cineMANIAC
Senior HTF Member
Firstly, I had a heck of a time finding the proper place to post this thread. The search function is a valuable tool but typing in "HD Camcorders" got me pretty much nowhere - I was starting to wonder if it was such a dead subject that the site had actually dropped it from the forums. Never thought to look in the photography section LOL. By the way, when I think of photography I automatically think photo cameras, not video. Anyway, on to my query.
The last time I purchased a "video camera", as I like to call them, was in the late 90's - a full-sized VHS. I've always liked the big ones because of their stability and because, well, they looked cool. I felt like Steven Spielberg walking around with my "movie camera" shooting video of anything that moved. I sort of lost interest as the years went by and never bothered to upgrade to smaller formats. Then, all of a sudden, videotape-based cameras were gone and replaced by DVD cams and, currently, flash drive and SD-card-only models the size of the palm of my hand. Well, I'm now in the market for a new camcorder and have absolutely no idea what to invest in. As I pleasantly found out, camcorder prices have come down in price quite a bit these days and the cameras themselves, while somewhat sadly for me as I still prefer larger ones, are smaller than ever - which could, I guess, be a good thing. So, what are the benefits of a camera that shoots video onto a tiny SD card and, more importantly for me, can I easily transfer that footage onto a physical BD-R disc? What about editing the footage, keeping in mind that I'm no Spielberg? I'm currently considering the older Canon G20 as my next camcorder.
Also, are cameras that record onto a physical format, be it DV or DVD, completely obsolete?
Thanks in advance for your advice
The last time I purchased a "video camera", as I like to call them, was in the late 90's - a full-sized VHS. I've always liked the big ones because of their stability and because, well, they looked cool. I felt like Steven Spielberg walking around with my "movie camera" shooting video of anything that moved. I sort of lost interest as the years went by and never bothered to upgrade to smaller formats. Then, all of a sudden, videotape-based cameras were gone and replaced by DVD cams and, currently, flash drive and SD-card-only models the size of the palm of my hand. Well, I'm now in the market for a new camcorder and have absolutely no idea what to invest in. As I pleasantly found out, camcorder prices have come down in price quite a bit these days and the cameras themselves, while somewhat sadly for me as I still prefer larger ones, are smaller than ever - which could, I guess, be a good thing. So, what are the benefits of a camera that shoots video onto a tiny SD card and, more importantly for me, can I easily transfer that footage onto a physical BD-R disc? What about editing the footage, keeping in mind that I'm no Spielberg? I'm currently considering the older Canon G20 as my next camcorder.
Also, are cameras that record onto a physical format, be it DV or DVD, completely obsolete?
Thanks in advance for your advice