Who wants to talk about camcorders with a n00b?
 

Alright, whats going on guys?! I'd like to talk about different camcorders and if this is not the right place i apologize, and moderators can remove it.

Ok, first of all, lets discuss HDV. I've searched, and searched but never quite understood it.

I've seen alot of HDV camcorders listed as digital but the format was hdv. How does this work? I mean you can use little tapes and such, but how is it digital? Can you use a memory card and record on that memory card and transfer it on your PC? I understand that if you buy just regular digital camcorder some have hard drives, some you can use memory cards, but hdv confuses me.

Also, would this be a good beginners camcorder?

Sony - High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 2.7" Touch-Panel Color LCD - Black - HDR-CX100/B

Can you change or mess with the lens on this one? Are there any camcorders that you can play with lenses, maybe buy sharper ones, attach filters etc?


If not, what's a good, reasonably priced HD camcorder for beginners?

Thanks!

Look at the sticky topic "The gigantic which camera should I buy" thread

Start there and rummage around for a few days. Then if you still have questions, ask away and someone will respond.

Just please do a little research and focus your questions a little more so we can help - which we're all more than willing to do once we know what you really want to know.

I think you may be a little confused here. Whether something is digital or not is completely unrelated to the recording medium. Solid state media, USB thumb drives, Hard disks and DV tapes are all digital. In fact, DAT, LTO, DigiBeta, DVHS, D8, DV and HDV are all digital tape formats. And there's nothing confusing about HDV -- it's just one of many flavors of HD out there, and uses a different compression scheme than regular DV to fit an HD picture onto a regular DV tape.

Jim's right -- hit all the forums out there, as well as Google and Wikipedia and read up on the basics. I'm betting everyone here will be glad to help with recommendations once you have some specific questions and want advice.

And by the way -- there are virtually no bad cams out there these days. All depends on what you want to do.

Thanks guys! and sorry about the thread. I've been reading the sticky thread, and still have alot more to go. I think i was just confused about the whole HDV thing, as Adam has said, but i got it cleared up now. I've read alot in the past few months, and still have alot more to go, but i won't give up. Moderators, if you need to delete this thread, please do so.

Thanks again everyone!

Good beginners camcorder? I'd recommend a used HV20. After a cashback rebate, I got a refurb one from Tiger Direct for $350. It's expandable, has a huge community, is HD and the picture is great!

Thanks man! That hv20 looks great, i found one with some kinda crazy lens setup, didn't know you could do all that to it!

What about the sony i posted? Worth the 600+ dollars?

The CX100 is a pretty basic consumer camera, it's tapeless/AVCHD, so you're going to need a fairly serious computer to edit your footage with - don't underestimate this in relation to an HDV/tape camcorder.

"Is a camera worth a given price?" is sort of like asking "how big is a rock?" The answer is "depends", and unless you're of the age for needing adult diapers, this isn't a very useful answer...

The first question you really need to answer is WHAT is your intended use for the camera, and what are your goals? Any camera that you can afford and will get you actually USING it is a good "beginner's camera". It's nice if it has functions to help you learn the basics of various adjustments, but you also have a lot of fundamental skills to learn, things like framing, lighting, editing, etc. Doesn't take a super advanced camera to get you on the road, it may not get you very far, but you can always upgrade later.

You can fit lenses and filters to most cameras if they have a front thread, most do... you can fiddle around and get better (or worse...) results out of most cameras, some are more amenable than others to being fiddled with, the Canon HV series is a big favorite, has highly regarded image quality, and can be had pretty cheap for what you get. I'd recommend it over the CX100, especially considering pricing...

There are a lot of other cameras out there both new and used, with a wide range of prices and potential uses. If you want a usable answer, it would help knowing what you are trying to achieve, and a budget... narrow things down a bit if you'd really like usable advice.