What is the next step up in low cost HD cameras? I can spend more than the cost of a Zi6 on a camcorder, but I still have a limited budget.I'm looking for a camera that does 720p widescreen video and records to SD flash like the Zi6, but doesn't record choppy video of movement and drop frames the way the Zi6 and the Flip MiniHD do. I also need a step up in camera because I want to use an external mike so I can have generally better audio, use wired or wireless mics closer to the people speaking as well as record outside on windy days and block wind noise with wind filters. What is the next step up in low cost HD cameras? I can spend more than the cost of a Zi6 on a camcorder, but I still have a limited budget.I'm looking for a camera that does 720p... » Read More What is the next step up in low cost HD cameras? I can spend more than the cost of a Zi6 on a camcorder, but I still have a limited budget.I'm looking for a camera that does 720p widescreen video and records to SD flash like the Zi6, but doesn't record choppy video of movement and drop frames the way the Zi6 and the Flip MiniHD do. I also need a step up in camera because I want to use an external mike so I can have generally better audio, use wired or wireless mics closer to the people speaking as well as record outside on windy days and block wind noise with wind filters. « Show Less
443620
Hey there -I see no one has really responded to your question - I am in the same boat - looking for many of the things you are. I have been looking at the Sanyo Xacti HD700 7MP MPEG-4 High Definition 720p Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom - the reviews have been pretty good - not sure about the external mic - and it still has the low light issues - Let me know if you made a choice -
443621
It must be that your computer cannot keep up. I see no dropped frames there at all.
443622
I have not seen any reports that the Flip Mino HD drops frames. Please give me a link to that report.Yes, I have read that the Kodak does have that problem.
443623
I see dropped frames in this MINOHD sample video;http://www.vimeo.com/2233624
443624
How about a Canon Tx-1? I got a brand new US model on fleabay for $285. It's a fantastic point & shoot and takes 720p video. Best of all, it has beautiful Canon optics with a 10x zoom lens that is active while shooting movies.Negatives are tiny controls (what do you expect on a camera this powerful in this small form factor), tiny screen (ditto), and m-jpeg compression for the AVI files.Check it out. It's a fantastic camera.
443625
Looks like the new Zi8 is going to be the best low cost HD camcorder.Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (Black)$179.95 on Pre-Order and it does 1080P or 720P at 60fps, image stabilization, replaceable battery and it has HDMI out and it has an EXTERNAL MICROPHONE JACK so you can record audio with a decent mic. Maybe use a mic with a wind guard so you can record outside without all that annoying wind buffeting noise.Some of the Aipteks can do these things plus zoom, but the Aipteks are so clunky, not slick and pocketable like this.You also need to buy a case and SD card since it doesn't come with a case and only has 128MB onboard storage. Looks like the new Zi8 is going to be the best low cost HD camcorder.Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (Black)$179.95 on Pre-Order and it does 1080P or 720P at 60fps, image stabilization, replaceable battery and it has HDMI out and it has an EXTERNAL MICROPHONE JACK so you can record audio with a decent mic. Maybe use a mic with a wind guard so you can record outside without all that annoying wind buffeting noise.Some of the Aipteks can do these things plus zoom, but the Aipteks are so clunky, not slick... » Read More Looks like the new Zi8 is going to be the best low cost HD camcorder.Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (Black)$179.95 on Pre-Order and it does 1080P or 720P at 60fps, image stabilization, replaceable battery and it has HDMI out and it has an EXTERNAL MICROPHONE JACK so you can record audio with a decent mic. Maybe use a mic with a wind guard so you can record outside without all that annoying wind buffeting noise.Some of the Aipteks can do these things plus zoom, but the Aipteks are so clunky, not slick and pocketable like this.You also need to buy a case and SD card since it doesn't come with a case and only has 128MB onboard storage. « Show Less
443626
Although still cheap, I think maybe the next step up would be a Sanyo as mentioned or something like the Aiptek Action HD GVS.
1830027
Cape Codder, Wong Chun or anyone else-I just ordered a 120 min. Flip Ultra and I am very excited! This will be my first camcorder, and I am really looking forward to using this.I do have a question for either one of you or anyone else. I did read a comment where this product isn't really meant for concerts. I am going to a Sonic Youth concert next month and do plan on using this there. Is it at least an alright camcorder to use at a concert ? I plan on at least recording a few songs, and Yes it may be dark, but regardless if it is good for concerts or not, I am happy I ordered this. Thanks- Cape Codder, Wong Chun or anyone else-I just ordered a 120 min. Flip Ultra and I am very excited! This will be my first camcorder, and I am really looking forward to using this.I do have a question for either one of you or anyone else. I did read a comment where this product isn't really meant for concerts. I am going to a Sonic Youth concert next month and do plan on using this there. Is it at least an alright camcorder to use at a concert ? I plan on at least recording a few songs, and Yes it may be dark, but regardless if it is good for concerts or not, I am happy I ordered... » Read More Cape Codder, Wong Chun or anyone else-I just ordered a 120 min. Flip Ultra and I am very excited! This will be my first camcorder, and I am really looking forward to using this.I do have a question for either one of you or anyone else. I did read a comment where this product isn't really meant for concerts. I am going to a Sonic Youth concert next month and do plan on using this there. Is it at least an alright camcorder to use at a concert ? I plan on at least recording a few songs, and Yes it may be dark, but regardless if it is good for concerts or not, I am happy I ordered this. Thanks- « Show Less
441509
I have a 16GB Class 10 SDHC Memory Card in it. It will record just over three hours of video at the 720p 60 Frames Per Second Setting (3H 3M 30Seconds to be exact). You can get One Hour of non-stop recording on a single battery before it runs out of power. Buy two spare aftermarket batteries here on Amazon for about 8 bucks each, and you'll be able to record for a hour, then swap the battery out to record for hour two, and the same for hour three. When figuring out how much memory is used for recording, the 720p@60 Frames Per Second will use exactly the same amount of memory that 1080p does at 30 Frames Per Second. So recording at HD levels uses about 5.4 Gigabytes per hour. I recommend the Transcend SDHC "Class 10" 16 Gigabyte card, which is currently only Fourteen Dollars on Amazon. You MUST get at least a "CLASS 10" memory card, as you need it's fast recording speed to record HD Video. The comments below about the camera stopping after a few minutes is because they used memory that was too slow, which will cause the camera to stop after a few minutes because it can't write to the memory fast enough. With a Class 10 card, this is a non-issue. This is well documented all over the internet btw, so feel free to confirm that with a google search. :-) The Spare Batteries are $7-8 each.
1000409
The high speed (slow-mo) is cool, but it's lower-resolution than full HD. See this link to a video I mad with this camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xi-72avWLY. All the exterior shots and slow-motion shots were made with this camera. I believe the latest update to this camera from Panasonic (the FZ200) has full resolution high-speed video, but I'm not sure.
1951016
Bill,Thank you for the information. I also looked at some HD solutions from your typical consumer digital camera's but was turned off by the short recording time and large storage space required. It seems you cannot use the zoom feature at all with the DMC-FX35K while shooting video with it. For $199.99, I think the Vado HD is your best choice for HD video recording. Cheers!Oscar V.
213219
no, this camcorder is not High Definition. It does not record in either 1080i or 720p. It does say however that it is high resolution, which is where I think it gets almost misrepresented. Here is the confusion.. Widescreen HR Recording The FS200 records true High Resolution Widescreen for picture perfect video. Canon's Widescreen HR Mode uses the entire width of the image sensor, capturing true 16:9 widescreen. What difference does it make? It's simple. The more pixels captured, the better your final image quality is. Notice that it does not say High DEFINITION, it says high RESOLUTION. Easy way to truly know is that In order for something to be high-def it has to be 1080i or 720p!
1443722
Hi Scott, I bought this unit about a year after it first came out (2007). Mine came with the standard 30Gb hard drive with the zif interface. The unit came standard with a USB cable, video out cables (no HDMI cable), a remote control that you could use to control recording, zoom in/zoom out and playback control if you connect it to a TV/monitor. I personally swapped the original 30Gb drive with a 80Gb drive (had to since the 30Gb drive completely failed). Any additional filters, were not part of the standard package. Any modern Windows or Mac computer can deal with the AVCHD movie files that this camera produces. It has been a stalwart for the six years I have owned it, and its optic zoom lens is really more than decent. Of course, nowadays, 1080p can be achieved easily with an iPhone, but trust me, the crappy lenses that all smartphones come with along with their crappy digital zoom, will never be able to match the performance of a good optical lens -- that is just reality. That being said, new cameras which support 4k recording are not that expensive these days -- the problem that you will have is that smooth 4k digital editing requires fairly powerful hardware. I can honestly say, that today's consumer/prosumer level computer hardware/software can finally be used to edit 1080p AVCHD files smoothly -- so let me see, six to seven years before the hardware/software became up to snuff to edit the video from this camera? How many more years before 4k can be smoothly edited? I still use this camera to this day -- colors are kind of toned down, but other than that, excellent video/sound output. And of course, the night mode is impressive -- you can take monochrome videos in absolute darkness.
1621825
Check out the review at camcorder info dot com.It beat out all others in its price class that it was compared to in the review, (panasonic, jvc, sony).However for $400 more (double the price) the canon HV-40, for instance is really outstanding, and for $650 there are a couple better choices.
1966723
sorry ! I don't know that question. Frankly speaking, I only turned on this cam ! hmm .. I didn't buy the memory card and therefore I can't check 720p mode and FPS. the benefit of this cam is light ! light cam ! because this cam have Zeiss lens, you can use Zeiss lens. Zeiss lens is good ! I think the benefit of this cam is light and Zeiss lens
1177439
I have both and I think the difference in picture quality is significant, especially for indoor shooting where you often have low light situations. After shooting HD videos, I was surprised how much grainier my older videos from Flip looked in comparison. The compression format is also different from the older Flip which helps compress the video despite the HD quality. The HD videos look so much better on my 17" LCD laptop than the older Flip videos. I also have Creative Vado HD, which I like due to the larger capacity and larger screen size for the same price range.
12780
Go with either the HD-2000 or HD-4000. Look up Devin Graham, he uses the same setup as you with a glidecam.
347544
I keep thinking the price will drop on the D90, just like the Canon did. Canon 50D doesn't offer the video recording does it? My worse fear is always buying a portable item at this price point, losing or dropping it. There is a certain amount of loss I can afford.I am not waiting too much longer to buy, the video option is weighing less on my mind since I just bought the wife a Panasonic Lumix (Tz50?) for quick pics. It was a HD video capture option, much better than the D90's, higher resolution, and the ability to zoom while recording. Cheap at $237.
1893354
Hello Amy. I see that you've not gotten a reply yet for a few days. I own the Canon SX130is camera that is nearly identical to that of the next version, the SX150is. I even owned the previous model of mine now, SX120is. THe only reason for the upgrade was to get HD video and stereo sound. Other than that, I loved that camera too. I've not studied the others you are deciding on but just looked them over. THere's not a "night & day" major difference between them. Differences of 2x zoom power is not major IMHO. Frames per second in burst mode shooting is. Size may be a factor too. But I can tell you why I like my camera. A manual flip up flash allows unmistakeable control over the flash and keeps the camera from waisting power charging for a flash that you didn't need for that shot. The option of complete manual settings is a must. And the advantage of using AA batteries gives you limitless flexibility of power. Don't let the negative reviews tell you that you cannot take lots of photos with this camera. If you get some high capacity rechargable batteries and enough for an extra set, you'll be good. Several here have recommended Sanyo Eneloop brand cells. That they come precharged and hold that charge for extended periods of storage time. A friend of mine used them and swears by them. I use Ansmann 2850 mAh batteries (which are higher capacity) and they give me nearly 200 more shots in my Canon SX20is than what is rated in the camera manual.
611817
I LOVE this camcorder. Hi Def is incredible. Still shots (photos) are also great. I use it mainly for sports. I bought a couple different lenses (wide angle & telephoto) because I like what they offer. I personally use Adobe Premiere for editing but Final Cut would be another great option. Wondershare is also decent for quick editing and nothing fancy.
948931
heres the problem, the newer cameras almost always require faster sd cards, some even recommend you use a class 10 card. Being that you have a 6 yr old camera, you might also own older slower sd cards. The newer cards are no longer as expensive as they used to be. You can find a 32gig class 10 hcsd card for about $30 dollars ( http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Panasonic-DMC-GH2-Digital-Camera/dp/B004HQBQ24/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1401632586&sr=8-4&keywords=class+10+hcsd+card) . This is about what it cost to get a 16gig class 4 card, just a few years ago. so there you go, definitely get a class 10 card from now on, all your newer cameras pretty much need them.
1604050
It ain't the brand, it is the camera. You are going to have to buy a more expensive camcorder to get a higher still picture resolution. You can get thousands and thousands of pictures on the 40 gig hard disk or on a many gig SD card. So many that you don't need to worry about it. You might want to look at one of the so-called ultra-zoom still cameras. Several of them such as the Fuji have decent video modes. My Fuji S700 takes good video but it's sound is nothing to write home about. The sound may be better on the later S1000 and S2000 models. You can go to the various manufacturer's web sites and read or download the manuals, brochures and specifications for most cameras.
877539
I have had these for years and to be honest they are bottom of the line cameras. I'd suggest going to E-Bay and just put security cams in for a search and see if you cant find some better camera's for the same money. Walmart sells a 4 pack with a digital recorder that works on motion and I think it is made by Swann which I feel is a step up form the Astak cameras. But look around on the net, read the reviews and go form there. Arkansawhillbilly2002 in yahoooey!