Digital Camcorder

[Reschke]

I love my Canon Vixia HG20 that we got last year. It has a 50GB hard drive and a spot for flash memory.

[APDrone]

ok...does this one have any of it's own memory, or does it only record to a card?

This particular Sony only records to a memory card.

They have others that have combination Hard Drive and memory cards.

An 8GB card should hold enough video to expire the battery charge.

If you spend some time on Amazon, you can see the different Sonys.  In the groupings, the only price difference is in the size of their built in memory.

[RichardDarkwood]

looking at digital camcorders that i can get through a program with napa.

 there's 2 in my points range that i like.

1) canon vixia M30
2)sony handycam HDR-CX110

it looks like the cannon has 8gb flash memory, whereas the sony looks like it needs to have an hdsc card. the cannon has 15X zoom, the sony 25X.

 i'm mostly hoping to use this at air shows this year....and they're from points i've already earned by doing business with napa.......and they friggin expire next week.

any suggestions/help?


thanks dudes!!  and dudettes!!

JVC Evrio series camera's are the best made today. You can dock the camera to a disk burner and burn your movies to play able disc in minutes, not to mention they have a built in hard drive!




Todd

[RTHolmes]

Do they have image stabilization technology?  While sucking up power a little faster, you'll get much less camera shake that you see in almost all "weekend home videos".

yup, check the reviews, the quality of the IS would be the decider for me. you wont want to be handheld at the canons 600mm equiv, let alone the sony's 1300mm equiv anyway...

[Reschke]

I messed up my post...my Canon has a 60GB internal hard drive.

Also while reading some other posts you made you can change the battery pack out in a Canon also. They have several different ones available from a High Capacity to the standard and you can get them easily at local camera stores or online through Best Buy, Newegg, etc... all for between $50 - $200 after shipping.

I did several comparisons between my current video camera and the same price point Sony last year before I bought it. The Sony did not perform as well in low light situations while the Canon was a much better/clearer image both in the stills and the video. Sony is good but for my money the Canon that I have is much better than similarly priced Sony products.

[TwinEng]

I messed up my post...my Canon has a 60GB internal hard drive.

Also while reading some other posts you made you can change the battery pack out in a Canon also. They have several different ones available from a High Capacity to the standard and you can get them easily at local camera stores or online through Best Buy, Newegg, etc... all for between $50 - $200 after shipping.

I did several comparisons between my current video camera and the same price point Sony last year before I bought it. The Sony did not perform as well in low light situations while the Canon was a much better/clearer image both in the stills and the video. Sony is good but for my money the Canon that I have is much better than similarly priced Sony products.

Hard disk camcorders like yours are now already obsolete.   Who wants to use a mechanical hard drive, when one can instead use solid state memory?   The difference in reliability and durability is immense in favor of the cameras that are now using flash memory.   Memory has no mechanical moving parts to wear out and eventually fail.   Hard drives are far more fragile, and susceptible to shock.

.

[CAP1]

that's one of the problems with stuff like this.

what is top of the line today, is outdated by the end of the month.,

[APDrone]

that's one of the problems with stuff like this.

what is top of the line today, is outdated by the end of the month.,

That's only a real problem if you absolutely have to have the latest, greatest gadget.

In this case, you're limited by time and your choices, which, to be honest, makes it a bit easier.

Either unit will perform better than nothing at all, and either are still good performing units, by today's standards. And, I would venture to bet that they will still be adequate by 'common' standards for years to come.

[CAP1]

That's only a real problem if you absolutely have to have the latest, greatest gadget.

In this case, you're limited by time and your choices, which, to be honest, makes it a bit easier.

Either unit will perform better than nothing at all, and either are still good performing units, by today's standards. And, I would venture to bet that they will still be adequate by 'common' standards for years to come.

you're probably right.

i found a sony on the list just like the one i mentioned, except that it has 16gb of it's own memory, and can use a class 4 sdhc card, or sony's memory stick duo pro.  it has 25x optical zoom, and had good reviews on cnet, and a couple other places. the battery pack looks like it's a replacable unit, so i grabbed that one.
 

 i feel it should do me well when i get to the airshows this year....and hell........since i got it just for doing business with these guys, that's even better. 

 and i thank you all for your advice and opinions!!