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When I worked at Circuit City in college (1999), we were given a statistic that the average camcorder user uses their camcorder for 12 hours a year. Remember that when you consider dropping $800 on a camcorder.
I highly disagree with what's concluded in this article.
The Flip (and Kodak Z-series) cameras are the worst digirecorders one could buy. Want good portable P&S video? Get the Canon SX200 IS digicam that records at 720/30p. Not only you will get exposure compensation AND locking for $300, but you get enough color and other settings to even emulate the movie look! And all that at high h.264 bitrate: 24 mbps! Beats the completely automatic, highly compressed Flip/Kodaks any day.
As for the high-end camcorder, I don't agree with going with the Panasonic one. The best camcorder in that range is the Canon HF-S10/S100. It has more detail than the TM-300, and more manual controls and ports -- at the same price.
@Eugenia: the sx200 is nice, but it costs twice as much. Yes, the money may buy you oodles of features / better optics, and is probably a much better value... but "budget" is not the word I would use at that price point, speaking as a broke-ass graphic designer.
@Eugenia: Seconded. I have the Powershot 780IS and it's a wicked good HD video recorder. It's only $199.
The focusing lens is what makes it totally outclass the flipcam-style recorders. It's also *tiny!*Bonus: Canon makes a really solid underwater case that'll let you shoot down to something like 150 feet with full controls available.
@Eugenia: I was strongly considering the HF-S100 but Camcorderinfo compares it with the TM-300 on a number of fronts and makes a compelling case for the Panasonic, concluding:
"TM300 has the edge in performance, clearly beating out the HF S100 in low light, noise, stabilization, and still performance; the Canon has only a slight edge in bright light color, video sharpness, and motion"
I'm not sure what port the Canon has that the Panasonic doesn't - is it an important one?
@Eugenia: I agree with the heart of your argument, that a more comprehensive review of certain cameras at certain price levels should have been done.
It's a very easy argument that currently Cannon makes some of the leading sensors on the market and another easy argument that everyone looking to do semi-pro filming (ie 1300$ and up) should stay far away from Panasonic. I say redo this article as a weeklong special with that level of research.
My vote is still on the Kodak Zi8. Currently priced at $150 for a 1080p pocket camcorder, and it's got all the cool little things that makes us gadget people all giddy.
@Ridley: I own the ZS3...it is amazing. The Video is outstanding (720p). Pictures are excellent. It's not a perfect low light performer but with a small CCD and only 300 bucks it can't be beat. I am considering going to the Pana GF-1 though. A micro 4/3's rockstar. Read some reviews.
The only contender for me was the Panny, for the focus ring, but for $500 more I will be getting a 7D, and killing two birds with one stone. Not the same, I realize, but I have a $3,000 Sony FX1000 (needed tape) for work, that I have full access to whenever I want.
If you're looking at spending $1300 on a consumer video camera, I really have to recommend taking a look at the previous generation of pro (or cheap documentary) cameras, specifically the Panasonic Ag-DVX100B. Yes, it's only SD, but it's really good SD (using 3CCD instead of CMOS for the sensor). And sound quality is terrific - with a pair of XLR inputs, you can't compete on sound with any of these consumer models, and if you've ever shot video only to find the audio was terrible, you know how important sound is to good video. Also worth mentioning is the real 24P mode. Instant dramatic effect.
It's since been replaced by the $5K AGX200, which shoots in HD, but a quick search on ebay shows that they are out there (don't be fooled by the "buy it now" listings - they're priced too high and there's a reason they're still listed).
@Joe Stoner:
It's been replaced by the HVX-200, the HPX-170, and the HMC-150 actually....actually in many ways the HMC-150 is the actual successor. There is no AGX200 to my knowledge. The HMC-150 at $3500 is a freaking amazing camera...same body, etc, as the much more expensive HPX-170 but it lacks P2 recording which for most people isn't a big deal, p2 actually being a detriment for independent filmmakers on a budget. HMC-150 also has the best implementation of AVCHD in any camera ever.
That said, I also highly recommend the Panasonic Lumix GH1.
@TheCrudMan: Yeah, HVX-200 is what I meant. And we opted to get a 160GB firewire drive instead of using P2 cards since they're just too damn expensive.
@Joe Stoner: well, p2 cards prices droped, and from my distributor, they said the firestore doesn't work well and they aren't doing well since p2 cards prices dropped (We have 4 hvx200 cameras)
12/11/09
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The Flip (and Kodak Z-series) cameras are the worst digirecorders one could buy. Want good portable P&S video? Get the Canon SX200 IS digicam that records at 720/30p. Not only you will get exposure compensation AND locking for $300, but you get enough color and other settings to even emulate the movie look! And all that at high h.264 bitrate: 24 mbps! Beats the completely automatic, highly compressed Flip/Kodaks any day.
As for the high-end camcorder, I don't agree with going with the Panasonic one. The best camcorder in that range is the Canon HF-S10/S100. It has more detail than the TM-300, and more manual controls and ports -- at the same price.
12/08/09
12/08/09
The focusing lens is what makes it totally outclass the flipcam-style recorders. It's also *tiny!*Bonus: Canon makes a really solid underwater case that'll let you shoot down to something like 150 feet with full controls available.
12/08/09
"TM300 has the edge in performance, clearly beating out the HF S100 in low light, noise, stabilization, and still performance; the Canon has only a slight edge in bright light color, video sharpness, and motion"
I'm not sure what port the Canon has that the Panasonic doesn't - is it an important one?
12/08/09
It's a very easy argument that currently Cannon makes some of the leading sensors on the market and another easy argument that everyone looking to do semi-pro filming (ie 1300$ and up) should stay far away from Panasonic. I say redo this article as a weeklong special with that level of research.
12/08/09
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12/08/09
My husband picked up a Sony HDR-HC3 for $400 when the HDR-HC5 was retailing around $1200.
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Or to see how the camcorders compare to the DSLR's video like the Canon T1i
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What if we don't want a cheap mini like the Flip, but want something a little better without breaking the bank at $600?
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12/08/09
It's since been replaced by the $5K AGX200, which shoots in HD, but a quick search on ebay shows that they are out there (don't be fooled by the "buy it now" listings - they're priced too high and there's a reason they're still listed).
12/08/09
It's been replaced by the HVX-200, the HPX-170, and the HMC-150 actually....actually in many ways the HMC-150 is the actual successor. There is no AGX200 to my knowledge. The HMC-150 at $3500 is a freaking amazing camera...same body, etc, as the much more expensive HPX-170 but it lacks P2 recording which for most people isn't a big deal, p2 actually being a detriment for independent filmmakers on a budget. HMC-150 also has the best implementation of AVCHD in any camera ever.
That said, I also highly recommend the Panasonic Lumix GH1.
12/08/09
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