and possibly some technical advantages with the wider track (some video discussion group types suggested using D8 as an archiving format).

That said, I don't have, and don't specifically recommend Digital-8, because as Jeff pointed out, it is Sony proprietary, and from a coaster rider's perspective, the smallest D8 camera is larger than the largest consumer DV camera. Well not quite, but close.

Absolutely avoid MicroMV. I think Sony has officially killed that one off anyway.

I do not suggest the DVD cameras unless you never plan to edit. DVDs are recorded using MPEG-2 compression, which is efficient, but very difficult to reconstruct for editing, and impossible to edit without losses. It's great for a final distribution format (all DVDs are encoded in MPEG-2) but lousy for production.

Until this spring I used a Sony DCR-TRV8; this spring I was obliged to replace it with a Sony DCR-TRV80. The '80 is very similar to the '8 in many ways, but the '8 was slightly smaller and didn't handle 16:9 video as well. Neither one does decent frame captures (interlacing jaggies are a big problem) but the TRV-80 will allow me to shoot either 640x480 or 1600x1200 stills directly to memory stick. 1600x1200 is what they call "2 megapixel".

For me, video is more important than stills.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Our camera uses the digital tapes. If you're going to go that route, I'd recommend buying a camera that comes with editing software. We got a program with ours that allows you to dump the tape right onto your computer, and edit it through there. I love it because not only can you add titles, but I can also cut out the 10 minute segments where my dad taped the floor or the accidental still shots that get taken. Then I can take it and make a nice menu with chapters on it and burn it onto a DVD. It can be a hassle sometimes, but I actually enjoy messing with the video. Of course, I am somewhat of a computer geek too...

...Or better still, get decent editing software. If you have a late-model Apple, then all you need is a FireWire cable and iMovie, which ships with new Apples and is a part of the iLife suite.

If you have a late model Windows computer, you need a FireWire card and cable, and frequently the FireWire card will come with software for video editing. Or you can use Windows Movie Maker, just be aware that it likes to lock you into doing stuff that will only play in WiMP, which, quite frankly, stinks as a media platform; QuickTime is much nicer in many ways.

If you have any kind of late model computer and you want to get your feet wet with professional-grade editing software, you might play with an interesting bit of crippleware called "Avid FreeDV", available for a free download at http://www.avid.com/freedv . It's limited to...I think it's two video tracks and four audio tracks or something like that, but it is enough to do a lot of stuff, and you can't beat the price. Only trouble is, it might turn you into an Avid geek like me and have you shelling out the money for Xpress DV or Xpress Pro. :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Yeah, recording straight to DVD is bad if you ever plan to edit, and with all of the free editing apps out there (Avid, iMovie, WMM, etc.) it just makes sense to shoot DV.

And that's Xpress Pro HD, Dave. ;) Wait... I don't have HD acquisition equipment...

Jeff, I just have Xpress Pro 4. I don't have HD acquisition yet, either. And I am unlikely to get any until I can get an HD camera in the TRV-8 form factor. I think that's a couple of years out, as right now HD is not being pushed to the consumers. Still too darned expensive.

Incidentally, the iMovie version that is in iLife '05 does support HD.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Thanks for all the input guys. I ended up buying this camera: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=ELEC&pid=00356301000&subcat=Camcorders

I love it. Im hoping it will do good filming coasters and such. With all of the accessories it ended up being aroun 400 dollars. I recommend buying it.

Edit, Spelling
*** Edited 6/6/2005 9:09:16 PM UTC by ttdmfwtm***

Dave: I thought your camera looked differant at IJST then it did at Freak out ;)

Mine only records 640x480 stills to the memory stick. I can also capture stills from the tape in iMovie, but it's still only 640x480. :(

I have a Pentax S4i and absolutly love it. It is compact enough to put in my pocket while on the rides (no locker for me) and it takes 4 Megapixel images which translates to 2304x1728 resolution. It will also take video at 320x240 resolution. Which isn't great, but I have used it for power point presentations. I use a 1GB SD memory card and at maximum resolution, it will take about 350 pictures or about 30 minutes of video. At lower resolutions, it can take over 3000 pitctures. I have yet to run out of room on the card for one day's work. And if I'm planing on taking a trip, I take my laptop where I can upload the pics daily.

All told, you can get Their latest model the S5i which is a 5 Megapixel, plus a 1GB SD card for about $350 give or take.