What are the pros & cons of this camcorder?

Monica

The Toshiba Camileo X100, I just mainly plan to make videos with my friends. So can anyone tell me the pros & cons?
Thanks in advance. :)

Answer
Pros:
Optical zoom.
Flip screen, if you want to shoot yourself on camera.
4GB internal memory. This will usually hold about an hour. Many cameras that Record to SDHC often have only a token amount of on board memory.
Limited white balance options. I don't see a manual setting, but at least there's some options for general situations

Cons:
No external microphone input. On board microphones will often pick up *everything*, like the sound of your hand brushing against the camera housing. An external microphone input would allow you to use handheld or other directional mics. If you take this to a concert, expect to hear more of the people around you screaming than the singer on stage.
No manual focus. Sometimes autofocus will latch onto something other than what you want to feature.

Others might also criticize the image sensor, among other things you'd typically find in cameras priced in the 4-digit range. But I'm guessing you're not looking for a camera to film the next American epic. You just want a camera for goofing around, taking on trips, and recording the occasional event or party; and for that it's perfectly fine.

But if someone decides they want to take a class in video production, this camera likely won't pass muster because of the cons I noted.

Consumer Level Camcorders for pro quality vids?

Philip

What's the best brand of camcorders for the consumer level for at or near pro quality vids. Of course I'm after the HD kind of thing and moneywise no more than US$800 if possible.

If at all possible, recommend the specific model too.

Answer
Hi Philip,

I'm a camera salesman, so I always try to be as neutral as possible. In my opinion
there is no best brand in camcorders. All the established brands make fine products,
these days. But we all have our prefferences based on previous experiences or not....
If you ask me, not as a salesman, which brand apeals the most to me, I have to say JVC.
Not only because of the quality and pricing, their service is outstanding.
Like I said before,Sony,Canon,Samsung,Panasonic etc. all make excellent HD cams in
your price-range. The difference between consumer and Pro camcorders is not the picture
quality anymore. It's mostly the durability and the possibility to expand. External mic's p.e.
In your price-range you can speak of pro-sumer cams. Consumers that like to use their
product like a pro.
Here are some links to a couple of models I think are suitable for you :

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Cameras-Camcorders/Camcorders/model.HDC-TM900K_11002_7000000000000005702

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666294273

http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028615&pathId=171&page=10

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/vixia_hf_m41

I wish you much wishdom in choosing.

Kind Regards, Lance.

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Can a normal camcorder detect infrared light?

Wut

I have some camcorders that do not have "night shot" or a built-in infrared lamp. If I get an external IR lamp will these camcorders be able to detect it? They're all Panasonics--SDR-S26, SDR-S26K, SDR-H85, HDC-HS250P, and PV-GS250.

Answer
yes and no. All normal camcorders and digital cameras can detect IR light. For that reason they all have IR blocking filters to prevent having false colors in normal conditions. In a few models, the filter can be defeated to create "nightshot" effects, but not the Panasonics. Some hackers are willing to do surgery on their camera to forcibly and permanently remove the filter that is located on the CCD sensor. not really a good idea. some cameras have a poorly functioning filter and pickup some IR light. to test yours, point a television remote control at the camera lens and see if there is a light when the buttons are pushed.

camcorder shutter speed for low light conditions?

leatricema

There is a shutter speed given for video cameras in low light conditions. (1/30, 1/60, etc.) Is this the speed of the lens at all times or just when the lighting is low?

Answer
The camcorder's shutter speed is in fractions of a second and the amount of time the shutter remains open to allow light to hit the imaging chip (CCD or CMOS).

1/30 is typically the auto setting when in low light. Smaller number in the denominator means the shuttr stas open longer. Moving objects will record with ghost tailing and possibly blurred. 1/60-1/125 is in daylight. In auto shutter mode, as the lighting get brighter (or the aperture is opened), the shutter speed can increase. Most camcorders also allow you to manually set the shutter speed. At about 1/500-1/1000, the aperture can't open any more and the image will darken unless lots of light is added to the scene. Be careful, though, at this speed or faster, there is an irritating "strobe" effect that settles in and can be very uncomfortable for the viewer.

(Remember, still photos capture is different from video - with stills, typically, the goal is to freeze the moment so faster shutter speeds are more common. Which video, motion is fluid, so each frame does not need to have everything in sharp focus).

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