Need advice from MI fans and TTG (me wanna buy a video camera)

Silverwolfpet

Hey guys!

I kind of need your advice. The movies/clips that you've seen so far are recorded with a camera that I do not own. A friend of mine was kind enough to lend it to me. Unfortunately, my politeny-ness-itivity prevents me from keeping it forever and ever and just tell him that "Uhhh, I...it... it ate itself to death!".
So, I need to buy a camcorder. I'm gathering the money as we speak...

A device caught my eye in one of the city mall's shops. Panasonic HDC-SD100 (I understand that it also comes in variations such as HDC-100k and HDC-100ekg or something like that, dunno why, it looks the same).
The price is around 872 USD (595 Euro). I need to know if it's worth it or not. I really can't afford to spend more than that amount on a camcorder, so if you know a better alternative for the same price, that would be great!

I've read reviews and it seems it has everything I need (it MUST have manual focus + adjustments). It's a pity that it doesn't have a slowmotion function (I just love that). Also, it must be HD.

So, in order to bring you joy and entertainment, I really need a new video camera. Any type of advice is welcomed.

Thanks guys!

-Andrei (SilverWolfPet)

SHODANFreeman

You can do slow motion on your own in any decent video editing software, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't really know much about current cameras or prices or anything though. I haven't looked at cameras for 4-5 years.

Shauntron

Hey Andrei! Most modern consumer cameras are going to suit your needs quite well, and this one should be no exception.

However, one often neglected aspect in consumer camcorders is sound. The built-in microphones usually don't cut it, so I recommend leaving room in your budget for something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATR-55-Condenser-Shotgun-Microphone/product-reviews/B00006J04Z/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
(and make sure your camera has a microphone jack!)

The PAL version of this camera should do 25p and 50i shooting modes. The first one has motion more like 24fps films in the theater, the other has smooth motion more like a birthday party home video. However, using after effects you can slow down 50i to 25p and you'll be able to get perfect slow motion anyway, even though it's not built into the camera!

However, you should be aware that this particular camera uses AVCHD which is an aggressive codec that makes small files but requires a fairly powerful computer to edit. It also needs a newer version of Final Cut or Premiere Pro to edit. The compression is high, so if you re-render for effects or color correction, you'll get a lot of JPEG-like artifacts. Some people opt to get a transcoder called Cineform Neo-Scene to turn the AVCHD files into something easier to work with.

I hope that helps!

Silverwolfpet

Hey Shauntron!

Thank you sooo much! I'm much more confident now regarding the camera, and yes it does have a microphone jack (which is very important for me as well). The shotgun mic looks great, and cheap (for this type of mic) so it will be a great addition!
My new computer is nearly done and I think it is pretty powerful (GeForce 260 core 216 with 896Mb, 4Gb DDRAM2, Quad Core Processor), at least compared to what I have now (GeForce-something 256Mb, 1.5 Gb SDRAM, One-core-processor 2Ghz).
Regarding the AVCHD files, I'm sure there are solutions to that. I work in Sony Vegas 8.0c, and as far as I know it does support that type of files without transcoding.

Thank you so much! As soon as I will get everything (camera + computer) I will dedicate my first video to you! That's a promise! I estimate it around november 5th.

@Pale Man, thank you for your advice. I saw that Shauntron confirmed it so I'll go by your hand on this slowmotion thingie