Best camcorder choice- Hard drive, DV, mini-dv?

Question

I'm about to buy a camcorder and I want to balance getting something good with not overspending. Seems that the ones that record to DVD are being replaced by ones that record directly to a hard-drive. However, those are more expensive. Is there any huge advantage of going with the hard-drive version for the average user?

Also, if I go the DVD route-- is there any advantage to the Mini-DV rather than the full sized DVD? How do you play the mini-DVD's on a DVD drive?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Ok what I'm going to say isnt directed towards just you, but at all the people in the world who think this.

MINIDVD IS NOT MINIDV. THERES A REASON WHY THEY CALL THE SMALL DVDS MINIDVDs, BECAUSE THEYRE MINI. ITS NOT BECAUSE THEYRE DUMB AND THEY FORGOT THE "D" AT THE END OF "DVD" AND DECIDED TO CALL IT MINIDV. ITS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING.

Okay, well now that thats over, I'll explain. MiniDVs are tapes, while MiniDVDs (with a "D") are, well, miniature versions of dvds. In the camcorder world, when someone says minidvd, it is the same thing as dvd. So MiniDVD=DVD (for what were talking about). Remember that now. It'll be on the test.

There are three kinds of cameras, you got that right, but its not hard drive, DV, and miniDV. Hard drive is one, yes, and dvds (remember the above?) are another kind, and DV is the last kind. And in this case, DV also = MiniDV. DV isnt the same thing as miniDV, but in the world of consumer (keyword: consumer) cameras, when some one says DV they mean miniDV. Now there are three factors to a good consumer camera: quality, ease of use, and price. Let's talk about quality. Any camera that you buy will compress the video (remember, still talking about consumer cameras). Compression will make the video smaller so its easier to edit, etc. but it will also reduce quality. Hard drive cams and DVD cams both use Mpeg-2 compression. DV cameras use DV compression (hence the name). DV is less compressed than mpeg-2, so it will offer better quality. However, the file sizes will be about 4-5 times bigger than DVD or hard drive cams. Also, quality is when compared to a similar camera; a $200 miniDV camera will probably not offer better quality than a 3ccd $700 DVD one.

The next factor is ease of use. There can be two interpretations of this. DVDs can be watched immediately after shooting, and hard drive cameras dont even have to use recording media, so once again, these two might come to mind as the best choices for ease of use. But if you want to edit your videos (and "create big budget hollywood effects and become the next spielberg" etc. etc.), you will probably want a DV camera. They record to tape, but they still offer the highest quality, and they are the easiest to put into an editing program and edit. The quality is also important because when you make your video clips into dvds, you will have to recompress them, and it further reduces the quality. With a hard drive cam, you start with DVD quality, but its reduced to lower-than-dvd-quality once its actually recompressed and burned. With DV cameras, you start out with better than DVD-quality so when you burn to DVD you end up with DVD quality.

The final factor is price. This is really not that important, because there are cams from each format that are really cheap and really expensive, so you have a wide selection to choose from. However, it generally goes like. MiniDVs are the cheapest, and the most expensive. You can probably get one for $200 (or maybe less), and the expensive miniDV cameras (these are pro cameras, not consumer ones) go up to $8,000. For dvds, these can probably be bought for around $300, and the most expensive ones maybe around $1500. And hard drive cams, the cheapest ones can probably be bought for around $400-500, and the most expensive ones probably around $1500 as well. And one more thing before I shut up. There are new DVD and Hard drive cams that record HD via AVCHD. Dont get those. Or at least, wait a while before you get those. Nothing supports AVCHD. HDV is a good format, but there arent a lot of choices for burning, not to mention its tricky to edit, and youll need a total computer/software overhaul. So IMO, its probably better if you waited a while before going HD. Hope this helps! (and no there was no test, I was joking)

Answer 2

Well, the nice thing about hard drive based camcorders is that you don't have to buy tapes or anything. So you save money that way. Also, most of them can record at least 7 Hours of video (based on a 30gb cam). My aunt has a sony sdr-40, its pretty nice.

The only thing about HDD and DVD camcorders is that they compress the video alot. If you compare them to Mini DV cams, they compress them nearly 3 times as much. This degrades the video, so even if the cam has a high resolution, the compression can just make it look terrible.

So when your shopping for a camcorder, make sure you read about it alot. Go to www.camcorderinfo.com to get reviews that tell you everthing you will need to know.

The advantages of having Mini DV instead of DVD are tremendous. Mini DV is typically much better quality. You can buy Mini DV tapes that record 60 mins, some go up to 90 mins in SP mode even. With DVDs, you would have to buy a DVD+R DL (Dual Layer), just to record 1 hour. Those things can be expensive and hard to find. And they aren't even compatible with ALL DVD camcorders. So make sure of that if you decide on DVD.

If you plan to use the camera for normal things like family and parties, and you don't plan on editing, I would suggest on a HDD camcorder. Otherwise, get Mini DV- for sure.

Answer 3

OK. Evil Genius is sort of on the right track. But let's be very clear. There are 5 different digital video recording media on the market:

1. MiniDV Tape
2. DVD
3. Mini DVD
4. Hard disk
5. Memory

There are camcorders on the market for each of the media. Most of htese media have some problems:

1. Memory - is very expenisve and you can only record a fixed amount.
2. Hard disk - is less expensive, but still has limited recording time capabilities. Also the hard disk camcorders are not suitable for rugged environments
3. DVD and MiniDVD - are the most returned of electronics due to poor reliability and the difficulty to use.

That leaves one format that outperforms all the rest - MiniDV tape. If it's good enough for TV news and other video journalism tasks, its plenty good enough for me.

MiniDV is:

1. rugged
2. cheap
3. easiest to use
4. reusuable
5 and best of all, its available on a full range of camcorders from the cheapest to the most expensive

Answer 4

Hi there! You failed to mention whether or not you have ever owned a video recorder so I am assuming this is a first time sort of purchase. In 1997 I purchased my first recorder a Sony TRV72. It is of the Hi8 format and probably one of the better investments made in my life. However at that time what with extra batteries and extended warranty, it cost me just over $2000. It has been flawless and to this very day has never cost a penny in repairs.
Today however we are really into the age of computers and for me, my Sony no longer cuts it. Now the cameras are considerably more compact but regardless, to go with anything other than a direct hard drive and there still remains the matter of storage. I have almost as many Hi8 tapes kicking aropund as I do old VHS tapes. Not all manufacturers are into the hard drive units apart from JVC and I do not know of any others. This though is the avantage of having nothing to store, and I believe the JVC unit I looked at had a recording capibility of around 36 hours. Who on earth needs 36 hours you might ask but think about it...I have about 18 Hi8 cassettes kicking around and everyone of them is full. Not to mention others that have been erased 3 or 4 times. And I consider myself a lower than an average user. Next Dec. the Sony is 10 years old. Perhaps not a direct answer to your question but something I know I have to consider if I ever decide on purchasing a new one!

Answer 5

Mini DV is probably best

Answer 6

Buy MiniDV!!!