Tips on buying camcorder please

[Guest]

Hi. We are going to America in June and are looking to buy a camcorder that records directly onto dvd. Just wondering if they are region free etc or do we have to watch what we buy to ensure that we can play the dvd's at home?

[Guest]

Don't know much about the DVD regional thing - but try to go for the smallest lightest one you can.

Two weeks carting around a video camera & securing it when you are on all of the rides etc can be a real pain.

My preference is always for Sony, as they invented the camcorder formats.

[Guest]

Check before you go. It may not be cheaper out there.

[Guest]

Give thought to the electricity supply needed to charge the camcorder - US uses 110v (I think) and if you plugged it into the supply in the UK it would soon burn out.

What about recording formats - does it matter that US use NTSC and we PAL?

Will the warrenty be covered in the UK?

[Ade666]

Another thing to watch is the length of the warranty - in the UK you get a 2 or 3 year warranty automatically but in the US 90 days seems to be the norm and you have to buy an extended warranty to cover you after that.

Compare prices on the Bestbuy, Circuit City and maybe even Walmart website to get an idea of current prices - but don't forget the 6.5-7% sales tax which gets added on at the till.

I trawled around trying to find a new digital camera for my trip and after checking decided to buy from Pixmania because the warranty was better, the price wasn't much higher and I could play with it before I went so I could get used to all the functions.

[Guest]

Hi TBH you may beon a false economy buying a DVD camcorder.
My suggestion is you look at a Mini DV camcorder a good starter isa JVC D 340 (about £130 on Ebay)

You won't be ableto edit out unwanted shots with DVD,however mini DV you can easily rewind, the tapes back over bits you don't want.

Enjoy

[Guest]

i would defo go the mini dv route too, but not a jvc, i didnt like the picture quality of my cousins one when editing her wedding video, i would go with a sony every day of the week

[Andre]

If you only want to record raw footage and play it back on your home DVD player, a DVD camcorder will be fine. Most UK DVD players & TVs will cope with NTSC (American format video) but you'd be better to get a higher quality PAL camcorder if you can.

However for better quality, more overall flexibility and better editing options for later, I'd personally suggest a Sony mini-DV camcorder. Usually just as cheap to buy here and you don't have the hassle of making sure it's the right format, etc..

Andre

[Guest]

Another vote for Mini DV. I use a Mini DV Sony High Def Camcorder, which will record on either Standard def or high def quality on the same type of Mini DV.

DVD recorders are still evolving and the compression ration on them is quite high causing not so good a quality, plus burnt DVD's do not last as long as tape before degrading.

If you choose to go the route of DVD, make sure your TV and DVD player can play NTSC discs, else you will need to re burn them on your computer back to PAL.

[lindylou2_2002]

def mini DV we have a sony too.
My top tip is dont buy it out there. you need to play with it and be happy with it before you go.

Also you will be under real preasure, waste presous(sp) holiday time shopping for it, and probably get flustered and make a bad call. Especially if you go in to any of the shops on Idrive.