hi, iam wanting to get a camcorder and i do not know how to tell if they are good or not. what do you think about the panasonic HDC-SD9.
thanks
i’m going to say no, because its on SD or internal memory of some sort. That turns me away from camcorders immediately, because the format they record in RARELY transfers to any video software without having to undergo a format converting (video format converting softwares cost like $20, and are sketchy if they work or not).
2nd the reason i dont like internal memory is the quality will always, no matter what, be less than a DV/HDV tape.
i’d say search for something else. Read reviews online too.
No, it’s gay.
I have this one and highly recommend it! 
thanks for replying because i dont know anything about camcorders.
thanks
Suggestion:
Don’t buy a camcorder until you learn a bit. You’ll have a much better chance of ending up with something you’ll be happy with, and able to use for your purposes.
Read manufacturers sites to learn features and specs, but read non-manufacturer reviews to learn how they actually work and compare to each other in the field.
My job is to stand around and talk about this kind of thing… If your looking for the better picture and features i would go with the new panasonic or canon camcorders… flash memory is good beacause you dont have to worry about breaking your hard drive or scratching a disk… you can also get a memory card that holds 16gb for it and be able to record for almost 4 hours over and over… aposed to the dv tapes which are higher quality picture but you only get 30-60 minutes per tape and you only get one use each… but what your looking at is more consumer than prosumer so you dont have to worry about the slight bit of quality that the dv tapes offer. the SD9 is a nice camcorder… if its already caught your fancy i would go with it… you wont be dissapointed.
uhhh…
no.
You can use DV tapes over and over as many times as you like, just rewind.
thats what i do so i dont need to keep buying HDV tapes which are like $12 a tape.
also, any DV tape i know of is atleast 60 minutes. Even when i’m using normal DV tapes on my HV30 it still lasts 60 minutes.
I guess i should have been a bit more specific.
You can use DV tapes over and over, but they lose their quality. Ever use a VCR? Also there are no heads to clean with other media types.
DV tapes are a maximum of 60 minutes. Higher quality shooting reduces their time. Usually a HQ/LQ idea, 60 minutes at HQ or 30 at LQ…
uhm…
I use my hv30 in 1080I HD all the time, and my normal DV tapes still stay at 60 minutes bud.
my HDV tapes are 70 minutes actually. (they run like that at least)
and i think your thinking SD stuff, because if you shoot in diff quality, it consumes different amounts of the card. Like how 4 hours of normal quality footage might become 1-2 hours with HD.
Well i guess thats nice being able to get 60 minutes at full quality…
Either way… you are still stuck with only 60 minutes that i personally wouldnt want to use again(especially if you want the DV tapes for quality)… Its nice being able to get one card that can hold up to 6 hours or so of the highest quality video. And use it over and over.
again, i use my tapes over and over and over, and i have never seen a change in quality, and doubt i will.
Does someone smell douche in here?
I swear, it smells like douche.
VCR (VHS) = analog. DV = digital. So not the same at all. In theory, since the data is digital, there should be little to no degradation on subsequent uses. But I’ve never reused a DV tape, so I’ll stop there. Some other downsides with the tapes are bigger, more complex cameras with more moving parts to break down, possible tape breakage, and the need to wind tapes back and forth to find stuff.
Downsides with cameras that record lots of minutes to small amounts of card? Compressed image. Like making JPEGs, you lose some image data every time you compress or re-compress the footage, so editing probably has a negative effect on picture quality. Especially if you have to convert it to edit it in the first place.
The highest quality setting will get you the least amount of recording time. In the HD world, expect to use 4x the amount of storage for a full HD image compared to a “regular” or VGA-sized picture.
Im all for DV tape cameras. The compression from cards and hardrives is more hassle than I want to care about, and working with uncompressed avi footage is so much easier.
Buying packs of tapes isnt expensive. And seeing how this isnt some extreme professional setting, reusing a tape a few tims is nothing to worry about.
Im pretty hard on my camera too, and so far it works perfectly after 3 or 4 years. Being dropped, ran with, sat on, and whatnot.
Anyways, this camera isnt bad. Its full HD (For now), 3 ccd chips, though they arent that great in this camera. So for a medium quality HD camera, its not bad. From reviews the compression it uses is hard to use on almost every program out there.
So use this price range as a guide, and try to find a better camera, or even save up another $50 to be able to get better.
But I dont think youd be really disappointed with this camera. Specially after a little post-contrast editing, and having to re-size to x720 to upload correctly at most video sites.
“Item was not added to the cart.
Thank you for your interest in purchasing the VIXIA HV30 HDV direct from the Canon eStore. The VIXIA HV30 HDV is currently not available.”
any other suggestions?
is this a PROsumer model, so it costs a bit more?
http://www.camcordergenius.com/products.asp?dept_id=10084&product_id=10072
this place has it for $399.00, but it has a BAD reputation.
what should I do?
Not buy from a vendor with a bad reputation. Stick with the ones that have mostly positive reviews. On that site I noticed they offered the camera with several “kits”. The cheapest one, which added $400 to the price of the camera, appears to add:
- Tripod
- Lens cleaning kit
- Digital camera carrying case
- LCD screen protector
Now I bet if I priced those items separately on the same site, they would total out to about $50. Do you really want to buy from someone who wants to trap you like that? They may be one of those shady camera vendors that won’t sell you the main item without add-ons. Instead of processing your order of just the camera, they’ll call you up, try to hard-sell you some overpriced add-ons (that you don’t necessarily need or want), and delay your order indefinitely if you don’t take the bait. Don’t ever shop with a vendor that’s known for using those tactics. Read independent reviews to see if they are.
I just looked up that camera model. Based on the more common price of about &750 I can almost guarantee you that anyone selling the same camera for $399 has something up their sleeve. Make sure the product is new, in its original packaging, not gray-market, etc. Stick with vendors you can trust. I’m a fan of Adorama, because I bout some cameras in their store in person when I used to live in NY, and they really know their stuff. Or B&H, or Amazon, etc.
John,
That makes sense.
Billy