Hey guys I'm looking for a HDD (hard disk drive) camcorder and now I've come down to 2 choices:

The Sony Camcorder:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

&

The JVC Everio Cam:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN


Both seem to be the same price and quality. I'm just wondering what you guys think I should get? Pros? Cons?

Thanks in advance for any info people post.

If you intend to edit your footage then don't get either as they both record compressed video which cannot be easily/conveniently editted.

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I agree. Tape is a mature foramt and offers the best quality and is best to edit on. Also - full drive, problem, full tape - change tape.

In the pro area there are some cool hd systems but in the consumer arena the machines are compromised by higher compression on recording, odd really.

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JVC DV5001e (big cam), Sony PC6E (tiny cam), Vinten pro5, PAG light, SM58, Sony ECM50, Sony C-76, 0.5x convertors for sony, Rode video mic, Vegas 7.

Yes lots of people have told me that.

But I like the convenience of Hardrive that tape doesn't have (or that i know of), its the feature of viewing selected clips over.

But yes i'm looking to edit it with Vegas 7.0

I'll seriously considor to start looking at MiniDV cameras. Thanks guys!

Hi

I was trying out my friends JVC Everio hard drive camcorder with sony vegas and found out that its far from fun when working with the footage.

Heres just a few plus and cons about (the JVC Everio) hard drive camcorder..

Plus:
You never need to buy dv cassettes again which is a bonus cos they are costing 5 pounds a go.
Comfortable to use
No need to capture your video
Records in widescreen 16:9

Minus:
It records to the disk as mpeg2
After editing you will loose quality
expensive.

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Why do all HDD cameras compress files so much that they lose quality?

I was also wondering if there is a way so that they'll save as avi.

Or if I convert mpeg2 to avi. and edit. Will it have good quality?

If you convert the mpegs to DV AVI they will certainly be easier to edit. I've used Virtualdub to do this in conjunction with a Video for Windows (vfw) DV AVI codec (the one provided by Panasonic http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Panasonic_DV_Codec.htm).

The quality of the DV AVI file will be no better than the original quality of the mpegs, however.

I'm not certain that the camera can record in any other format than mpeg. It would be a very useful option to have on the camera. However, the total recording time would be greatly reduced because of the size of DV AVI files compared with mpeg.

Hi The sony i have myself, to say i am disappointed is an understatment.The image quality is poor and the software is very basic indeed.This is not a cheap camera and coming from sony we should expect alot more.If windows moviemaker was the supplied software iwould have been happy. No you cant use windows moviemaker or many others either unless you convert the files loosing more of its bleak quality. The connection to the pc is USB2 not fire wire, so i think its not even worthy of my time to rate it.

To bert6280 - I've tried the download link on your post but I keep getting a 404 error, is that an old link. I also use Virtual Dub and would really like to get my hands on that Panasonic codec.

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Free-Codecs.com : Download Panasonic DV Codec : Play and import DV video with any tool. The Panasonic VFW DV codec works perfect with Virtualdub

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