moi Posted September 3, 2007 Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 I'm planning to buy a camcorder for my trip in the next few days, but I'm clueless as to what to buy and what's good. I looked online for different options and the ones that were in my budget had 20-35X Optical zoom and 990-1,200X Digital Zoom. I have no idea what those numbers mean, so I wanted to get some advice from people who know it all. I'm on a tight budget because of my trip, so I'm looking to buy a camcorder for about $200-$250. As I understood, as the optical zoom and the Digitial zoom are increased, the prices go up as well. What's a good pixel, optical and digital zoom for a camcorder? The price range that I'm looking for, it ranged from 20X Optical with 990 Digital Zoom to 34X Optical-1,200X digital Zoom. How better does the latter show compared to the first one? I'm trying to understand if there's a big difference in quality because I've been spending all day today just trying to compare and contrast similar camcorders and I still don't know what to buy. Also, can I record at night with an average camcorder? I'm looking for a camcorder that record really well at night. I need to buy a camcorder in the next 5 days the most, so your help will be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moi Posted September 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 I came across this camcorder that I liked. Are the features all right? It's $250. Features • Digital Camcorder for DV • 32x Optical Zoom, 1000x Digital Zoom • 680K Pixel CCD Video Resolution ; .34 Megapixel Digital Still • 2.7 " LCD Monitor • LCD Features Widescreen Display, LCD • Image Editing: Image Stabilization, Optical Image Stabilization • Operational Modes: Night Mode, Manual Override • White Balance: Fine • Includes Compact Power Adapter • Other Features: Compact Design • 2.85H x 3.09W x 5.35L "; 0.99 Lb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moi Posted September 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 Another affordable one I came across to that costs $230 I'm not sure which one is better though. Help please! Features • Boasts 3 recording modes and uses Super VHS recording to deliver up to 60% better resolution than standard models for better quality home movies • 2.5" LCD view screen allows the camera to be operated from any angle, for maximum comfort • The picture stabilizer gets rid of annoying picture shake • The 25x optical zoom/1000X digital hyper zoom makes sure you don't miss any of the action • 4.9Hx8.5Wx3.2D" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sip Posted September 3, 2007 Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 I don't know much about cam corders but if you don't have one, I definitely recommend investing in a good digital picture camera. Most of them can record short movie clips as well depending on the amount of memory. Let me know if you want any more info on digital cameras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO123 Posted September 3, 2007 Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 I agree with Sip, for trips a digital camera is much better than a cam. For that price you can have interesting digital cameras, you will in my opinion make a huge mistake choosing a cam instead. If ever you want movie clips, digital camera's can do that, but after trying both, you'll see that there is nothing better to immortalise a trip than taking really nice pictures. With a cheap tripod you can do also very nice panoramics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO123 Posted September 3, 2007 Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 Another affordable one I came across to that costs $230 I'm not sure which one is better though. Help please! Features • Boasts 3 recording modes and uses Super VHS recording to deliver up to 60% better resolution than standard models for better quality home movies • 2.5" LCD view screen allows the camera to be operated from any angle, for maximum comfort • The picture stabilizer gets rid of annoying picture shake • The 25x optical zoom/1000X digital hyper zoom makes sure you don't miss any of the action • 4.9Hx8.5Wx3.2D" Isen't Super VHS something like 425 line vs 320 in the usual VHS? That's even not the 520 lines or so Mini-DV format provides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moi Posted September 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 Thanks for the info. I've always taken digital camera on my European trips, but I always wanted to record everything in a camcorder....that's why I had the idea of buying a camcorder. In that case, I would like to know what pixels on the digital camera will produce great shots day and night? Domino: I'm sorry I didn't get your question in the last sentence...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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