Konica Minolta Magicolor 1690MF colour laser multifunction 
RRP: $799.00
RRP: $799.00
Thu, 28/05/2009 - 12:37
Advice on camcorder purchase
Advice on camcorder purchase
Hi,
I'm looking for a camcorder with the following characteristics. The videos will primarily be used to conduct interviews, sometimes in poor light and noisy settings, hence the requirement for good audio. The interviews will be for web, not TV.
Longer-term though, I would want the camcorder to be useful for general shooting though.
Here they are:
1) Video Storage: HDD+Flash (prefer several hours worth)
2) Zoom: good optical zoom
3) Optical Image Stabilisation
4) Prefer HD, though willing to go with SD
5) Audio: quite important. Want external mic jack + headphone jack
6) Still image: good quality
7) Lowlight image: good quality
8) Battery: sufficient
9) Price: under $1000
I've read reviews on the Sanyo Xacti HD1010, Sony DCR-SR62E, Sony DCR-SR65 and a few others, but none seems to tick all the boxes.
Any advice would be most welcome. I will consider going up the price range a little if required.
Cheers,
Richard
2%
10%
I am in the same dilemma and
I am in the same dilemma and my focus is on a Canon Vixia HF-100 (or HF-10/HF-11 for integrated flash memory) and prices are at $600 to $700.
But Canon has moved to a new generation [HF S100], and I must hurry if I want to get one of the Vixia HF-100.
Hi Richard, sorry about the
Hi Richard, sorry about the delay in getting back to you. While it's possible to get some of the above features for under $1000, you're unfortunately not going to get all of them. (Note: I'm assuming that you're based in Australia and talking about Australian dollars.)
If you're willing to go a little over $1000, then the $1,199 Samsung VP-HMX20C is probably your best bet:
http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/review/digital_video/samsung/vp-hmx20c/2...
It's a Full HD camcorder with a 3.5mm microphone jack, an 8-megapixel stills mode and a good low-light performance. The optical zoom is only 10x, but this is reasonable for a high-def camcorder. It also has one of the biggest CMOS sensors I've ever seen on a consumer-level camcorder, which helps to reduce noise levels.
The only downside is that it doesn't look as cool as a Canon or Sony, and feels a bit cheap and plasticy. Otherwise, it ticks most of the boxes on your wish-list.