How good are those mini-camcorders?

thamws · 29th March 2007

Anyone has experience with those mini-camcorder using flash memories instead of miniDV tapes? For example, like Ranger's DVGenius, how good are they compared to the normal miniDV camcorders in producing decent home-made video? They are attractive in their size, although their zoom range is nothing compared to a normal miniDV or DVD camcorder.

thamws · 30th March 2007

Really nobody has any experience with this kind of camcorder? That speaks volume for its appeal, and probably its image quality.

jaegersing · 30th March 2007

Maybe you buy one and then let us all know what it's like?

No, just joking. These are usually very low cost, and so have cheap lenses. Then they use heavy compression to fit the video onto a flash card. I haven't used one, but don't see how they can be much good compared to a "real" videocam with good glass and 13GB of storage per tape.

thamws · 30th March 2007

Yes, considering their low prices, shouldn't expect it to be anything comparable to those DV camcorders. Just wondering if the video quality will be adequate for home video? Or even some travel video just for memory sake. Now, I tend to travel with a DV camcorder and a digital still. Troublesome to operate both. If camcorder size can be reduced, then my still cam size can increase.

jaegersing · 30th March 2007

Only you can say if it is adequate for you. Anyway, if you plan to edit your videos, make sure that you get a camera which records in a format you can actually edit. (And if you don't edit your videos, the format is not that important because nobody will watch them anyway.

)

tommon · 31st March 2007

Panasonic HVX 200 uses PCMCIA P2 cards. Very expensive ($2k) and only 30 minutes on 8Gb P2 Card in full HD format.

lwm · 2nd April 2007

If really want small size, use the digi cam or even handphone to take loh

I find some of the digicam 640x480 mode quite decent (of course cannot compare with miniDV). But no matter what, a lousy video is still better than no video.

thamws · 3rd April 2007

Originally Posted by lwm

If really want small size, use the digi cam or even handphone to take loh I find some of the digicam 640x480 mode quite decent (of course cannot compare with miniDV). But no matter what, a lousy video is still better than no video.

Yeah, what I need is just some homemade video, no need high quality. With digi-cam, avi format will consume memory very fast, although memory is quite cheap now. For those that record in MP4 format, do you know if it's editable, like avi?

29th March 2007	#1
thamws Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bukit Batok Posts: 70	How good are those mini-camcorders? Anyone has experience with those mini-camcorder using flash memories instead of miniDV tapes? For example, like Ranger's DVGenius, how good are they compared to the normal miniDV camcorders in producing decent home-made video? They are attractive in their size, although their zoom range is nothing compared to a normal miniDV or DVD camcorder.

30th March 2007	#2
thamws Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bukit Batok Posts: 70	Re: How good are those mini-camcorders? Really nobody has any experience with this kind of camcorder? That speaks volume for its appeal, and probably its image quality.

30th March 2007	#3
jaegersing Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,135	Re: How good are those mini-camcorders? Maybe you buy one and then let us all know what it's like? No, just joking. These are usually very low cost, and so have cheap lenses. Then they use heavy compression to fit the video onto a flash card. I haven't used one, but don't see how they can be much good compared to a "real" videocam with good glass and 13GB of storage per tape.

30th March 2007	#4
thamws Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bukit Batok Posts: 70	Re: How good are those mini-camcorders? Yes, considering their low prices, shouldn't expect it to be anything comparable to those DV camcorders. Just wondering if the video quality will be adequate for home video? Or even some travel video just for memory sake. Now, I tend to travel with a DV camcorder and a digital still. Troublesome to operate both. If camcorder size can be reduced, then my still cam size can increase.

30th March 2007	#5
jaegersing Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,135	Re: How good are those mini-camcorders? Only you can say if it is adequate for you. Anyway, if you plan to edit your videos, make sure that you get a camera which records in a format you can actually edit. (And if you don't edit your videos, the format is not that important because nobody will watch them anyway. )

31st March 2007	#6
tommon Deregistered Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Currently, Singapore but hope Posts: 729	Re: How good are those mini-camcorders? Panasonic HVX 200 uses PCMCIA P2 cards. Very expensive ($2k) and only 30 minutes on 8Gb P2 Card in full HD format.

2nd April 2007	#7
lwm Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 135	Re: How good are those mini-camcorders? If really want small size, use the digi cam or even handphone to take loh I find some of the digicam 640x480 mode quite decent (of course cannot compare with miniDV). But no matter what, a lousy video is still better than no video.