What Camcorder

FACEMIESTER

Well-Known Member
I would like any advice on what is a good cheap camcorder for getting footage of deer foxes etc. The last few nights I have been out with a rubbish cheap camera and all the effort in trying to get good footage is wasted on very poor quality pictures and video.
Help please
Facemiester
Thanks
 
Face,

try the HD Panasonics you really need one with image optical stabilising

i dint know what sort of budget you have but i used mine on an african dove shoot this year and managed a decent bit of footage. i have some videos i shot using it on my youtube channel.

the removable SD is a real help and a grip arm for the rest on a high seat is also a big help.

it is great fun taking film but difficult when deer walk out and you havent got enough hands free!!!

Rgds,
Kiri
 
Well I'm going to recommend Sony camcorders
I have an HD one and I still have it in miniDv formatt
That way I can still keep the tape as back up after I've downloaded to a pc

I'm no expert but I will advise you to go for the highest "optical" zoom you can get as opposed to "digital" zoom

I've seen cameras offer silly magnifications in digital zoom and in a word they have been pish!!
I'm not saying they aren't out there but in my limited experience
Optical zoom wins

Sauer / Paul
 
I worked in the electronics industry for 11 years and was involved in testing microchips for most major companies.

BUY SONY!!!!!!!!!!;)
 
digital zoom isn't realy zoom its just blowing up the picture, once on your computer everyone has digital zoom,

Panasonic gets my vote
 
Many camera Mfg's use Sony chip sets in their kit,you dont always need the Sony brand to get a similar image quality.
 
Thank you all for your replies and hopefully at some point I should have some good footage to show.
Thanks again.
Facemiester
 
hi face

my youtube is http://www.youtube.com/user/AthinaHuntingTours

doves2 was made up of footage shot on my cam corder in one session of three hours. the auto focus is where you lose footage as the sensor picks out the wrong thing or is a bit slow catching up with fast moving targets such as pigeons . OIS makes a massive difference in the useability of the footage when editing.

what editing software do you use? I was reccomended pinnacle and used the free version of Pinnacle 15. I will probably spend 50 quid and get the full version as it was great and the trial has expired

Rgds
Kiri
 
Face,

I just got a chance to check and the camera i have is the Panasonic SD60. It's about £280 on amazon and if you get a 16GB Transcend card (the category 10 one is the best and about £15) you can take a few hours of footage depending on settings. I carry two or three cards with me on Safari or on fishing trips and download all the footage to a net book in the evening.

A spare battery is also a good idea if you go away much, otherwise the charger is really good.

It is a x25 optical zoom and I seem to do OK with that. At very high Definition settings the digital zoom is usable but as many have already said the Digital zoom is nothing that you can't do on a PC, although I still haven't worked out those functions on my software!!

Hope that helps,
Kiri
 
I'm just shopping for a replacement camcorder and will probably go for the middle of the Sony non-HD range - get the best lens and highest optical zoom you can, and ignore the digital zoom. What's the use of a 2,500x digital zoom on an image that's only 1200 pixels wide, as you'll just end up with half a pixel taking up the whole picture...

Image stabilisation is brilliant and worth getting.

A.
 
Just to throw a spanner in the works I have a JVC G series which has a 35 x optical zoom, 60 gb memory card which gives you 75 hrs econ, 28 hrs normal, 21 hrs fine or 14 hrs ultra fine.
It was used last year on the hill by several people, one day by Terry (pheasant sniper 1) he had a bunch of stags across the glen prob 3/4 mile when we looked at it we could easily see each one clearly and which we would shoot. :D
Being an old geezer :cuckoo:I have to rely on salesmen to give me the correct article, and I must say all who have seen all the pieces of different films have said how good the clips are from close ups 3' to 1 mile
the cost by the way is under £300 hope this is of some help
All I do is download to a disc £3 and play it on the t.v. simples.
Robin
 
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