Do you think that this camcorder is a good "next step" for a person who has had 10 years of experience with 35mm point&shoot, APS, 35mm SLR (I still ♥ working with film cameras), and digital point&shoot cameras and who wants to venture into the wild and wonderful world of video recording?
The last video camera I used was a 1985/1986 model Sony Hi-8 video camera... from the PRE digital days of home video cameras... it was very big, very akward, very heavy and very fun to use in its time... and I was wanting something that is easy to use and takes good film (yes, I know that film footage is only as good as the person operating the camera... I'm looking more at good picture quality rather than being the next Sundance or Cannes Film Festival winner), and from what I saw on display, the Canon DVD camcorder seemed to be the best fit for me... they had a USD >600$ Sony with a built in hard drive (I wish that I had that kind of budget!) and a 2nd Canon model and an Olympus on display as well.
I looked at the cameras that take the mini cartridge (the 2nd Canon and the Olympus), but was turned off by fact that the mini cartriges must be fed into this very "old style VCR" like mechanism that loads & ejects the cartidge into the camera body. I felt that not only is the DVD technology (widescreen at that... I ♥ widescreen!) better than fumbling around with those cartridges, the simple fact that there is nothing "extra" on the DC230 that might break (I can see there possibly being a problem with the ejector mechanism gettng jammed or requiring some repair) other than the door that houses the disc was a major plus in its favour, as the discman like would be easier to take care of than the ejection unit.
Moving on to media for the camera, what's the difference between....
a) a Mini SD disk and a "regular" SD disk?
The specs for the model that I'm going to pick up (it's on layaway, as I don't have enough funds to buy it outright right now... I get it after next month's payday) says that it takes a Mini SD card. My roommate is currently Stateside buying me a card for the camera (I live in the Caribbean and the cost of things here can be up to triple of that in the US)... I indicated on my shopping list for her that it needs an SD card. If she buys a plain SD and NOT a Mini, would I be hooped? Until an hour ago, I didn't realize that there was a "Mini" and a "Regular" SD card. I know that there are different kinds of cards (I have an Olympus that takes an XD card and my brother's Sony camcorder takes a Memory stick), but I didn't realize that there was also a size factor involved.
(and for the record, I sent her a text asking her to make sure that it is in fact a MINI card that she buys and not a so-called "regular" SD card that would fit a point and shoot digital)
b) DVD -R and DVD+R/ DVD -RW and DVD +RW? Does the - or + sign really mean anything significant? The specs for the above noted camcorder indicate "DVD -R/RW DL" and have advised roommate to pick up DVD -RW discs for me. If she bought DVD +RW discs (if such an animal exists) would I be able to use them in the camera eventhough it's not specifically spelled out in the instructions? I've seen computer specs that say DVD -R/RW and (I think) DVD -+R/RW and although my brother tried to explain what the + and - means, I'm still confused.
Last question:
Is there such an animal as a DVD /- RW DL disc? I while I know that the DL means Dual Layer (but am a little unclear as to how that technology actually works) I am wondering if current technology would allow for a Dual Layer RW disc, or is that still a few years away in R&D?
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this and help a camera nut with her first steps into the world of high definition DVD filming!
"... first steps into the world of high definition DVD filming!..."
Small point... but the 230 is not an HD (High Definition) camcorder, it shoots in HR (High Resolution.)
Yes, there's a Mini SD card and a (standard) Micro SD card, so don't confuse them.
I'm not much of a video guy (I shoot film) but even entry level camcorders like the 230 now offer enough bells and whistles to keep most first-time users happy, at least for awhile. If you really take to the whole video thing though, you'll quickly outgrow this unit.
Welcome to a whole 'nother world!
Cheers,
Terry
You are thoroughly mixed up, confused and put money down because it was tax free and "duty free" as if that meant anything.
Can't you buy from a US store online and get it shipped to you on the island? Wider choice and no tax and probably a good bit lower price.
Canon is pretty good. Their lens glass is usually better than most. Overall I prefer Sony and I own both (four video cameras).
The tiny size of a camera like this is a drawback. The controls are so tiny and the zoom rocker is always compromised.
I hope you love the look of hand held seasick film because unless you use a tripod with this, that's how your video will look.
The SD card is a specific size, yes. Your pal buys the wrong size you've thrown that money away. I don't think you are aware that the SD card is just for storing still images.
No you cannot use +dvd and -dvd interchangably. Only one will work in this camera, the minus dvd (-DVD). The plus will not work at all.
Apparently you have no idea what the difference is between dvd/r and dvd/rw. dvd/r is recordable that is you record to is once (burn) and cannot record over it, just like when you burn an audio cd on your computer. You do know how to do that don't you?
The dvd/rw means record/re write. You can record over what you recorded earlier.
Fine, but you have to put that original recording somewhere else (a file on a computer) if you don't want to erase it.
I'm not crazy about these little cameras which record to dvds. It seems like a good idea on the surface.
You have an already burned dvd (unedited and with all of the mistakes on it) that you can play in any dvd deck or laptop.
They compromise video quality to do this, they compress the video to mpeg files, so you get video quality about like as if you took video on your cell phone.
Unedited video on one of these little dvd cameras is you saying to your friend "oh don't watch this part, I left the camera on while I was walking and didn't know it was on 'cause that stupid little red light is so small I never notice it oh well it gets good here in about eight minutes. Huh? come back there's more! okay bye."
If you want this for goofy video of not very important stuff that you could have taken with your cell phone, okay.
If you are half serious about decent video, get your money back you have holding this camera. Use it to buy another one which uses miniDV tapes (99% of them do). Record to tape. Transfer to computer and edit them, use computer to burn dvds of something watchable.
Terry... Thank you for clarifying things for me. My roommate is picking up MINI SD discs and DVD -RW discs for me.
Monterey... you were of no help at all. If you'd bothered to read my post properly instead of getting all worked about my questions and viciously attack me, you'd see that I do in fact know the difference between DVD -R and DVD -RW is... it was the +/- part that I wasn't clear about, and even said so. My question about the mini DVD discs was about the existence of DVD -RW DL discs.
I may be ignorant about this kind of technology (which is why I posted here in the first place) but I am not completely stupid as you might think I am. In fact, based upon your response, my only stupid move was to post this OP here and not just ask my brother (who does know about this stuff but doesn't live anywhere near me). I hope that you're not as rude to others who have questions/are new to this as you've been to me.
Oh, and for the record... if I bought the camera in the U.S. and had it shipped here, I'd be subjected to a 20% import duty on both the cost of the camera AND the cost of shipping, all payable in CAYMAN ISLANDS DOLLARS (KY $1 = USD $1.20)... the model specified is what I wanted and less than the cost of a comparable miniDV camera that I was shown., and since I can get what I want without having to pay import duty, then the camera I've picked is the one I'm taking home with me (and you are welcome to your opinions about what I'm getting... I won't deny you your opinion, and I'm happy to know what others think about my selection).
DVD based cameras suck for when you want to edit your footage later.
Get a tape based camera i.e. HDV.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a standard def camera any more.
The cheapest cameras I'd consider at the moment are the Canon HV20 or the Sony HC7.
There are much better cameras available, but they cost more.
trusted partner
