Camcorder Advice for WDW

[disney doodah]

I travel to Disney 1-2 times annually with my family. I have an old analog sony camcorder that has reached retirement age and I am looking for a replacement. The main use for this camcorder will be for filming family videos from our disney vacations and transfering them over to DVD. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good quality camcorder that would work well in outdoor situations such as filming the parades, shows, etc and one that will perform equally well indoors at the few events that Disney allows you to film. I would rather take the advice from the user community then try and weed throught the tons of different product reviews online. My budget is arounf $400 or less for this. Just can't see spending more given what my usage will be.

Thanks.

 

[tk421-sw]

I am lookin around and I come back to this one...

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/camcorder/sony-dcr-hc32-reviews.html

Here's the break down...

MINI DV = Good tapes. Small, and high Quality.

Good Price

Small Compact

Here is the official Sony sites break down.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=DCRHC32&CategoryName=dcc_DICamcorders_MiniDVHandycamCamcorders&DCMP=OVERTUREPI_DF&HQS=CC_DCRHC32

I would say, if you can by it from Sony or make sure it comes with a warnetty. Sony has a thing where you can ay 13 dollars a month toward it. Id look into that.

Hope this all helps.- Ryland If you have any other questions feel free to ask.​

 

[crazydaveh]

I would go with a Sony or Panasonic Mini DV Camera. Make sure it has at least three chips, this means better video quality.

Mini DV usually means you can plug it into a computer (new with XP) and edit.

They're also small and easy to carry around, not big and bulky like the old ones.

 

[tk421-sw]

Well, MINI DV refers to the tapes. What you want, which the one i posted has is iEEE. Which is also known as firewire. with a 15$ card (If it's not already on your computer) you can capture and edit quickley and easily!

 

[dolbyman]

when it comes to low light performace .. there's nothing better than a soulder cam monster .. that costs a small fortune .. (ccd size and lenses are much bigger than on cunsumer cams)

for 400$ you should focus on a one chip ccd cam

the cheap 3 ccd cams of panasonic have one problem .. ccd size .. the light is split up to 3 ccds .. that divides the light strenght reaching those by 3, so the low light is rather poor (although the colors stay nice)

I would say stay with a one ccd model .. like the one tk421-sw was pointing you to... although I don't like sony .. (eek touchy touchscreen fingerprints)

 

[marni1971]

Don`t forget the extra batteries too!

Have a practice at home before the parks - ideally on the rides you need to use manual focus and exposure. Also remember to secure the camera well to your wrist, and any loose items too - even on Big Thundermountain a lens cap hitting someone behind you can hurt.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

I have a camcorder that I love! My husband got it for me before we got married! I took it to WDW in Feb 2003 & Disneyland in June 2004. I am talking it in December for the Christmas lights!

I have one small battery it came with that holds 2 hours of power & 2 medium battery's that hold 4-5 hours of power. I also have a mega battery that you hook on your belt and it has a cord that goes from the battery to the camra that holds 8 hours of power. I only us that as a last resort. I sleep like a baby when we are on vacation but I still set my alarm to wake me up every 3 hours to switch batterys for charging at night.

I still haven't found a battery charger that will charge them all so I don't have to wake up every 3 hours. I still get a good nights sleep.

 

[Bluewaves]

Canon ZR 100 you get a color viewfinder and a pretty good zoom and it has a 16:9 chip so you can fill up your new hd tv when you get one. Its usually one of the cheaper cams too so no worries. If you buy it online just make sure your getting the US version and not an overseas one. That way you get the US warranty, try BH Photo or J and R there the 2 big legit photo houses in NYC but look around. The cheaper Sony's and Panasonics don't have a color viewfinder and the batteries are more expensive and trust me in that bright sunlight in Florida none of the screens look good so you'll want that viewfinder.

Oh yes its 1394 or firewire compatable so you can edit on your computer.

Have fun get an extra battery and lots of tapes and stay away from the DVD camcorders

 

[cj2me]

My husband bought me the CANON ELURA for christmas. It is Awesome, I used it on our trip to WDW in MAY. All the fireworks came out fantastic with the night vision mode and we were able to take stills off the video with a simple click of a button. It's extremely lightweight and portable. In fact the Sony was a little bit more money but the saleman at Best Buy told my husband the Canon is much simpliar to work with the same if not better quality.

 

[HinunterZuNich]

After bringing a camcorder a for about two/three years in a row, I finally went to the parks without one last summer and it was great. Yea, I didn't have any great video of the rides but on the other hand I didn't have to carry anything. Plus, you always have to hold tight onto it in it's bag when your on the faster rides. I guess it would be totally different if I had a really small one, but mine is about 5 years old now.

 

[Craig & Lisa]

the one basic advice I can give you is 1) whatever yiu get if it has a lcd screen DO NOT use it to take your videos, it eats up battery power real fast and in dark places it is distracting to others who want to watch the show or attraction. 2) get an extra battery and tapes you never relize how much you use it and how much you record

 

[dh999]

I'm not sure of the cost now, but I bought a Sony DVD Handycam mainly just for WDW trips and I love it. We just put the discs into our DVD player at home or in the car DVD player and watch them on trips.

 

[Disnut]

I just bought a Sony Handycam also. Just a week ago and I will be going in 2 weeks to WDW.I have practiced on it but I am confused on some things like what settings I need to use for the parades and fireworks and of course to video some of the dark rides. It seems easy enough to use though. Just for me to learn what I need to know.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

Sony DVD Handycam

I wanted one of these, then my husband bought a DVD burner for our place. Now I just transfer the video to DVD.

I still want a one!

 

[Disnut]

I wanted one of these, then my husband bought a DVD burner for our place. Now I just transfer the video to DVD.

I still want a one!

I like mine what I can tell anyway. On my other camcorder I transfered tapes to dvd. I enjoyed doing that but was hard work and time comsuming

 

[disney_hichen]

We have a sony digital camcorder - not the dvd one but the other one -- it works great. The parades and even nightime fireworks come in spectacular. My husband transfers them to dvd also when we return. we have usually 8 dvd's for each trip. It is great to have. My daughter enjoys watching them over and over.

I am sure the mini dvd sony would be even better but the price a little higher. Ours runs around $275 now that the mini dvd is out.

I travel to Disney 1-2 times annually with my family. I have an old analog sony camcorder that has reached retirement age and I am looking for a replacement. The main use for this camcorder will be for filming family videos from our disney vacations and transfering them over to DVD. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good quality camcorder that would work well in outdoor situations such as filming the parades, shows, etc and one that will perform equally well indoors at the few events that Disney allows you to film. I would rather take the advice from the user community then try and weed throught the tons of different product reviews online. My budget is arounf $400 or less for this. Just can't see spending more given what my usage will be.

Thanks.

 

[DisneyChik17]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat15195&type=category&parentCatID=cat15063&_requestid=45380

The two cameras on the bottom of the page are really good Sony's. I have looked at them and are very simple to use. One person who works at Best Buy that I talked to has one of them and loves it.

 

[PhilharMagician]

I have recently purchased a Sony HC90 which is an increadibly small Mini DV recorder. I carry it in a small digital camera case on my waist. It is a little more costly than $400 but there are differant models available in the HC series. I am really looking forward to the widescreen videos of some of my favorite rides. Another nice option I like with Sony is the abitilty to shoot in very low light situations (like dark rides). You will have color loss in extreme low light conditions, but you will have a video.

I did not like the DVD camcorders. You only have 40 minutes of recording on each DVD. You can barely record a parade without having to change DVD's midstream. I personally did not want to have to constantly deal with this in the parks. Also the cost of the mini DVD media is quite expensive. With Firewire capability in most Mini DV recorders, you just download it to you computer and cut a standard DVD from there.

Good luck with your purchase

 

[brich]

I would go with a Sony or Panasonic Mini DV Camera. Make sure it has at least three chips, this means better video quality.

Mini DV usually means you can plug it into a computer (new with XP) and edit.

Where can you get a 3 chip for $400???

I have a Panasonic that I got before my trip to WDW in December. Although my model is a little more than what you want to spend, I can say I love it and have had great luck with the Panasonic. I had an analog Sony before ungrading and I must also say, I had no problems with the Sony either. I upgraded to digital so I could edit and went to a 3 CCD. Picture quality is fantastic. Even in low light, but my model may have larger CCDs than the less expensive models... So my advice is either Sony or a Panasonic should make you happy. :sohappy:

Also note, I did see someone's video from WDW shot on the Sony DVD Handycam was not really blown away by the picture quality. *(My opinion only)

 

[JKovach]

You've probably seen my thread floating around, and its the wrong place for me to put it, so i understand lack of replies, but since this is more lively, does anyone know how to fix this problem;

When I went to disney last summer, I filmed my gf and I on the little boats in Sevens Seas Lagoon, and Wishes and Illuminations, and just other disney things and rides, and when I got home I could not wait to put them on a cd (not a dvd... no burner) so I could get her a copy. Yet, when I used my USB cable to transfer the file, I used the software that came with the camcorder, and the video is choppy. You can understand the base of whats happening, but its choppy, and not enjoyable. Whereas, you see these videos online that are perfect streams... anyone know do I need better software, or a better minidv camcorder? Its a Samsung SD107, (I posted 103 before, I was wrong). It's not the priciest... but it was fairly pricey ($300), so I figured it'd be good enough.


Thanks