Mini DV or HDD Camcorder

I posted this a while ago w/the same questions. This may (or may not) help you. FYI.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1832479&tstart=0

in short:
HDV (=HiDef on miniDV) has the advantage of very easy storage of the 'raw data' = put tapes in a shoebox 😉 disadvantage: real-time import, no selective import (with iM), mechanics (=fragile)

HDD (harddrive) has the disadvantage of: when full, you need a Mac/Computer to 'dump' data to free disk space on camera.. (=I wouldn't carry my Mac to some vacation places....)

my actually position on 'what next after my goo' ol' Sony TRV14' is a flashmem device as the Canon HF100 .. SD-cards getting cheaper every day, you can carry 'tons' of GBs/hours within your palm.. later, you can copy/backup data from card to HDD/Mac..

I agree with Karsten. Flash memory (SDHC cards) is what I prefer.

I normally use an HDV (..hi-def miniDV tape..) camcorder for anything important (..weddings, etc..) but for "snapshooting" bits of travel video - as Karsten knows! - I use a Panasonic SD5 chip-based camcorder.

Reasons: miniDV (..or HDV..) tape gives excellent quality, is unlikely to get a whole tape trashed, survives being dropped, doesn't need to be 'archived' onto some other medium when it's full - just buy another £4 tape. Many tape-based camcorders have a huge assortment of manual controls of aperture, shutter speed, light-sensitivity, focus, etc.

Hard disc (HDD) camcorders may not survive being dropped ..in which case ALL that's on the disc (..many hours of recordings..) may become inaccessible or irretrievable. When the disc's full, you need to 'archive' any material which you want to keep onto some other device so that you can 'empty' the disc to make more recordings. Generally have fewer manual choices.

Chip-based cameras: very robust, survive being dropped, quality may be not quite as good as tape (..AVCHD is generally more compressed, as also are HDD recordings..) and they're generally quite small, light and easily 'pocketable'. Generally mid-way between all the manual options of some tape camcorders and the full-auto-only of many HDD camcorders (..i.e; the SD5 has many manual options, but they're mostly awkward to reach and use).

So I'd say choose a little Panasonic or Sony chip-based camcorder.

If you're not sure which one is best, try checking the camcorder ratings of the different brands. Knowing the pros and cons is also a good way of determining whether it is best or not. The expert reviews are a good source for that.

MattyMiles wrote:
.. Can anyone suggest make a models of each type.

this is the list of officially tested ones by Apple:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3290

for sure, there're hundreds more flooding the market, which work prefectly with iM-

don't hesitate to post your choice here and ask others using the same device.. different needs, different recommendations.. (simple example: some devices are too small for some hands.. 😉 )

the import from SDcard is even simpler than tapes: it is faster than real-time and you can pre-select, which clips should be imported..

as mentioned in some other thread: HDDcorders are 'dead end' in my humble opinion..

As Karsten says, "..the import from SDcard is even simpler than tapes: it is faster than real-time.." ..though in my experience only slightly faster than real-time (..because iMovie also has to make 'thumbnails' of the imported clips, and that seems to slow things down a bit..) but it varies from Mac to Mac.

"..Can anyone suggest make a models of each type.." ..well, I won't suggest any HDD models because - as I said above - I think SD card cameras are better; if you drop an HDD camera you may lose all your material! ..I mentioned (above) a Panasonic HDC-SD5..

..but that model has been superseded by newer ones, such as the SD7 and SD9..

..Just Google for Panasonic SD.

(The newer camera isn't bigger ..it's just the photo which is bigger!)

Sony make similar models; just Google for those, too..

make sure you read the expert reviews on the Panasonics. Some quirky things about the cam.

Hi def is better than low def.

In my experience it would look great - indistinguishable from miniDV ..unless you have a lot of very rapid action in the movie. That may produce some jerkiness, jiggling, and loss of resolution ..e.g; a train going past; a ball whizzing past rapidly, or some such.

But for most movies, without a lot of rapid movement (..i.e; not a movie of a football match!..) you'd see no difference at all.

Why don't you read this comparison from camcorderinfo to help clarify things a bit?

Read it all the way through - there are several pages of it - and then look at their conclusions.

That Canon Vixia HF10 may have a different name here in the UK ..they're generally known here just by model numbers (HF10) rather than by names ('Vixia').

As you can't seem to make up your mind between HDV (tape) and AVCHD (SD memory cards), then any differences between them are unimportant to you. So forget the recording format (cards or tape), and concentrate on the other capabilities which might be most useful to you:

Maximum zoom range,
Widest angle zoom (for successful shooting indoors),
Image stabilisation (optical is better than electronic),
External microphone socket (for interviews, etc),
External headphone socket (for hearing what you're actually recording),
Screw thread on the front of the lens (for adding a wider-angle adaptor lens),
Stills shooting capability (to shoot stills as well as movies),
Assorted manual settings (for extra 'creativity'),
Very simple 'Easy' setting for foolproof recordings,
'Pre-shoot' facility (..on some Panasonics..) for capturing what's happening in the few
..seconds before you actually squeeze the Record button.

Consider what facilities you want, then choose the camera which has the best or most of them.