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Best camcorder under £250?

I need suggestions for a camcorder around $250 to use when traveling and recording conference speeches and interviews.

  • I need suggestions for a camcorder around $250 to use when traveling and recording conference speeches and interviews. I'm going to be spending a couple weeks in Europe (specifically the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary), attending some conferences and doing some sight-seeing. The camcorder doesn't need to be fancy, it will be recording some conference panels, some one one one interviews mainly, but I doubt I need anything special for things like that. I'll need to record about 20 hours of video without having the ability to dump the video off the camcorder onto a computer, so hard-drive based camcorders don't seem like an option. I assume MiniDV is the way to go? Any cheap media options are good.Do most camcorders come with a power brick? Since I live in the US, I'd just want to use an adapter to recharge the camcorder batteries while in Europe. Also, it needs to have a USB port, I don't have access to FireWire (even though I could probably go get a PCI card for it).An LCD would also be nice, so I don't have to stare through the viewfinder for hours. Summary are the requirements:1. ~$2502. USB output3. Power brick? Any suggestions on specific models or brans would be appreciated.thanks.

  • Answer:

    I don't have a specific camera recommendation (I tend to use higher-end models), but some tips: 1. Yes, Mini-DV is the way to go. Most standard Mini-DV cameras will have a USB 2.0 port these days. Firewire is so 2003 (but damn fast!). If you can dump, I'd go with HDD. Waiting for 20 Mini-DV tapes to dump to your PC in real-time (which means about 20 hours) is exhauuuuuusting. 2. Most cameras will come with LCDs. Also consider budgeting (save those arms!) for a tripod and an external mike. (The latter can make rewatching a presentation again go from unbearable to almost pleasant, rent or borrow one if you are really cheap, best investment you can make, I promise. I'll take crappy video and great audio any day.) 3. Your camera's charger may support 110/220, if so, you don't need a convertor, you simply need an adapter. You'll learn this by looking at the "power brick", if it says 110/220, get an adapter, otherwise you'll need a convertor that supplies enough power to the charger.

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I bought one of the Flip camcorders that Amazon is advertising like mad right now. It's battery-powered (so you don't have to worry about chargers) and connects via USB. I like mine quite a bit ... It's not even close to HD, but if you're just recording speeches, etc. it should be fine.

GatorDavid

I have one of the Canon Mini DV camcorders. I bought it about 3 years ago because it was recommended in Consumer Reports as the best value. It was around $280 then but they are probably cheaper now. We are very happy with it.

Ostara

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ is a really useful site. The http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Panasonic-PV-GS85-Camcorder-Review-33760.htm is meant to be just about the best one in your price range.

Magnakai

Caveat - I don't believe it has a mic input, and I'm not sure there are any at that price range that do. If you're recording talks, that should be a serious consideration.

Magnakai

I have been shopping for something similar and with Canon releasing a new line of their ZR series camcorders, you can get the previous models for very cheap. The http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/canon-zr800/4505-6500_7-32172624.html has a mic jack and can be purchased from Amazon for $159. I keep flip flopping back and forth between the 800 and the newer 930 becuase of the low light comments I read about though.

Big_B

http://www.metafilter.com/user/33924 jives with my experience. After months of research, I bought one from that series myself. (Mine was a Panasonic PV-GS120 purchased several years ago, for $800-ish. At the time, it was the only good 3ccd camera for under $1000.) Good quality, pretty rugged, good low-light performance. I've read a lot of good stuff about Panasonic and Canon, specifically.

churl

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