Page 1 of Camcorder for new baby - any advice?

OK, I`ve never understood the need to own one.... until now. We`ve got a little munchkin on the way and it suddenly seems a good idea to record all those baby moments :)

So....I know nothing about camcorders...tell it to me like I`m 5yrs old - Are there different formats etc? What sort do I need and what are the current best buys ? The budget isn`t great as babies seem to be expensive hobbies :)

Many thanks

i have a sony hc 14(i think thats model number!) from amazon £300 a few months ago, its mini dv format, really great results, very very user friendly. would highly rec any sony model

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Are there different formats etc?

VHS-C/SVHS-C: smaller versions of VHS tape, low quality, large cabinet, very few still on the market;

Hi8.8MM : progression forward basically of the Betamax format, much better quality than VHS-c, but still difficult now to come by. Both 8mm and VHS-C formats are analogue, and become more difficult if you wish to transfer or edit via PC.

Digital8: mostly Sony, reasonable cost, uses Digi-8 and Hi8 tapes to record digital format signal that can be output to a compatible PC input card for edit and transfer.

MiniDV : now the most common format. Digital recording, therefore much better quality, easy to link to PC as some will do so via USB (slow-ish) and all will take DV (also known as ieee1394, DV In, Firewire etc).
Much faster and a doddle to edit with.
Very reasonable costs now (a vast number under £250), but there are some important things to look for, up to your budget:
1) OPTICAL zoom. *not* digital. Make sure it has the highest you can afford in optical. Most are now 10x (good) but I think there`s a couple of JVC`s out there, and poss Canon`s with 16x (better)
2) DV In/out : DV out allows it to connect to a PC or firewire enabled dvd recorder etc, but DV in will allow you to then retransfer the edited video back to the camcorder if you wish to store your creation on a tape (unless recording via VCR, no idea why anyone would really do this now, except to fill a tape before tranfer...ya know, like a bit a day recorded, edited, then onto the "master" tape...?)

Battery life with the kiddo shouldn`t matter too much as most recording will likely be in the house so you can plug it into the mains, but a spare battery never goes wrong ;)

There`s also a format called MicroMV (or the Sony 8cm DVD recorders), but I think the budget you`re hinting at excludes them.

Micro MV: Similar to MiniDV except tiny size, DVD well...record to DVD! Lol
(Don`t like them myself...bulky :/ )

Personal choice for me: MiniDV, good quality, decent price and vast features array.

HTH, if anything else....shout ;)

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

If you want to record in widescreen mode because you have a widescreen television check the camcorder does true 16:9 (anamorphic) recording. Many don`t but Sony and Canon are generally OK.

This item was edited on Saturday, 19th March 2005, 17:13

Hey everyoone, I was looking in to camcorders last September and did a lot of investigating, hopefully this may help you out a bit.

Before buying check in the bargains or on MSE for discount codes for Pixmania, as far as I know they are still a lot cheaper than UK suppliers.

All the best

Ger.

Thanks for the good advice folks :)

We bought a miniDV JVC camcorder.
It`s laughably easy to use and extremely easy to record onto DVD through my E55.

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Camcorder for new baby - any advice? Can`t believe I am the first to say this, but, won`t the baby be a bit young to use a camcorder? If you think they will be ok with it then the new Fisherprice my first camcorder should do do the trick :p

All the best,

The 42%er.


It`s not easy being different. It`s not easy being cool....but somehow I manage....

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Camcorder for new baby

Believe me,there will be nights when that would seem like a fair swap.

:/ ;)

When you do decide, you could do a lot worse than visiting here
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet_W0QQsspagenameZl2QQtZkm
...I have no affiliation or link whatsoever to the site. A couple of freinds have used it and have bee happy with the results though. I personally went for SONY TRV22E which @ £250.00 (& in my amateurish hands) has been fantastic. All the best...

This item was edited on Monday, 21st March 2005, 13:48