Any HD camcorder users here?

[Daigohji]

I'm thinking of buying an HD camcorder, but it's proving a tricky one to research. I'd like one that can record 1080p, but the Panasonic and Sony models I've seen with that seem to record that resolution in .mts or .m2ts formats that I'm not sure my PC will be able to handle for editing. It's really no use to me if I can't edit the footage. My PC is a Core 2 Quad Q9300, 4Gb RAM, Geforce 9800GTX+, Vista 32-bit.

I could live with one that does 720p at a stretch, or if there's one that can process 1080i without producing horrible deinterlacing artefacts every time the camera pans.

I'm considering a Panasonic SD90, which is more than I'd rather pay at £400, but the cheaper models I've seen seem to have shitty motion handling. I believe that uses .m2ts if you record in 1080p though.

Having recently emptied my bank account buying my first car, I don't have a lot of money to play with for this. Any input or recommendations would be appreciated.

[neorichieb1971]

I'm exactly in the same boat. Except I want an SLR as well.

I haven't bought yet but after serious consideration I have (I think) decided to go with a Sony NEX5. Its compact, it does video and it has similar performance to much bigger SLR's. If you buy the lenses that could be fun too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PQHpNWR ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz3hNn6M ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFuaDyUp ... re=related

I've looked at some of the other pro cams and they don't help in the stuttering dept. Its best to get a tripod and just do things as smoothly as possible.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... x5&x=0&y=0

[Airfare]

trying to find one as well I been looking into a jvc gz hm1. Quality looks nice for being a year old model........

[neorichieb1971]

The truth is that camcorders have stalled to progress in the past 3 years. The prices are coming down a bit but the tech isn't moving on. You won't really be getting much less from a 2 year old model then you would a brand new one today.

[Daigohji]

I ended up buying the Panasonic SD90. I'm pretty impressed with it so far. Colour and detail are good, especially when shooting at 1920x1080/50p. It's very configurable, with various manual and auto settings for everything imaginable. My only niggle on that front is that it isn't possible to map focus or iris to the zoom rocker switch, which means that manual focus/iris is at a fixed speed via the touch screen. Aside from that, there's loads of good stuff. It has varying strengths of image stabilisation that really help with zoomed in shots. Speaking of the zoom, it's insane! I went to Beeston Castle in Cheshire to test drive the camera. It's on a hill with a panorama where eight counties are visible. With the camera set to 40x zoom I was able to get a shot of the cathedrals in Liverpool, which were about 25 miles from where I was standing!

The video files do run on my PC, which was a huge relief. Actually finding the software to run and edit them was a pain though. Aside from the basic software that comes with the camera, Quicktime seems to play the files best, and Sony Vegas has performed the best for editing and rendering. I tried Pinnacle, but the renders came out as an unwatchable mess.

[supergrafx77]

Wish I'd seen this thread earlier. I am a video/film lover. I just sold my 5d mkII slr with Leica to leitax mount lens for the upcoming RED Scarlet motion picture camera. That shoots in 3k res and when all's said and done with compression, you get a 2k 16mm digital camera. However, I've started to waver on this and am mostly impressed with the Swedish Ikonoskop 16mm digital camera called the A-Cam DII. Body is about 10 grand, but like the red scarlet, records RAW, but is 1080p. However, what I've seen, I like the Ikonoskop's global shutter as opposed to Red's CMOS sensor as I feel it looks more like film. These two cameras are your best bet IMO. I'm saving for the A-CAM DII as we speak. Just hope the Euro depletes a bit against the dollar when I'm ready to purchase.