Camcorders, analogue or digital?

The time has come to replace the old 8mm viewcam as the battery life is
so appalling it never gets used (I have replacement hi-capacity
batteries and they don't help much).

Funds are limited, so I was thinking of a budget digital (I see the Sony
range starts at about £240 if you shop around) or a slightly used mid
range Hi-8 for about £100-150.

I don't want to spend shed loads as I'm being realistic and know it
won't get that much use other than Christmas & birthdays etc.

Bearing in mind that I already have the analogue to digital kit on the
PC to capture recordings from an analogue camera, what does the panel
think? Is there enough benefit in going for the budget digital or would
I be better saving a few quid and sticking with the older technology?

 

Most digital ones have a composite and/or s-video output socket on them
anyway, so it should work with your kit that you already have, if you did
it via cables rather than adaptor tapes.

 

Digital. I a top of the range Sony analogue camera (broke it - they don't
tarmac surf very well) and bought a Panasonic digital. Huge difference. It's
4 years old now and I'm sure the cheapo base models will be a better spec
now.

HTH

Buzby

 

I was guessing that if I went digital I would get the input by USB or
get a firewire card. What I was getting at was that if I went Hi-8 I
wouldn't have to shell out £100 or so for an a to d interface so that
wouldn't be a hidden cost.

 

You will, most cameras have firewire - though those that can take stills
into memory will often have USB as well, but it should be noted that most
of those that do, do not support video transfer (from the tape) via the
USB interface.
Most of them will also have an adapter, or covered sockets that will
enable you to simply capture the output via the composite/svideo/scart
inputs on your normal vcr.

 

Digital.

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Gyp wrote

Digital certainly. Wait for the sales.

The most important thing is that the camera fits comfortable in your
hand regardless of the makers label on the front. It don't really
matter how kin expensive it is if you can't make best use of it in the
first place.

 

I paid £90 for my Sony handyCam Hi-8 on eBay.

Really? What exactly do you use in terms of hardware and software?
I need to get this kind of thing set up so that I can edit Hi-8
recordings from the HandyCam onto mpegs on a CD.
Any chance of a tutorial?


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The term is also used to describe futile attempts to pursue unscrupulous
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It's Dell's version of Roxio video wave and I don't overly rate it, but
then maybe have not explored all it's features yet. Perhaps that means
it's not overly intuitive...

£309 on pixmania.com

 

That's the sort of thing I had in mind, yes.

I use the stuff that was bundled with my Dell. The software is Roxio
video wave movie creator which works reasonably well though it takes a
bit of getting used to. It comes with a capture card & interface similar
to Pinnacle's movie box
(http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=1172&Langue_ID=2
).

I tried one of the budget capture boxes a while back
(http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=1427&Langue_ID=2)
which is now £40 in PCWorld and didn't have much success, but that might
have been due to running it on a Celeron 433. If you have a far gruntier
PC it may work well.

Err, plug the camera into the capture device and press play...

 

There's a train of thought that slightly larger and heavier cameras are
also easier to hold steady than the ultra small ones, albeit that they
are more uncomfortable to hold for a long time. Most digi cams have
image stabilisers built in which are supposed to cut out camera shake
but these have varying success. I've also noticed that they make for
some bizarre effects when editing video grabbed from a camera.

One of my worries is that the insurance company will replace the camera
we had stolen a few weeks ago with a smaller modern one which I don't
like so much! Still it'll probably be a better all around camera so
let's not grumble eh?

 

Strange it may be, but I have a video camera that is slightly unusual.
It is a dinosaur, a Panasonic MS2B that takes _full size_ S-VHS tapes,
runs off a 12V lead-acid battery that weighs a couple of pounds and
sits on my shoulder just like a broadcast camera. "Steadicam" shots
are not a problem ... for the first hour or so ;-)

The thing is, it produces fabulous quality (for VHS, obviously)
pictures. I can slap a 4-hour tape in it and with the spare battery,
know it will be good for four hours of recording. It has the options
of automatic exposure, white balance etc etc., but it also has manual
control of everything from iris opening to zoom and focus. All
analogue of course, but I love it to death - except after a couple of
hours as the deadness moves down my right arm from the shoulder to the
fingertips.

A huge advantage of the size is the effect on American and Japanese
tourists - they see me standing there with this ten-pound block of
black plastic on my shoulder, FOAD lens hanging out the front, KY-TV
stickers on the sides - and dive for cover so they don't obstruct the
"official/news" camera shot.

I spit on your poxy miniature jewels of high technology.

 

*lovely*

 

<ding>

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This is true to a certain extent, but I've adapted to hold my "palm-size"
camera quite reasonably, certainly no worse that one that was bigger than
one hand could hold, but not big enough to sit on the shoulder.

<Multiple feed lines>
One advantage of a small camera is that you tend to get it out more often.
If you have a big one, it's more hassle and you leave it in your bag. I
shoot loads more now I have something that fits in my pocket.
</>

The quality from a consumer digital camera is brilliant, but when you then
compare it to the quality from a big FOAD 3-CCD camera, it looks a little
lifeless, but it's like comparing a road GSXR-thou to John Reynolds'
version.

 

I have a Panasonic MS90 which is of the same ilk except it takes the
mini S-VHS tapes. It has all the bells and whistles auto and manual
selection. The quality recorded on S-VHS and played back via the S-Video
input to the TV 'appears' better than terrestrial or satellite broadcast
material. I've had it from new in ?1989?

I video-ed a charity death slide thing at Leziate a while back and got
asked what TV company I was from so I know what you mean.

I bought a couple of top of the range Panasonic S-VHS VCRs with an
editing desk. Was astounding what could be done. But now both need new
heads and the cheapest I can get them is around £385 each. So I bought a
JVC S-VHS VCS for £170, copy everything onto my PC and edit on there
using Pinnacle.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Gyp

I've got a Hi-8 and it works for me.

Here's an idea. I'll lend it to you to try out, you take some nude shots
of your missus to see if you like it, and send it back to me with the
tape still in. How's that?

 

Great. I'll wait by the letterbox.