What camcorder should I buy?
I want a camcorder to use for family stuff (soccer, hockey, TaeKwonDo.) Which one seems to be most compatible with my G4 powermac?
G4, Mac OS X (10.4.8)
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Hello AryMom,
get a MiniDV camcorder. Stay away from cameras that record to HDD/DVD, as these usually employ MPEG-2 format, which can't be edited (at least not without a lengthy and lossy conversion process).
Your choice will greatly depend on the amount of money you want to spend, so you'll need to check your budget. Low to midrange cameras usually come with one CCD (the chip that processes the video) only, whereas for a little more money you can get a 3-CCD camcorder, which will get you a much higher video quality.
Sony is the brand of choice of many on this board (and mine), but Panasonic and Canon make very good camcorders as well. Panasonic in particular produce good 3-CCD camcorders at competitve prices (PV-GS and NV-GS series). Sony's DCR-HC series offers something for every wallet, but the cameras are all 1-CCD. On the other hand optics and battery management are very good here.
You could start looking here:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/d/Reviews&levelb=Camcorder&levelc=MiniDV.htm
More reading:
which camera to buy and why
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=523995&tstart=0
The 10 questions to ask when buying a camcorder
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/10-Questions-to-Ask-When-Buying-A-Camcorder .htm
In the end you will have to see how the camcorder feels in your hand: are all the controls easily reachable? Does your nose constantly get squeezed when looking through the viewfinder? .... and so on.
Features to look for:
• DVin - allows you to export your movies back to tape from your mac
• A/Vin - allows you to record from analog sources (e.g. VCR)
And you might want to consider getting a tripod for stable shots 🙂
hope this helps
mish
get a MiniDV camcorder. Stay away from cameras that record to HDD/DVD, as these usually employ MPEG-2 format, which can't be edited (at least not without a lengthy and lossy conversion process).
Your choice will greatly depend on the amount of money you want to spend, so you'll need to check your budget. Low to midrange cameras usually come with one CCD (the chip that processes the video) only, whereas for a little more money you can get a 3-CCD camcorder, which will get you a much higher video quality.
Sony is the brand of choice of many on this board (and mine), but Panasonic and Canon make very good camcorders as well. Panasonic in particular produce good 3-CCD camcorders at competitve prices (PV-GS and NV-GS series). Sony's DCR-HC series offers something for every wallet, but the cameras are all 1-CCD. On the other hand optics and battery management are very good here.
You could start looking here:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/d/Reviews&levelb=Camcorder&levelc=MiniDV.htm
More reading:
which camera to buy and why
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=523995&tstart=0
The 10 questions to ask when buying a camcorder
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/10-Questions-to-Ask-When-Buying-A-Camcorder .htm
In the end you will have to see how the camcorder feels in your hand: are all the controls easily reachable? Does your nose constantly get squeezed when looking through the viewfinder? .... and so on.
Features to look for:
• DVin - allows you to export your movies back to tape from your mac
• A/Vin - allows you to record from analog sources (e.g. VCR)
And you might want to consider getting a tripod for stable shots 🙂
hope this helps
mish
