I’m thinking of buying a video camera to record, among other things, sports stuff: uni trials, longboard skateboarding, skateboard slalom…etc…
I have a digital camera and use it a lot but I’d like to get some action footy.
Any suggestions for a newbie to the vid cam world?
…or how about at least a few ideas of pitfalls to avoid…?
Avoid anything that records onto a memory card. Unless you want your footage primarily for internet or computer use. Those cameras only shoot compressed video, not full-screen stuff that will look great on a TV. Stick with the DV or mini-DV (or equivalent) standard.
I used a borrowed Sony camera in 1999-2000, and it was amazing. Get a wide-angle attachment.
What’s your price range? I really like the Panasonic PV-GS*** series. I have a gs300 for $700 and my buddy Mark has a gs65 for 300(?). They are both really good.
read this first: http://www.easycamcorders.com/content/Beginners-Guide.htm
and check out http://www.camcorderinfo.com/
and http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php
and mostly: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/CamInfo-Select-2005.htm
The last link there is the best camcorders from 2005 divided into different price levels. There are probably 2006 models of all of them, but you’ll need to do a little bit of searching to figure out what they are. (the pv-gs250 became the pv-gs300 with a few changes in 2006, for instance.)
well i was thinking of getting a video camera but i decided i would just get like a 5 MP digi camera, cuz it is smaller and it is good for what i need, i just baught a 1GB SD for my camera for 30$ CDN on e-bay!! good find.
Seager those links were really helpful. thanks