NEED: specific consumer camcorder (ideas?)

[mixerguy]

NEED: specific consumer camcorder (ideas?)

i have very specific needs - anyone have any ideas?

- records onto flash memory, (preferred) or internal hard drive (somewhat less preferred)
- must have mic in jack (1/8th “ i guess)
- must have real optical IS (image stabilization) - not electronic IS
- NOT HD (as i dont want to spend more than about $400-ish US)
- NOT recording onto tape or dvd - I dont want to deal with media at all.

I cant find this. Any thoughts?

Would be buying in USA off the internets.

thanks!!

[mixerguy]

p.s.

for example - this Canon would be awesome, except - the IS is not real optical - but (crappy) electronic IS.

Amazon.com: Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom (Blue): Camera & Photo

[mixerguy]

anyone?

[Whitecat]

I'm 99% sure that OIS has all but disappeared on flash/hard disk based camcorders that aren't "pro." There are a few MiniDV cameras of the past couple years (probably discontinued now, though) that had it, but you don't want tape. I suspect you're going to have to revise your requirement list...

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by terminal3

I'm 99% sure that OIS has all but disappeared on flash/hard disk based camcorders that aren't "pro." There are a few MiniDV cameras of the past couple years (probably discontinued now, though) that had it, but you don't want tape. I suspect you're going to have to revise your requirement list...

this one is HD + flash.... and would be great - except it is missing the mic input option.

drats!

Amazon.com: Panasonic SDR-H40 40GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom: Camera & Photo

[mixerguy]

crazy. i'd think the camcorder i am looking for would exist. nutty.

is HD really all that much better in a consumer camcorder?

[AlphaDingo]

Yes it is. I would reconsider the tape issue too if I were you. Just a thought.

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by AlphaDingo

..... I would reconsider the tape issue too if I were you. Just a thought.

ahhh... i just can't stand tape for these sorts of things.



2" analog - now that can be worth it!

[Whitecat]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

is HD really all that much better in a consumer camcorder?

yes & no. what's your delivery format?

[dambro2]

Happy to see this thread. I've been looking for the exact same thing and pretty much settled on the Canon despite the few negatives I've read about it (bad low light use)

[hourglass]

I've had a Sony DCR-TRV33 for about five years.

Now - it's MiniDV tape based, but I'm pretty sure it has everything you're looking for.

When I was looking at new ones this spring, I was disappointed to find that none of the standard-def options had a mic input of any kind.

I'm still happily using the Sony. MiniDV tapes are abundant, and with firewire you can dump the digital video right into your computer. Another thing I like about this is that I then toss the tape on the shelf and never worry about it getting worn out from multiple playbacks. It's the sort of backup a flash or hard drive camera doesn't readily give you.

Feel free to completely ignore this post since you did specify that you're not looking for a tape-based solution.

Also, while I haven't seen what a Hi-Def camcorder image looks like on my TV (48" Mitubishi HD) the image from the Sony, when set to 16:9, looks incredible. It blows away the image from a Panasonic MiniDV cam I used when I needed to have a two camera setup.

ryan

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by terminal3

yes & no. what's your delivery format?

I'd drop into iMovie 8, edit, and burn regular DVDs (but archive the HD iMovie project)