Reata Rover
Adventurer
This is the continued thread I inadvertantly hi-jacked from Corey. I am trying to get some opinions on a good HD camcorder that is extremely compatible with Apple Mac products. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
Camcorders and MacBook: What to Buy?
- Thread starter Reata Rover
- Start date
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
I've been researching this for months now.
The camcorder that offers the best features for the price is Canon VIXIA HF-100, IMO.
It's on the high end for amateur camcorders, shoots in HD, and records to a flash card. The two negative I have heard are that it does not have a viewfinder, just the LED screen, and the microphone picks up the noise of the wind.
Below this price range there are some great Sony and Panasonic products but the picture quality is lower and they use Flash cards only.
The camcorder that offers the best features for the price is Canon VIXIA HF-100, IMO.
It's on the high end for amateur camcorders, shoots in HD, and records to a flash card. The two negative I have heard are that it does not have a viewfinder, just the LED screen, and the microphone picks up the noise of the wind.
Below this price range there are some great Sony and Panasonic products but the picture quality is lower and they use Flash cards only.
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Reata Rover
Adventurer
Martyn, I cannot find the camera that you have spec'd anytwhere. I found the Canon VIXIA HF-100, but it does not have the built in drive you suggested, only a card. I also found the Canon VIXIA HF S100 but it too has no internal drive. The S100 is about $950 and the 100 has been replaced with the 200. Can you provide a specific make and model number?
JPFreek1
Explorer
I would suggest also considering a camera that offers several modes of which to store what's filmed in case you get put in a situation where what you've filmed gets lost. I would not suggest going strictly with a camera that has an HDD exclusively (i.e. Canon HG-10 which I own and after using for a number of very long excursions has proved a disappointment since I've lost most of what was recorded due to reformat issues, etc).
Some of the more seasoned videographers I've come in contact with use a combo Mini-DV/HDD or Mini-DV/Flash setup. More expensive high definition cameras offer these multiple options so it just depends on how you want to use the camera and how much you want to spend. For under $1k though Martyn's suggestion is about as good as there is.
Some of the more seasoned videographers I've come in contact with use a combo Mini-DV/HDD or Mini-DV/Flash setup. More expensive high definition cameras offer these multiple options so it just depends on how you want to use the camera and how much you want to spend. For under $1k though Martyn's suggestion is about as good as there is.
Scott Brady
Founder
The hf-100 has a solid state drive and expansion via SD-HC
pangaea
Adventurer
One thing to consider for ease of downloading in the field, the new MacBook Pros (announced on Monday) now come with an SD card slot. While that does limit camcorder selection somewhat, it makes dumping cards in the field a snap.
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
FWIW, the SD slot is included on the new and oh-so-attractively priced 13" Mac Book Pro ($1,199)
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
FWIW, the SD slot is included on the new and oh-so-attractively priced 13" Mac Book Pro ($1,199)