MIniDV, DVD or Hard Disk: which camcorder is better?

Question

I'm looking to buy a new camcorder, but don't know whether to go with MIniDV, DVD or Hard Disk Drive. I hear MiniDV probably is the best for editing, but I'm thinking about just doing some home movies, nothing fancy. I don't want to spend over $600 either, so I guess that narrows my options quite abit. Any recommendations?

Answer 1

They are all pretty much the same price. $300.00 to $400.00

If you are extremely lazy, I'd go with the MiniDVD. When the video recording is done... ...it is done! Editing is a pain with compressed video.

With the hard drive, it is like the MiniDV, and like the MiniDVD. You will create video that HAS to be transferred to a PC or stored in some fashion, but it will be compressed like the DVD, and not great for editing.

If you want HIGH Quality, and have some time for editing, then MiniDV is for you. Buy a tape, record video to it. That simple....
...until you you transfer it to the PC and make a DVD. If you want to do editing, this is PERFECT.

Too lazy to transfer a MiniDV tape to DVD with a computer? Get one of those home-DVD-recorders. Record directly from the camcorder, but don't expect to edit the DVD after that.

Editing from any existing DVD movie (rented, bought or homemade) is not always the way to go for 'best quality".

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I favor MiniDV camcorder. My personal Opinion.

Answer 2

All options are open except HD and 3 chip.

DVD record only 20-30 minutes of HQ and it's more compressed than the other two and you need software that can read MPEG2 files to do any editing. DVDs generally don't provide either Firewire or USB support only Composite A/V.

Mini DV records for 60 minutes and uses AVI compression instead of MPEG2 so the image is sharper and has more resolution. All units support FireWire but only a few support USB and usually only for transfering still pictures.

HDD cameras record from 3.5 to 12 hours, depening on size of drive and quality level. These HAVE to be off loaded to a comptuer or set top DVD recorder so you can clear the drive and record more. You can also record about 15 minutes on a 1 GB SD card. These support Firewire and sometime USB and A/V composite.

The hard drives are not replaceable It's unclear how well they work hand held or if that disk might scare from being moved.

Answer 3

Go ahead and get a hard drive cam. MiniDV would probably be too much work for you, and DVDs would be too little. Actually, I take that back. If you're not too concerned about recording times, then get a decent digital camera with a video option. It's not as bad as you think. Often times, this will record in an .avi format for easier editing, and also, it offers great quality as well, if you're not too serious about video. The camera I have records in a slightly higher compression than DV-AVI, about 1 gig for every 8 minutes. Granted, this doesnt offer a lot of flexibility when shooting, but it's a great option, at least for me. Otherwise, just go for hard drive cams. Either way, flash or hard drive, it'll fit your needs well. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I'm going to vote for miniDV. I appreciate you don't want to do anything fancy, but (and I speak from personal experience) home movies tend to be completely unwatchable without at least some editing. You've got some room with the budget though - you can get a decent camera for comfortably less than that!

Answer 5

you have already had an stunning answer from Johnny, yet enable me throw in a notice of warning with reference to the "humorous angles and distinctive hues". in case you record your video that way you're caught with it - if it relatively is not what you may was hoping for there is not any going lower back. Even worse, in case you by risk leave the camcorder in a sort of outcomes modes you may smash the subsequent shot and that, of direction, may be the shot of an entire life! in case you do it on the laptop you may attempt as many countless issues as you like and notice what works. Oh, and one extra notice - MiniDV is relatively the main inexpensive, and it is likewise the superb for long term storage!