Camcorder recommendations

I have had my iMac for a couple of weeks and am having lots of fun with iTunes / iPhoto and iVideo.

I am mainly shooting photos of my son who is 13 months old and he is likely to continue to dominate my photos and videos.

At the moment all of my photos and videos are from my Canon IXUS400. The photos are fine IMHO but videos are lacking and I am starting to look for a Camcorder.

If I set a budget of say £500 what would people recommend and what are the main features I should be looking for ? I know that Firewire for upload is one key thing to look for and obviously size and ergonomics count as well but what else should I be looking out for ? How much battery life and media space do these devices give typically and what have others found work best with the Mac ?

I just recently purchased a Canon Elura, pretty much all the reviews stated that this is the best camcorder in its class. Pretty decent low light preformance, very small, high quality video.

Batt life is a little on the weak side however, I got it in a package deal so it came with an extra batt.

Still playing around with the manual controls, the little joystick is a little annoying at times but I am sure once I get the hang of it things will be better. Overall good camcorder and I am very happy with it. Sorry I don't have more time to write about it. I am late for class

Macworld recommends the Panasonic PV-GS500. It was their Top Product this month.
The second pick was the Panasonci PV-GS300. Great review also. The Canon Elura got much lower scores in their review.

Just depends on if you trust Macworlds opinions. But with your budget you can afford the GS500. Go for it!!

http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/reviews/pvgs500/index.php

http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/reviews/elura100/index.php

Check it out.

Here is the review on the Canon Elura, Its from Camcorderinfo.com, I think I would trust a website that is pure camcorders over macworld. as you can see the review is also very in depth. check it out Here

The Panasonic cameras will probably have a better low light preformance. This Canon elura is only a mid range entry level camera. One chip.

I say go for the cannon, I am very much a cannon person. Owning an XL2 myself, I would swear by cannon, so I think you should go with the elura, even though its only a 1ccd camera.

PowerBookG4 said:

I say go for the cannon, I am very much a cannon person. Owning an XL2 myself, I would swear by cannon, so I think you should go with the elura, even though its only a 1ccd camera.

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XL2? Wow. I also have a Canon (SD 700IS), but it's only a point and shoot, and I love it. But the OPs budget is pretty high. Would you still recommend the Canon even if he is willing to spend much more?

Yes, I love cannon, the xl2 is what I would get for almost any thing, although I am going to keep this for film like things I do etc. But planning on buying XLH-1 in the future. If you have a large budget , and are not doing film type look I go XLH-1 if you have a large budget and are doing a film time look I would go with the xl2 with a 35m adapter, and some nice lenses. (35m adapter is 10grand by itself)

I usually purchase most of my camcorder gear from here http://www.bhphotovideo.com/. However, I'm not sure if they ship internationally.
As PowerbookG4 already mentioned, if you have a large budget go with the XL2 with 35mm adapter for the film look.
Or you can go my route, Panasonic AG-DVX100 series, for a 16mm film look. I'm sure you can find the AG-DVX100A model for a little less than 3g.

Guys, he told us his budget. 500 pounds, which is about 950USD.

ripfrankwhite said:

Guys, he told us his budget. 500 pounds, which is about 950USD.

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I was responding to a different question. There is no way I am recomending an xl2 for home video edited on an imac. I said go with cannon, but a cheaper model.

While we're on the subject, would the Canon therefore be the better option for making short films and promotional films that may be used for TV?

I am aware that some TV companies have standard requirements and some won't even use DV cassette but I am looking to buy a low price, semi proffessional camera for under 700 pounds.

I currently have a Panasonic NVGS1 which has been great, I have strapped it to mororbikes, taped it to rollercoasters and even taken it in the sea wrapped in clingfilm and it's finally packed up on me and refused to open the cassette hatch.

Bummer yes, but still not bad after some 60hrs of footage over 2 yrs - and it was given to me second hand.

I'm gonna have to go with Panasonics. They have very low cost 3CCD cameras that are very easy to use and offer exceptional quality for their price. Infact their highest priced consumer 3CCD camera is $1000 in US, and I believe they start at 599. I have a cheaper sony camera but after using those panasonics for my job that cost the same as my 1CCD sony, I have to recommend them over everything.

i have a pvgs500 (something like that..) and i love it..... it is great, it has soe manual controls as well as being 3-ccd...

Dont rush him/ or her into a dvx100 or xl1, if you are doing home videos, go with an affordable yet good 'bang for your buck' camera...

Please post anymore questions..

I use the Sony HDR-HC3 that I got for close to $1000 (US). http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-HDR-HC3-Camcorder-Review.htm

Very small, but excellent image quality and does 1080i/60 and has HDMI output also. FCP works with it flawlessly, recognizes it, captures from it, no issues, no complaints. Also does 24p. Takes nice 4 mega pixel pictures too.

My only complaint is that it is kinda too small, makes it feel mickey mouse -- but people tend to drop their jaws when I play back it's output on their HD TV. Also I don't like the i.Link terminology Sony use, you will need to buy a 4pin to 6pin firewire cable as that is not included (crazy I know) if you want to capture HDV from the camcorder to your Mac. No real mic options either.

If I start getting more serious about video production, I'd move up to the $5K range, but for what I do right now this $1K camcorder can produce some amazing results.

Rob