Member - Uncle (NSW) replied:

Morning Kev, we just went down the same path a while back regarding the DVD type. The guy in the store we got ours from" actually" does a lot of video work himself, and also does it in dusty outback areas. He steered us away from the dvd type as apparently they were a very unhappy camera in dusty conditions. We ended up with the 30gb JVC. There may be people using the dvd type at present, and would be interested to see how others have performed out of curiosity. cheers mate.Unc

Sand Man (SA) replied:

Kev,

The option you mention sounds good mate.

My digital Video Camera records on cassette tape which then needs to be transferred to a DVD via a burner, or copied to a PCs hard drive first.

I have kind of "lost interest" in Video Cameras now, although SWMBO still likes the idea. I let her do the Videoing and concentrate on the viws around me and the occasional still picture with the Canon.

But, guess who needs to keep the batteries charged and transfer the data to another medium afterwoods:-(

So, what you are looking at would make that task so much easier.

DIO replied:

For most convenience, best value for money, stick with DV Tapes. They are cheap, readily available, produce excellent quality (subject to camera and operator) and easy to carry. What do you do when your HDD is full? Recording directly to DVD does not result in DVD quality. The DVD is only a medium upon which to store the data.

Member - Cruiser (NSW) replied:

My only concern with the HDD type of video camera is that you still have to either dump it to a PC to then edit and burn to DVD or connect to a DVD recorder via RCA cables to burn to DVD.

It seems to me that the only advantage of a HDD type camera over the tape type camera is that you have a larger storage area with the HDD type.

At least with a DVD type camera, its a case of record and edit onto the one type of media.

I also am "making" up my mind on this subject, in the mean time, my analogue camera does fine thanks.

Camoco replied:

I am no video guru (love still cameras though) but here is my opinion.

I still have my trusty old VHS-C camera for my own use, but I have used DVD-RAM video cameras before for business use. These cameras use the mini-dvd-ram format that holds about 30 mins per side. A pain in the neck in my opinion. It takes too long to change disks (longer than just opening and closing like a tape version) and they are harder to transfer from. Std DVD's are just too big for handholding.

I have a DVD-HDD recorder for the idiot box and that is a much easier combo. If I were going to get a digital Video camera, I would go for the HDD version as they really are almost idiot proof. (until it comes to getting the video off but that's another story). Mind you they are no worse than the 8mm was. The VHS-C is soooo easy as it goes straight into your VCR (remember those?).

Also hard to go past a Sony for branding. Sounds like a good deal to me without checking too deeply.

Don't forget to check the software that comes with it as this is often the difference between enjoyment and frustration.

Cheers Cam

Member - Doug T (W.A) replied:

Hiya Kev
Good choice I feel I have the smaller Sony with 20gb. Love this idea of not having damn cassettes ....I paid about that for mine last year in Mt Isa so Go for it

Redback replied:

Although video cameras are a great idea the main problem with them is they record continuously, in that even if you stop and then start again it is still one continuous long file and can take ages to download to you computer and in some cases you'll need to delete some of your footage for it to fit onto a DVD or you'll need a lot of DVD discs

A digital still camera that takes video on the other hand allows you to take small videos of your trip of any size which you can then join to make a DVD and the bonus is if you take footage that you don't want it can be deleted without loosing footage you do want, you know those times you forget to turn the camera off and you get footage of the ground for 10 minutes, lol.

Also you only have one peice of equipment not a still camera and a video camera on your trip.

Most of the good quality cameras now have the video option too and they are good quality video too, avoid the still cameras that don't have sound in the video.

Baz.

Member - lyndon K (SA) replied:

Go the hard drive, we have a jvc 20gig, 40 hours is heaps! Disks are in the past, lode it on to your laptop and if you are realy worried about lossing data, get an external hard drive. 160 gig on e-bay go for about $160.

c j replied:

We've got a couple of very small video/still cameras that record on to SD cards. Bought the first one a few years ago and the second this year as we were happy with our original decision. The main thing that made me go that way at the time was I was looking for something that both my wife and myself would be likely to use and that meant something that we could fit in a pocket or bag and pull it out and point and shoot when necessary in either still mode or video mode. if it is a pain to carry around or use then you tend not to have it with you when you want it.

Gob & Denny replied:

goodday kev
probably my fault you are going down this track re your post a while ago
we went with the hard drive but still have the tape unit as well (only 18mths old)but we also got a dvd recorder (both units JVC )camera sits on top and can burn direct to dvd (still learning about both)but it seemed the way to go 30g hard drive 12hrs record is about what the treasurer normally takes while we are travelling and it looks easier to edit and transfer

steve

HGMonaro replied:

just a general question...

what sort of things do you video on a holiday? I'm trying to find a good reason to take it with us!

Cheers, Nige

Red Frog - Vic replied:

For long term archive of video I prefer tape, home burnt dvd media does not go the distance, it will detoriate sitting there doing nothing until it is unviewable.

Brian B (Brisbane) replied:

Hi Kev,

I reckon the HDD camera is the go.

We brought the JVC Everio with the 30 gig hard drive and it is great. No tapes or discs to worry about and the capacity is huge. My previous camera used tapes and the new one is so much better.

We carry our notebook PC with us when we travel and can do all of the editing etc on that.

Another great thing is that these style cameras store what you record more like a computer so you can pick up individual files and watch or edit them etc and this is a great feature. Also you can shoot stills on some of them as well.

I am pretty sure that they will become more mainstream in the near future.

Sony is a great brand and for a 60gig camera the price you mentioned is pretty good I think.

PajeroTD replied:

If you are editing your footage in any way, use a tape-based format, as there is less compression. I would also recommend using the HDV format, which records 1080i on Mini DV tape in MPEG 2 compression, which is broadcast quality.
Standard Definition is really dying out fast now.
So consider the following before you buy one.

Sony HDR-HC5 (tape based 1080i) Site Link

Sony HDR-UX5 (AVCHD 1080i records on a small DVD, but only Blu-Ray players and PlayStation3 can decode the 1080i compression)
Site Link

Sony HDR-SR1 (AVCHD 1080i records on internal hard-disk)
Site Link

Sony really are the market leaders in video cameras, and their formats are well known and widely accepted. I rarely say stuff like that because it's free advertizing. You spend a little bit more on HD, but it would be like buying analog Hi-8 or S-VHS-C 5 yrs ago, to buy a standard def camera now