Solid State Camcorders

[timtheenchanter]

Im looking for some new camcorders for the school where I work,
Im enticed by some solid state camcoders (ie SD card or similar based) however, we already have some, and whist the video on these is great, the audio has lot to be desired.

just wondered if anyone has any experience with the better ones (looking at sony, purly because we have sony DVs inschool already and its easier for teachers if its the same!!)

cheers in advance.

 

[ericmark]

I was lucky as if I had bought my own camcorder I would have got one using a SD card. Lucky my wife got one using tape. Still digital but the tapes are far cheaper. Remember you need at least code 6 SD cards and the cheap code 2 type are not fast enough so for a 8GB card you need to pay around £40 not £15 which will buy a code 2 card. And with tapes you get pack of 5 for under a £10 each being 10GB so far far cheaper.
Yes to transfer to DVD one has to do it real time but with fire wire the DVD recorder controls the camcorder anyway so not really a problem.
There is a third option that uses a thing like a DVD think called a RAM drive no idea of cost.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Ericmark, my guess is that the requirements for school use will be different for those of a domestic user. In schools it would be mostly project work, so speed of transfer and ease of use would count for more than running costs.

timtheenchanter, most camcorder's internal mics are rubbish. They are too compromised by size and location to do anything more than capture general ambient sound. They are also prone to picking up motor noise from the auto focus and zoom as well as handling noise. They aren't great at dealing with wind noise either. The answer is an external mic with one of those fluffy wind shields. Have a look for cameras that have a socket for an external mic.

It would also be handy if the camera had an accessory shoe for mounting the mic, but very few compact camcorders do. But as long as there is a hole for a tripod mount then you can get a bracket that attaches there and use that instead.

There's a good video in this link which talks about handling all the problems discussed above

wind shields - aka windgags :

link The bigger and fluffier the gag the better it will be at handling wind noise.

 

[ironsidebod]

I know it doesn't help the OP but wanted to post about the cost of Class 6 cards - they are really cheap these days

http://www.lowpricememory.co.uk/shp...=27&max=0&min=0&brand=&size=8&size2=GB&size3=

8Gb class 6 for under £15!

 

[timtheenchanter]

thanks for the replys

We already have several DV camcorders, the quality of which is fine, its simply as ChrisFrost Says speed of transfer, and seeing as its me doing the transfer, Im trying to speed things up, at the moment, im sure you are aware, 90 mins of footage takes loger than 90 mins to transfer to file.

Im also aware that most mics are compromised in some respect, but for our purposes (capturing evidence for btec) the internal mic is adequate, we have a couple of prosumer cameras for anything that requires better, and its usually a tech operating these.

we also have a mini dvd unit, wich spends most of its life on the shelf, examining bodies wont accept minidvd, only full size...

hmmm, different class of SD cards, off to look at that one.