YAWA – Camcorders

You Ask, We Answer. Part of our new highlighted series in making the right purchase. Today’s topic is camcorders.

The question:

Hey, do you know anything about camcorders? I was looking for one of those too. I don’t like disc ones, I prefer hard drives or one that use SD’s. My price range $200-$375ish

When looking at electronics, I start my research either at Newegg or Amazon. For something like cameras and camcorders, I start at Amazon. Here is a list of 3 4 camcorders that I have compiled with the pros and cons…  But first some friendly advice. More after the bump!

1. You will need at least a computer with a dual-core processor, more than 2GB RAM and a dedicated video card is highly recommended
2. Most camcorders need to be attached to the PC/Mac in order to convert the raw video to a format that is viewable/editable
3. Hard drive camcorders, in my opinion,  isn’t the best storage media as frequent movements are inevitable and increased movements could jostle the hard drive

Now, here is the list:

Samsung SC-MX20 Flash Memory Camcorder w/34x Optical Zoom (Black)

Pros: Flash memory, 34x optical zoom, very small profile, 2.7inch LCD viewfinder, widescreen and standard aspect ratios

Cons: Not high-def, ok image stabilization, video transfers might be an issue, no flash

Price: $240 with an 8GB SD flash card and free shipping ($220 w/o SD card but still free shipping)!

Canon FS10 Flash Memory Camcorder with 8GB Internal Flash Memory and 48x Advanced Zoom

Pros: 8GB internal memory (with option to add an SD card to expand memory), widescreen aspect ratio, 2.7inc LCD screen, 48x zoom, small profile, better image stabilization, built-in flash, better lens

Cons: A little more expensive than the Samsung, extra battery is very expensive ($85), bigger than the Samsung (think bigger than a soda can which is roughly the size of the Samsung)

Price: $346 with an 8GB SD flash card and free shipping ($326 w/o SD card but still free shipping)!

Samsung SC-HMX10 8GB Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (SDHC compatible)

Pros: Size, high-def, price, 8GB internal memory (with SC/MMC memory expansion), easy to use, better image stabilization

Cons: Battery life (est 30min), hard to find spare battery, taking photos is separate function than video recording, need a beefy computer to process videos

Price: $400 with an 8GB SD flash card and free shipping ($380 w/o SD card but still free shipping)!

Now, this last one that I am adding is what I have.  You can actually get it refurbished (yes, with the same warranty) and if you are really thinking about high-def recording, this one is worth the extra $100 to get a refurbished one.  It has not let me down… but this is an older model as the newer one is much better, but a lot more expensive…

Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Pros: High-def with 24-30 frames/sec, 2.7inch LCD, 12x optical zoom, super image stabilizer, can take pictures while recoding video at the same time, weight, built-in flash, built-in mini shoe (for mics, or lights), battery life (~1.5hrs)

Cons: A 16gb Class 6 SD card is recommended (which adds $50 to the price), raw video files are large, need an even beefier computer to process videos,  extra batteries are expensive ($90)

Price: $500 refrubished, $700 new