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Hey everyone. I want to get a new Handycam Camcorder, ignoring price, which has high mega pixels, a good brand name, loads of functions, and reasonable size and efficiency. I have set my eyes upon certain ones, still, I am really very confused, and I need some help:
-Which is better as a brand in cameras: Sony or Cannon?
-What is the difference between the HDR-XR200V 120GB High Definition Handycam® Camcorder and the HDR-XR500V 120GB High Definition Handycam® Camcorder?
-Which one is better to buy from the above?
-Which is better: Canon Camcorder HG 21 or the HDR-XR500V 120GB High Definition Handycam® Camcorder?
Please answer those questions, IGNORING PRICE. Thanks for everyone!
I only want a Camcorder, so, don't say "Don't get a Camcorder"
Answer
You did not tell us WHY you want a camcorder or what you expect to capture to video. Hard disc drive camcorders fall off my short list because of their known limitations with high vibration and high altitude environments. "High vibration" (or shock) sources can be loud crowds, loud engines, or even loud music - amplified or not. MiniDV tape and Flash memory camcorders do not have these issues. At least with the 3 HDD cams you listed, you could switch to flash memory - if you have space on the memory card or brought extra memory cards.
The XR200 has no mic jack. External mics are a very limited selection to those from Sony which can work with the Active Interface Shoe. No mic jack falls off my list.
The XR500 has a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack... so that's OK.
Both the XR200 and XR500 have extremely limited manual audio control - "Normal" or "Low" (for loud audio environments to prevent the audio from being muddy and clip too much). This is too limiting. No manual control falls off my list.
The XR200 and XR500 have a "SmoothSlow Record feature for capturing short (3 second) high speed video and at normal 30fps playback that results in 12 seconds of payback. They also have a built-in infrared emitter for "zero light" NightShot mode. These are novelty features - unless you plan to do "Ghost Hunters" or "Blair Witch Project" type videos.
The Canon HG21 has a 1/8" audio in jack and manual audio control... That alone makes it a superior camcorder to the other two.
All three used AVCHD compression. Too bad. Too much compression. All three have no cost effective method to archive video.
All three are consumer-grade with small lenses and small imaging chips - just setting the expectation for poor low-light behavior - that's all. This is not limited to these camcorders, but all with similarly sized lenses and imaging chips in consumer camcorders.
If it was my money, I would not waste it on a hard disc drive camcorder. For best video quality, DV/HDV is still king... In the consumer space, this means the Canon HV30/HV40 or Sony HDR-HC9. If your computer can't handle a firewire port and you are convinced by the marketing hype that non-tape is the way to go, then at least consider flash memory instead. The Canon HF series and Sony HDR-CX12 make that short list.
Be advised that the software in the box with any of these camcorders will not provide a robust editing environment. For AVCHD or HDV format, Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere float to the top if you are in the Windows/Vista environment (MovieMaker can't handle either); for Macs, an Intel-Mac running iMovieHD '08 or newer or the current versions of FinalCut Express or Pro are required for AVCHD; HDV has been useful for several years (iMovieHD 05; FinalCut 5.1).
Your computer will need LOTS of RAM, REALLY fast CPU and LOTS of hard drive space (and NOT the hard drive that has the start-up system) for editing.
You did not tell us WHY you want a camcorder or what you expect to capture to video. Hard disc drive camcorders fall off my short list because of their known limitations with high vibration and high altitude environments. "High vibration" (or shock) sources can be loud crowds, loud engines, or even loud music - amplified or not. MiniDV tape and Flash memory camcorders do not have these issues. At least with the 3 HDD cams you listed, you could switch to flash memory - if you have space on the memory card or brought extra memory cards.
The XR200 has no mic jack. External mics are a very limited selection to those from Sony which can work with the Active Interface Shoe. No mic jack falls off my list.
The XR500 has a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack... so that's OK.
Both the XR200 and XR500 have extremely limited manual audio control - "Normal" or "Low" (for loud audio environments to prevent the audio from being muddy and clip too much). This is too limiting. No manual control falls off my list.
The XR200 and XR500 have a "SmoothSlow Record feature for capturing short (3 second) high speed video and at normal 30fps playback that results in 12 seconds of payback. They also have a built-in infrared emitter for "zero light" NightShot mode. These are novelty features - unless you plan to do "Ghost Hunters" or "Blair Witch Project" type videos.
The Canon HG21 has a 1/8" audio in jack and manual audio control... That alone makes it a superior camcorder to the other two.
All three used AVCHD compression. Too bad. Too much compression. All three have no cost effective method to archive video.
All three are consumer-grade with small lenses and small imaging chips - just setting the expectation for poor low-light behavior - that's all. This is not limited to these camcorders, but all with similarly sized lenses and imaging chips in consumer camcorders.
If it was my money, I would not waste it on a hard disc drive camcorder. For best video quality, DV/HDV is still king... In the consumer space, this means the Canon HV30/HV40 or Sony HDR-HC9. If your computer can't handle a firewire port and you are convinced by the marketing hype that non-tape is the way to go, then at least consider flash memory instead. The Canon HF series and Sony HDR-CX12 make that short list.
Be advised that the software in the box with any of these camcorders will not provide a robust editing environment. For AVCHD or HDV format, Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere float to the top if you are in the Windows/Vista environment (MovieMaker can't handle either); for Macs, an Intel-Mac running iMovieHD '08 or newer or the current versions of FinalCut Express or Pro are required for AVCHD; HDV has been useful for several years (iMovieHD 05; FinalCut 5.1).
Your computer will need LOTS of RAM, REALLY fast CPU and LOTS of hard drive space (and NOT the hard drive that has the start-up system) for editing.
I need a good quality camcorder thats mac compatible?
Bob
I make movies and put them on youtube. I want to buy a good quality camera maybe even hd and my limit is about $250. Im a mac user so it must e mac compatible. I have a great camcorder. But its a 2007 sony ad it doesnt work with my mac. So i need to buy a new camera. A lady at bestbuy told me mosy sony cameras
Now are mac compatible and work. But i was looking at some sony cameras. And all of them said no mac os. Anyonw who has a mac help me out here? If its hd its good, preferably long battery for filming, and great fast movement shots when running with it. Dont tell me you cant get one like that. Cause my iphone can do that. But its time for a real camera
Answer
My curiosity is at the root of the quesiton - WHICH Sony camera do you have that's not compatible? There are ways to get video from ANY camera, even the oldest ones near the invention of television, onto a computer. Maybe we can fix your root problem here before you run out and buy a new one. So, once again, which camera do you have, and which Mac do you have? To ID the Mac model, go to the top-left Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info... - in there, the "Model Identifier" (i.e. "MacBookPro3,1") would be very helpful, as well as the version of Mac OS X you're running (i.e. 10.6.4).
Beyond that, which new ones were you looking at that said they're not Mac-compatible?
That said, virtually all cameras now are compatible with Windows or Mac machines, and you can do quite a lot on a Linux system as well.
The safest bets tend to be DV tape-based cameras, but only if you have a FireWire port on the computer. In file-based cameras, you'll likely have to convert the files, but again, there are ways to do that. For me, programs like MPEG Streamclip and ClipWrap have been great Mac utilities for cracking some of those stubborn weird camera formats.
My curiosity is at the root of the quesiton - WHICH Sony camera do you have that's not compatible? There are ways to get video from ANY camera, even the oldest ones near the invention of television, onto a computer. Maybe we can fix your root problem here before you run out and buy a new one. So, once again, which camera do you have, and which Mac do you have? To ID the Mac model, go to the top-left Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info... - in there, the "Model Identifier" (i.e. "MacBookPro3,1") would be very helpful, as well as the version of Mac OS X you're running (i.e. 10.6.4).
Beyond that, which new ones were you looking at that said they're not Mac-compatible?
That said, virtually all cameras now are compatible with Windows or Mac machines, and you can do quite a lot on a Linux system as well.
The safest bets tend to be DV tape-based cameras, but only if you have a FireWire port on the computer. In file-based cameras, you'll likely have to convert the files, but again, there are ways to do that. For me, programs like MPEG Streamclip and ClipWrap have been great Mac utilities for cracking some of those stubborn weird camera formats.
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