Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)My brother asked me to help him pick the best camcorder for under $400. After doing extensive research and seeing how time-consuming it is (not to mention the hassle it can be) I decided to post part of my "research" in hopes of avoiding others the trouble.
About DVD-based camcorders:
-Tend to be the most expensive.
-Most use small 8cm DVDs that record 30 minutes only. Mini-DVs can record 60 and even 90.
-DVDs are not re-recordable, Mini-DVs are.
-DVDs are cheaper than Mini-DV tapes though.
-Can get DVD-Ram which are re-recordable but these are not common, so many players and computer drives are incompatible.
-Can get DVD-RW which are also re-recordable but the cameras that support those are the most expensive. A DVD-RW is more expensive than a normal DVD (but it is totally worth it). Some incompatibility issues exist but to a much lesser degree.
-DVD cameras record using video compression therefore the quality is not necessarily good, results vary according to the camera you choose but in general video compression causes decrease of image quality. Mini-DV is arguably better.
A DVD-based camera allows you to view your DVD directly on a player, whereas with Mini-DV you have to connect the camera to a TV or through something else like a VCR and use IT for playback which causes wear on the mechanism.
Editing is a hassle with both formats and unless you are still using VCRs, you are gonna have to use your computer, special software, Firewire cables, etc.
As far as features goes, you gotta look for what you will be needing, many cameras come with a lot of stuff that one ends up never using, so don't get suckered by does. But what I will provide here is some general info about the main brands that you are probably gonna be looking at:
Canon: tend to have noisy playback because the microphone picks up the sound made by the camera's mechanism as it records. Otherwise they have very good reviews.
Sony: this is overpriced crap. Look around at Sony product reviews and for most you'll find at least one person saying something like "I am surprised at how bad Sony's quality has gotten..." then look at the dates on those reviews and you'll see that this is not a random occurrence, it has been going on for years and yet people still believe that this is a good brand.
Negatives: a) Quality-wise, all but one of the current Mini-DV models have terrible reviews.
b) They use touch-screen technology for the controls which might sound cool to have and even might be cool to use, BUT fingers on an LCD screen are NOT a good idea.
Positives: a) Have the Night-Shot technology which basically is infrared technology which allows you to record with absolutely no light.
JVC: some models have had problems where the camera will show error messages and stop working for no apparent reasons. Do a basic google search for "JVC lens cap error" to find out more. Same noise problem as the Canon brand. Otherwise very good reviews all over.
Hitachi: it's the only brand with DVD-based technology that's any good that's under $400. In fact I don't think there's any other DVD-based camera under $400 period.
No other brands are worth it. Sharp made good cameras, but are not making any right now. Panasonics surprisingly suck.
Here's what I lookd at specifically:
DVD:
Hitachi: DZ-BX35A: The previous model has good reviews, but only supports DVD-Ram. This newer model will have the same price, has way better specs and will support DVD-RW.
Mini-DV:
Sony DCR-HC36: just two reviews for this one, but they are both good. Has nightshot (the infrared thing), has a very good stabilization system. It's too expensive (not a very good value). All in all, the only reason why I would consider this is for the nightshot thing, the rest of the specs are on par with other less expensive cameras. It you do consider this one, then may I humbly suggest getting the Sony DCR-TRV280 which is a Digital8 format (whose main problem is that only Sony supports that format).
Canon:
The ZR line is very good. The older models are the ZR100, ZR200, ZR300 and ZR400. Out of those the best value would be the ZR400. The battery is long lasting, they have a good stabilization system, but the specs are a bit dated by now.
Then there are the new models that just came out/will be coming out soon: ZR500, ZR600, ZR700. They are cheaper than the older models and the specs are much better, the problem with this ones is that there are no reviews yet.
JVC:
Same deal as with the Canons: there are two older models with good reviews: JVC GRD230 (very hard to find it nowadays) and JVC GRD270. Both however have very dated specs.
Then there are the new models: JVC GRD350, JVC GRD370, JVC GRD395. Again, there is no info about the quality yet, and considering how JVC has had some serious quality issues in the past, it is wise to wait (or get an extended service plan).
So why, you must wonder, did I write this review under this Hitachi product: simple, because this camera has to be the best value I've seen in a long while. If I had to buy a camera today, this is the one I would pick, as it has amazing features and specs at a tremendously accesible price. Many people are probably gonna end up in this page looking at it, so again I wanna save you the trouble I had to go through to make a choice. However, as good as it looks on paper, the real test comes from actual usage, so hopefully in a short amount of time we are gonna start looking at some actual working reviews for it (at which time I'll probably delete this one). My rating BTW is based on price\features (value).
Click Here to see more reviews about: Hitachi DZ-BX35A DVD Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom
Hitachi's DZBX35A DVD Camcorder with 25x optical zoom provides media format versatility to support the most popular and widely available DVD formats, including DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, and DVD+RW discs as well as SD cards for digital stills. This industry leading format compatibility allows users to choose the DVD format which best suits their individual needs. Other user-friendly features include a One Touch finalization button for quick and easy access to this essential last step, and a sleep/restart battery saver function that puts the camcorder in hibernation to save battery power between recordings and enables users to begin recording within one second of activation to ensure no action is missed.
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Stock photos represent similar item up for auction.
CONDITION :
GREAT FIND AT A GREAT PRICE!!!This Hitachi DZ-BX35A DVD Camcorder is a refurbished unit.It is being sold as open-box/returned/or repaired merchandise.This unit has been tested and is 100% fully functional.
*Includes a 30 day warranty so you can bid with confidence!!!
SPECS & FEATURES
*Records video and still images
* 16:9 recording mode for DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW formats
* 2.7-inch LCD display; 25x optical, 1200x super digital lens
* Video-to-Photo Frame Grab Tool allows you to pull photo stills to an SD card
* CinemaRes uses entire CCD to capture both video and still images before converting to DVD format
Hitachi DVD camcorders can record on and play back from a wide range of disc and memory formats.
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Click here for more information about Hitachi DZ-BX35A DVD Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom
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