Camcorder buying advice

[Clippy]

Right.

Am looking to buy a camcorder for use to record family occasions.

Main use will be indoors with some outdoor use as well.

I don't yet have a HD setup at home and probably won't for a few more years (waiting for more content to arrive) so am erring on the side of an SD camcorder. However, if an entry level HD camcorder can film in SD as well would consider that.

Budget is about £300 as technology advances so quickly and would imagine I would upgrade in a few years time anyway.

So, what features should I look for in a camcorder?

A few years ago, they seemed to be moving away from taped media towards HDD but I believe they have now shifted towards flash memory.

Therefore, should I be looking towards flash memory units? Are they reliable?

Any particular model recommendations welcome.

[threaded]

Sanyo Xacti HD1000 or above.

They use an SD card for storage, are really very good, and impressively cheap.

I use these for filming my extreme sports videos and are basically treated as disposable, but they are actually quite robust.

[London75]

I've just bought a Panasonic HDC-SD60, it's a touch more at £375 but it's a league above the flip style cams.

25x optical zoom with image stabilisation and full HD (can do SD as well until you're ready to use HD). 1/4" sensor as well which is good for that price (although just seen the Sanyo has 1/2.5 which ought to be better in low light).

[threaded]

The Sanyo is way better in features: better in low light, has higher resolution, and more robust. Stereo recording. You can take stills whilst filming. It can do full HD at its highest frame rate: 60fps.

The Panasonic looks small at first, but wait till you get that battery on, then it feels unbalanced. I've found them quite fragile, the sockets don't have any covers so dirt can get in easy.

What you're paying a premium on with the Panasonic is the name. At the same price the higher model Xacti 2000 has twice the resolution and even more features.

[Churchill]

The Sanyo is way better in features: better in low light, has higher resolution, and more robust. Stereo recording. You can take stills whilst filming. It can do full HD at its highest frame rate: 60fps.

The Panasonic looks small at first, but wait till you get that battery on, then it feels unbalanced. I've found them quite fragile, the sockets don't have any covers so dirt can get in easy.

What you're paying a premium on with the Panasonic is the name. At the same price the higher model Xacti 2000 has twice the resolution and even more features.

Looks too much like a gun, watch out for Apache Gunships...

[London75]

The Sanyo is way better in features: better in low light, has higher resolution, and more robust. Stereo recording. You can take stills whilst filming. It can do full HD at its highest frame rate: 60fps.

The Panasonic looks small at first, but wait till you get that battery on, then it feels unbalanced. I've found them quite fragile, the sockets don't have any covers so dirt can get in easy.

What you're paying a premium on with the Panasonic is the name. At the same price the higher model Xacti 2000 has twice the resolution and even more features.

I wouldn't agree better just different. The Sanyo form factor could never accomodate the 25x optical zoom and in particular on the panasonic the widest angle is 35.7mm whereas the Sanyo is 44.4

Believe me, I've researched the pants off this and without spending more this is the best cam for my requirements, not everyone else though.

My biggest problem with my older mini-dv cam was that there was no wide angle so recording a video in a room captured just one corner of the room. The panny should get at least half the room in at once.

I do wish they'd chuck a bigger sensor in but I'm guessing the wider lense at default zoom might help somewhat.

For reference my requirement was for a camera to capture the kids growing up so might differ to some others.

[quackhandle]

I recently purchased a Canon LEGRIA FS200 from argos, have used it quite a few times, no problems at all.

It's not all singing all dancing but does what it says on the tin; for the price its decent value. £179.99, good reviews of it on Amazon.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5634048/c_1/1|category_root|Photography|14419436/Trail/searchtext%3ECAMCORDER.htm

qh