• Gizmodo
  • bestmodo
  • lifehacker
  • kotaku
  • Profile logout login

#camcorders#designcontests

Gizmodo

Share Cancel
   
Upload an image | Add an image URL
×

logging in
  • FAQ. Include # before tag:
  • #tips,
  • #dealzmodo,
  • #rumors,
  • #broken,
  • #iphoneapps,
  • #apple,
  • etc.

New York, 12:27 PM
Fri Dec 11
66 posts in the last 24 hours

FR | IT | DE | SP | JP | AU | BR

Gizmodo Team

Tip your editors:

Editorial Director:
Brian Lam | | Twitter

Editor:
Jason Chen
| AIM | Twitter

Features Editor:
Wilson Rothman
| Twitter

Senior Contributing Editors:
Jesus Diaz
| AIM | Twitter
Mark Wilson, Reviews
| AIM | Twitter

Contributing Editors:
Matt Buchanan
| AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci
| Twitter
Sean Fallon
| Twitter
Jack Loftus
| Twitter
John Herrman
| Twitter
Dan Nosowitz

Chris Mascari

Danny Allen
| Twitter
Rosa Golijan
| Twitter
Chris Jacob

Columnist:
Brendan I. Koerner

Interns:
Don Nguyen

Kyle VanHemert

Heroes and Friends

Comment Account Questions:

SUBSCRIBE TO Gizmodo RSS

New: Breaking news and daily top stories via email
9515 Subscribers
Gizmodo
  • Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.
    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of newgalactic newgalactic
    12/08/09

    In reply to The Best Camcorders You Can Buy on Every Budget
    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.
     Reply
    newgalactic was starred newgalactic was unstarred
    Image of Eugenia Eugenia
    12/08/09

    In reply to The Best Camcorders You Can Buy on Every Budget
    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.
     Reply
    Eugenia was starred Eugenia was unstarred
    Image of lpranal lpranal
    12/08/09

    @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.
     Reply
    lpranal was starred lpranal was unstarred
    Image of mullingitover mullingitover
    12/08/09

    @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.
     Reply
    Eugenia promoted this comment mullingitover was starred mullingitover was unstarred
    Image of frigg frigg
    12/08/09

    @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?
     Reply
    frigg was starred frigg was unstarred
    Image of Margatron Margatron
    12/08/09

    @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.
     Reply
    Margatron was starred Margatron was unstarred
    Image of Ninety-9 Ninety-9
    12/08/09

    In reply to The Best Camcorders You Can Buy on Every Budget
    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.
     Reply
    Ninety-9 was starred Ninety-9 was unstarred
    Image of Demonbird Demonbird
    12/08/09

    In reply to The Best Camcorders You Can Buy on Every Budget
    Why buy the Mino HD when you can get a JVC Everio MS120, a traditional camcorder, for $20 more?
     Reply
    Demonbird was starred Demonbird was unstarred
    Image of ninjamurf ninjamurf
    12/08/09

    @Demonbird: Because you don't WANT a big honkin' camcorder? And you would prefer something you can drop in your shirt pocket?
     Reply
    Demonbird promoted this comment ninjamurf was starred ninjamurf was unstarred
    Image of Demonbird Demonbird
    12/08/09

    @ninjamurf: It's not much bigger than that, has a lot more features, and I'm pretty sure that would be an awkward thing to put in your shirt pocket.
     Reply
    Demonbird was starred Demonbird was unstarred
    Image of Nick Nick
    12/08/09

    In reply to The Best Camcorders You Can Buy on Every Budget
    i like this idea of co-opting articles from niche sites. is this just a christmas season sorta deal?
     Reply
    Nick was starred Nick was unstarred
    Image of Joe Stoner Joe Stoner
    12/08/09

    In reply to The Best Camcorders You Can Buy on Every Budget
    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).
     Reply
    Joe Stoner was starred Joe Stoner was unstarred
    Image of TheCrudMan TheCrudMan
    12/08/09

    @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.
     Reply
    Joe Stoner promoted this comment TheCrudMan was starred TheCrudMan was unstarred
    Image of Joe Stoner Joe Stoner
    12/08/09

    @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.
     Reply
    Joe Stoner was starred Joe Stoner was unstarred
    Image of MDIFILM MDIFILM
    12/08/09

    @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)
     Reply
    Joe Stoner promoted this comment MDIFILM was starred MDIFILM was unstarred
    Image of Joe Stoner Joe Stoner
    12/08/09

    @MDIFILM: We never had any issues with the firestore... but it's great that the prices have dropped on P2 cards.
     Reply
    Joe Stoner was starred Joe Stoner was unstarred
    Image of Sirobin Sirobin
    11/19/09

    In reply to Flip's Next Pocket Cam May Be a Wi-Fi Slider
    I like how it says Cisco confirmed it, and yet this article is tagged "uncomfirmed"...
     Reply
    tande04 promoted this comment Sirobin was starred Sirobin was unstarred
    Image of tande04 tande04
    11/19/09


    @Sirobin:
    Yep. I don't know if anyone cares when I relate the story why they do that but I like telling the story...

    The short and sweet version is that when the first iPhone was getting ready to launch Engadget posted a story that the iPhone was going to be delayed that was "confirmed by sources at apple." Turned out the whole thing was a scam but it wasn't figured out until after apple stock dropped 2 and a half percent on the news. After that Giz started a policy of calling anything that doesn't have a press release in hand "rumor" and "unconfirmed".
     Reply
    Edited by tande04 at 11/19/09 1:10 AM tande04 was starred tande04 was unstarred
    Image of ilerrantriat ilerrantriat
    11/19/09

    In reply to Flip's Next Pocket Cam May Be a Wi-Fi Slider
    I don't see how the sliding form factor would look good on a video camera :/
     Reply
    tande04 approved this comment ilerrantriat was starred ilerrantriat was unstarred
    Image of tande04 tande04
    11/19/09

    @ilerrantriat: I don't really get the sliding part either.

    It going to be a slider cellphone? I guess it kind makes sense in that the lens is protected in someway.
     Reply
    tande04 was starred tande04 was unstarred
    Image of Christopher Powers Christopher Powers
    11/18/09

    In reply to Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison
    Nice you did the Nano in there but you left out the iPhone 3Gs...
     Reply
    Christopher Powers was starred Christopher Powers was unstarred
    Image of Ryno29 Ryno29
    11/18/09

    @Christopher Powers: If you're gonna do the Iphone, then you have to do all the other phones with video cameras in them.

    Some people like not having a contract with their camera.
     Reply
    Don Nguyen approved this comment Ryno29 was starred Ryno29 was unstarred
    Image of iomatic, hey, I'm an idiot, but I'll comment anyway iomatic, hey, I'm an idiot, but I'll comment anyway
    11/18/09

    In reply to Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison
    Uh, just a minor point re: the Nano; VGA resolution would not explain color saturation ("dull" and "lifeless"), though it would explain lack of detail.

    Thanks for the homework; I'm sure this will help many a holiday buyer.
     Reply
    Don Nguyen promoted this comment iomatic, hey, I'm an idiot, but I'll comment anyway was starred iomatic, hey, I'm an idiot, but I'll comment anyway was unstarred
    Image of ifteetylatun ifteetylatun
    11/17/09

    In reply to Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison
    Key to the Kodak is an audio in jack to provide an external mic, can't be said how valuable this can be!
     Reply
    Don Nguyen approved this comment ifteetylatun was starred ifteetylatun was unstarred
    Image of Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！ Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！
    11/17/09

    In reply to Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison
    I own a JVC Picsio, and I can concur on its crappiness.
    (Disclaimer : I got it with BicCamera gift cards, and that's the only mini cam they have).
    The feeling is awful, buttons are indeed very confusing and unpractical, making the interface nothing short of crap-tastic.
    Besides, any shot in darker than daylight conditions is barely watchable.

    It does the job somehow, but there is so much better out there (...unless by out there you mean Japan. The mini cam market is inexistant here) #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
     Reply
    Don Nguyen promoted this comment Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！ was starred Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！ was unstarred
    Image of NotSoSiniSter NotSoSiniSter
    11/17/09

    In reply to Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison
    do skulls mean "deadful"? #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
     Reply
    NotSoSiniSter was starred NotSoSiniSter was unstarred
    Image of NotSoSiniSter NotSoSiniSter
    11/17/09

    @NotSoSiniSter: i meant dreadful. lol deadful. pun. :D #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
     Reply
    Don Nguyen promoted this comment NotSoSiniSter was starred NotSoSiniSter was unstarred
    Image of Angelo Perera Angelo Perera
    11/17/09

    In reply to Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison
    I looked at all these cameras at a Best Buy store in minnesota and decided on buying the Zi8 simply due to the fact that it was the highest resolution camera with an actual SD slot.

    As cool as the flips are, they were premium priced and only had integrated memory. I like flipping cards in and out, having the flexibility instead of always having to download files to a computer (usually huge files) before you can shoot again. #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
     Reply
    Don Nguyen promoted this comment Angelo Perera was starred Angelo Perera was unstarred
    Image of billwilljr billwilljr
    11/17/09

    In reply to Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison
    I wish someone made a pocket video camera with an OPTICAL zoom, and auto focus. That alone has kept me from buying one. #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
     Reply
    Don Nguyen promoted this comment billwilljr was starred billwilljr was unstarred
    Image of Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！ Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！
    11/17/09

    @billwilljr: Seconded (although I did buy one, which was a letdown)
    You might want to look at cameras with a different form factor (think Sanyo Xacti with 5x optical zoom), which are not that much pricier and much more feature-rich. #pocketcamcorderbattlemodo
     Reply
    Don Nguyen promoted this comment Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！ was starred Ebichuman - イカせてみせます、今夜こそ！ was unstarred
    Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

Login

Enter your username and password.

Please enter a username.
Please enter your password.
logging in
Login via Facebook | Sign Up | Forgot Password?

Reset Password

Please enter your email address to have your password reset.

Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
requesting password reset

Register

Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.

Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.

Please enter a username.
Please enter a password.
Please confirm your password.
Passwords are not identical.
Please enter a valid email address.
registration sent, waiting for reply

Submit Your Comment

You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.

See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.

Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
logging in

Login with your Facebook or Gizmodo account.

Sign up here.



  • Archives
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Legal
  • Help
  • Report a Bug
  • FAQ
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.