Camcorder requirement for South Atlantic

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woodbloke

woodbloke

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Some advice sought from Woodbloke's wife, SWMBO - I am intending going to the Falklands for six months and am looking at the camcorders on internet sites and feeling technically overloaded. I am thinking of the landscapes and wildlife in particular, although these are likely to be close up there may be distant shots as well. I would like to be able to produce a DVD of the best of the experience. I do use a digital camera and also a networked system for IT at work. Rob tells me there are some IT wheels on this forum who would give some advice, I have been looking at entry level Sony's at around £180 but could consider spending more if advised it is worthwhile?
 
Hi Rob,

I am doing all my filming with a Panasonic GS 180. It is excellent in many ways. I don't have anything with which to compare it, but I'm not unhappy with my purchase.

It does have its weakneses of course. Filming against a light background (eg a window) is problematical, the in-built mic is good tone but picks up everything.

But the image quality is excellent and it is easy to use.

You can see the results on YouTube, just search for Steve Maskery, there are several there now.

Cheers
Steve
 
Hi,
I've had two camcorders - first was a JVC miniDV (tapes). After that broke, my wife picked up a Sony hard-disk model whilst on a business trip to Hong Kong. The JVC I really liked - the Sony I hate - IMO it has loads of gimmicky, useless 'features' and lacks some really important ones.

I would summarise my own thoughts as follows:

1. whatever you get, you will need to edit your footage - even if you don't want to get fancy, you'll want to cut out the shaky bits etc. Therefore, features like 'direct write to DVD' are pointless - you just need to be able to get it onto a pc, which they all should do anyway. For simple basic editing, Movie Maker which comes with Windows XP will do the job.

2. I would never again get one that doesn't have a viewfinder. Having a screen only means you are forced to hold the camera away from you and it's very hard to keep steady. And despite the blurb from Sony, I cannot see the screen in bright sunlight.

3. Try it out in the shop before you buy. And I mean, really try it out for a while. Does it feel comfortable? Does it make your arms or hands ache? Can you reach the zoom button and use it without shaking the camera all over the place? On my Sony, the zoom button is small and recessed into the body of the camera so that I cannot get my finger on it without stretching....which shakes the camera... :(

4. Practice! It's quite different to using a still camera, so it's worth spending some time getting used to it before you're there.

5. Consider getting a spare battery because they don't always come with one - nothing worse than having it run out on you.

6. Unless you go very much up the budget range, you will have to stick with the inbuilt microphone. Even a little wind can make a lot of noise and drown out any speech. I'm not sure there is anything much you can do about that.

My £400 Sony is completely useless as far as I'm concerned, and I just don't use it. The £250 JVC I bought 4 years ago was much better. Moral of the story - try it out, buy it yourself, don't be swayed by the marketing hype, and buy locally :oops:

I'm no expert, and the above is simply a refelction of my own experiences. YMMV, as they say :)

Dave
 

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