Which camcorder to buy

John R. Hall

I know some of the Wallies film their projects for marketing/troubleshooting purposes. I want to start taking a camcorder on the road to film some of my trips with HVACR techs and contractors.

I'd like advice on what is the best to buy. I have gone through two "cheapie" ones while filming the kids growing up. Now I want to upgrade. My first thought was to buy a camcorder which burns the images on a recordable CD, built into the camera. Then I thought about a digital camcorder that I can plug into a CD burner. I think the price is a wash when comparing both methods.

Anyone have experience with camcorders or advice? Thanks, in advance.

jim bannister

Recorders

John,

A decent recorder will set you back in the $450.00 to $600.00 range for a digital version. Make sure it has a firewire port for data transfer. Your computer will also need a pci card for firewire. Also, purchase a decent software editing program such as Pinnacle Studios, for under $100.00. You can edit to your heart's content, add music and voiceovers, etc. Also, make sure your current hard drive has the capacity to be used as a "buffer" when editing. Hope this helps.

rudy_2

John, my experience has been with a Sony TRV310 (digital using 8mm tapes) camcorder, IBM IEEE 1394 PMCIA card and Pinnacle Studio 7.

I had lots of problems and glitches until I recently got a laptop with a 2.4 gig processor and 40 gig hard drive.

It works flawlessly now but there was a huge learning curve. Like everything else, it sure wasn't as easy as Studio 7 says on the box!!

Feel free to get in touch if you have questions.

Bud_14

Camcorder

I have the TRV250, not sure of the difference between that and the 310 that Rudy has, but I like it and it is fairly easy to use. Light weight. I went out blind...talked to several salesman and as usual more confused as the night went on. Rudy is right about the learning curve, I just about through my studio 8 in the recycle bin and send the tapes in for videos. I know have the making of the film down and can save it, but to purchase the software to copy it to CD was again another learning curve. I have just purchased EZ CD Creator 6 to create the cds...it was not a good night last night we'll see if today is better

I have a 40 minute video you can view for free if you go to the community section, copy and paste the url, high speed internet can down load it within approx 3 to 4 minutes. The Cds you would record are much higher quality then the web mpegs for the internet.

Let us know how you did!

Bud

Let me add that by the time we bought all the bells and whistles, like power cords and memory cards. A nice case that came with the software and of course the insurance plan..you know the anything happens, we fix it kinda thing. A package of tapes and the battrey charger is an extra,don't forget the tripod if you don't already have one. I think it was close to a grand...

rudy_2

Really John, like Bud said, it can get very frustrating.

I started out with Studio 400 and must have spent hundreds of hours trying to get it to work. But I think that was directly related to the equipment I was using at the time.


Getting Studio 7, a digital camcorder and a fast computer (with cd burner) made all the difference in the world.

If you go to Pinnacle's website discussion board, you may get a taste of what you are getting into: http://webboard.pinnaclesys.com/read_forums.asp?WebboardID=1&SectionID=109&lng=1&?ProductID=447&SubDocTypesID=170 . (These folks have the same passion for making movies that folks on The Wall have for boilers!!)

There is also another website that has alot of good info on using their product: http://www.mikeshaw.co.uk/index.htm .

Like I said, I've now got it working real well, with very professional looking results.

But when you consider all the time and energy I've got in it, it might have been better for me to hire a Hollywood film crew to follow my kids around - just kidding, but you do need to know what you are getting into!!

Good luck

John R. Hall

Thanks

The helpful friends here ARE my learning curve. That's what makes The Wall so special.

Michael B

if I can jump in for

just a second. I purchased an imac late last year and boy is it easy!! imovies, plug the camcorder in and watch the computer upload the information. Also works for digital pictures and music (ipod). I have switched and boy am I happy.

www.apple.com

Michael Bleier
Able Distributors
www.abledistributors.com
"The Supplier Who Works With You"

John R. Hall

What about

The necessary equipment to convert a VHS tape to a CD?