Full HD camcorder

[invasion]

Ok well I am in the market for a HD camcorder but want to keep the cost down as much as possible.

Does anyone have the Panasonic SD60 HD ? I can get this for £300 at the moment which seems really good :)

The other two cams I was thinking about was the Sony HDR-CX115
Or the Canon Legria HF M306

Any advice really appreciated as I am going round in circles at the moment!

[Balders]

Can't comment on the above, but I have a Canon HV30, which I'm thoroughly happy with, the only dislike is that to transfer to PC for editing means you have to play the tape and record through firewire, so a one-hour recording, takes one hour to download :)

[Andy from Sandy]

Maybe too much but I have the Canon HG20. This connects to a PC through USB and looks to the PC like another disc so you just copy the files off. It has a 60GB hard disc and can take SD cards. If it had been in stock I would of got the HG21 as that has a view-finder that could make "watching" helicopters easier in bright sunlight.

[coolice]

Hey.

I have the Panasonic SD60 and think its a great HD camera.
My main priority was a decent camera for taking videos of my little girl, which it does a great job of even indoors. On the side I was also hoping for a camera with a fast auto focus to allow me to film the models flying as normally fast moving objects find a cameras weak point quickly. The first video I shot of a model was Duncan's 700N and as we know he don't hang about, the camera kept up nicely staying nicely focused.

The only area I struggle in now is playback on my pc and also conversion to dvd as the HD files do require a decent pc to render in video editing program.
Taken video files are easily copied over to pc via USB or a card reader, battery life is reasonable to for such a small camera.

I'm certainly not disappointed with the SD60 and I've got no problems thinking you wouldn't either.
.

[Kozmyk]

With Smile Detection eh? Whatever next?
Takes a still snap when a stored face smiles.
Looks good. £289.95 @ Amazon delivered

[invasion]

[quote=coolice;605409]Hey.

I have the Panasonic SD60 and think its a great HD camera.
My main priority was a decent camera for taking videos of my little girl, which it does a great job of even indoors. On the side I was also hoping for a camera with a fast auto focus to allow me to film the models flying as normally fast moving objects find a cameras weak point quickly. The first video I shot of a model was Duncan's 700N and as we know he don't hang about, the camera kept up nicely staying nicely focused.

The only area I struggle in now is playback on my pc and also conversion to dvd as the HD files do require a decent pc to render in video editing program.
Taken video files are easily copied over to pc via USB or a card reader, battery life is reasonable to for such a small camera.

I'm certainly not disappointed with the SD60 and I've got no problems thinking you wouldn't either.
.[/quote]
Thanks for that really appreciate your input :)
The main thing that concerns me is low light. The last camcorder I had was so bad indoors at nigth time wasnt worth even getting it out.
So would you say it is good indoors at night with say the main light on and side lamps...would you get grain or noise free footage ??

Also I have seen some HD cameras that seem to flicker with moving subjects if that makes sense kind of jerky!

Thanks again :)

[coolice]

[quote=invasion;605454]Thanks for that really appreciate your input :)
The main thing that concerns me is low light. The last camcorder I had was so bad indoors at nigth time wasnt worth even getting it out.
So would you say it is good indoors at night with say the main light on and side lamps...would you get grain or noise free footage ??

Also I have seen some HD cameras that seem to flicker with moving subjects if that makes sense kind of jerky!

Thanks again :)[/quote]

Hey.

Your very welcome buddy.

So far in low light it doesn't seem too bad, the insult flash/led light is very bright and if left on auto goes on and off as needed. Hence as soon as the subject lighting is too low the light,comes on and takes over.
I think from memory you do get a slightly grainier picture in not ideal lighting but not enough to make the footage unwatchable due to it being compromised.
If I get a chance to later I'll watch some clips I've taken and check properly and report back.

I've noticed any flicker in the taken video while shooting fast moving objects, in fact the camera warns you onscreen if you panning too fast. Whether this is to ensure smooth recording or to stop any flickering I do not know.
.

[invasion]

[quote=coolice;609671]Hey.

Your very welcome buddy.

So far in low light it doesn't seem too bad, the insult flash/led light is very bright and if left on auto goes on and off as needed. Hence as soon as the subject lighting is too low the light,comes on and takes over.
I think from memory you do get a slightly grainier picture in not ideal lighting but not enough to make the footage unwatchable due to it being compromised.
If I get a chance to later I'll watch some clips I've taken and check properly and report back.

I've noticed any flicker in the taken video while shooting fast moving objects, in fact the camera warns you onscreen if you panning too fast. Whether this is to ensure smooth recording or to stop any flickering I do not know.
.[/quote]
Thanks really appreciated :)
I found this thought it may interest you
[url=http://www.digitalphotographywriter.com/2010/08/hd-1080p-vs-1080i-videos-progressive.html]1080p vs 1080i - HD Videos Progressive & Interlaced Scan Explained[/url]