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Need Recommendations for Camera (Using it to film world trip)

post #1 of 12
9/24/10 at 5:31pm
Thread Starter 
Hey everyone, this is my first post on these boards, so HELLO!

First of all, I am VERY new to camcorders, and have no background in film.

Now, I am looking for a camera to take on a world tour in a year or so (I want to get it now so I can get fully comfortable with all its settings, editing, etc.).


Here's what I am looking for (and what I'll be using it for):

Budget:
$1,000-ish I dont really want to spend more, and I would even like to spend less. But I am mostly concerned with quality. I want to be able to film and have the clearest picture, sharpest edges, and most accurate colors.

What will I be filming:
- I will be doing quite a bit of nature filming. I am taking it to Nepal (Mt. Everest base camp), the rain forest, and even underwater for some footage of the great barrier reef (meaning I need to be able to purchase an underwater case for it as well)
- I will also be doing a bit of shooting in the cities, and will be doing quite a bit during both the day time and night time
What this means: I want fantastic color reproduction (no dull or harsh colors), and I need it to be very well made. Traveling this much might take a little bit of a toll on it, so I really need something durable.

Sound:
I want to capture the sounds of the places I go. When I am in Tokyo, I want the bustle of the city to shine, and when I am in the jungle, I want the chirping, squawking, etc. to be as clear as possible. -- I would prefer to not have to buy a separate mic for the camera, but I will if necessary. Mostly, I just don't want wind sound, dull voices, etc.

Size and Storage:
The smaller the better. I do not want any sort of film camera. I want it to be digital. Also, I will be shooting everything in the highest quality the camera allows, so I need quite a bit of storage space. I would like a big HD if possible... but I have plenty of SD cards if I need to use them. I basically just don't want to run out of space while I am shooting.

Software:
I do not want finicky software on the camera. If it's touchscreen, it better be responsive and accurate. If it's controlled by buttons, I want good buttons, not something that will break off after a month.
Also, the menu system needs to make sense. I hate bad software.

Although, I am not film savvy, I am computer savvy. So if I am not really concerned with video format. I can get the tools I need to convert from one format to another.



Well, thats all I can think of right now... Please let me know what you think is a good direction to go, and why.


Thank you so much!
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post #2 of 12
9/24/10 at 6:09pm
Either the TM700 and a box of SD cards, or the HV40 and a bag of tapes. You WILL need a good mic and a shockmount for good sound. Both can record in progressive, though only the TM700 can do 1080p60. Do not buy a camcorder with built-in HDD - unreliable, especially in the mountains.
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post #3 of 12
9/24/10 at 6:18pm
I'd say the best possible picture will be the Panasonic 700 (like the TM700) series camcorders but only if your shooting in 1080 60p. I expect the 1080 60i mode to be slightly worse than the JVC HM1, Sony CX550 and the Canon HF S21. Plus you need a quad core computer to edit the 1080 60p files smoothly but then again, you even have laptops with good i7 processors. You can always downgrade to 1080 60i within the camcorder and not use the 1080 60p files for now.

Still, I'd wait for the 750 series camcorders to come out and unfortunately only the SDT750 is announced to be released in the US for $1,400 and that includes the 3D lens. I'm really hoping Panasonic releases versions without the 3D lens. The big differences between the new versions compared to the ones already out in the US are a much better stabilizer and low light capabilities.

One thing to realize is that the 700 series camcorders has a slight fan sound when your shooting in very quiet locations but to resolve the issue, people have to control the audio manually since the auto gain will kick up when your shooting quiet environments. Even better if you have an external mic. Still, the newer 700 series models are said to be much better than the older 700 series models and perhaps it's not an issue in the 750 series. For now, you can always try getting that TM750 that is currently only available in Japan. It has built in 96 gigs of flash storage. I want that badly!

-EDIT-
Sorry I wasn't able to help you about the underwater case part.
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post #4 of 12
9/25/10 at 2:11pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the advice, guys.

Computer power is not an issue for me (I've got a beast), so it comes down to one that fits the bill on the quality of picture, durability, price, etc.

Do you have any dates on the 750 release?

Also, glad someone stopped me on the HDD.

Thanks again.
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post #5 of 12
9/25/10 at 6:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldSoulRevival View Post

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Computer power is not an issue for me (I've got a beast), so it comes down to one that fits the bill on the quality of picture, durability, price, etc.

Do you have any dates on the 750 release?

Also, glad someone stopped me on the HDD.

Thanks again.

Just to clarify on the hard drive, it's not inherently unreliable in "mountains", it's potentially unreliable at very high altitudes and/or very cold conditions as the drop in air pressure affects the HDD operation. I'm not sure what the manufacturer recommendations are this year for HDD caution - they were 9,000 feet at one point but I think they're higher now.

It's a different issue as to whether HDD or flash memory in camcorders is more reliable and everyone tends to have their favorite arguments handy in that discussion. But it's not all mountains where the HDD begins to be an issue, it's high-altitude mountains. The same would be true if you were flying in an airplane with an unpressurized cockpit at the same altitudes.
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post #6 of 12
9/25/10 at 9:06pm
According to Amazon, the SDT750 will be released on the 15th of October.

At least in the bright side, Panasonic is going to release the GH2 without the lens in the US for a little under $900 so the chances of Panasonic releasing a standalone unit in the US can't be that bad unless you don't mind shooting your stuff in 3D than that's a different story.
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post #7 of 12
9/26/10 at 4:24am
On the editing part, the Panasonic is capable of 'divide-and-delete" in camera. If you need to shave beginning or ending points, or eliminate excess footage, these can be accomplished wherever you are.

I'd suggest downloading the owner's manual of a 700 series camcorder from Panasonic web site, and checking out the How To on the basics of special features such as in-camera editing.
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post #8 of 12
9/26/10 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Gull View Post

Just to clarify on the hard drive, it's not inherently unreliable in "mountains", it's potentially unreliable at very high altitudes and/or very cold conditions as the drop in air pressure affects the HDD operation. I'm not sure what the manufacturer recommendations are this year for HDD caution - they were 9,000 feet at one point but I think they're higher now.

It's a different issue as to whether HDD or flash memory in camcorders is more reliable and everyone tends to have their favorite arguments handy in that discussion. But it's not all mountains where the HDD begins to be an issue, it's high-altitude mountains. The same would be true if you were flying in an airplane with an unpressurized cockpit at the same altitudes.

I have the HS700 which is the TM700 with the hard drive. I always have an inherent concern about physical shock damaging hard drives, despite the fact that they're supposed to be pretty resiliant to that.

My perspective is less about concerns about HDD failure, but simply about risk of having the camera stolen or confiscated while traveling and having ALL of your footage on the camera. If you use cards, you can easily mail them back to yourself, as you travel, or place them in various places in your luggage so that if your camera gets stolen or whatnot, you don't have all your eggs in one basket.

I like the ability to film for long periods of time without having to worry about card space, but I generally ingest from my camera when I get home at night unless obviously I'm traveling. So I like to leave the footage on the camera as an extra backup.

Of course, you can put cards in the HS700 and have it both ways if you want.

Just a thought.

Also, FYI I have not had issues with physical shock and vibration on the camera disrupting writing to the disc. And I've shaken it around quite a bit, and held it down to vibrating and bumpy dashboards and windows on buses and cars and things. It's funny, I have external drives sitting on my desk that glitch out if I strike my desk with my hand, but I've never had an issue with the HS700 so I wouldn't be worried about traveling with it and having the disc be a problem; but I would still take a handful of cards with me if I were going on a long trip like that.

I hope that's helpful to you.
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post #9 of 12
9/26/10 at 5:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by biomedtech View Post

On the editing part, the Panasonic is capable of 'divide-and-delete" in camera. If you need to shave beginning or ending points, or eliminate excess footage, these can be accomplished wherever you are.

I'd suggest downloading the owner's manual of a 700 series camcorder from Panasonic web site, and checking out the How To on the basics of special features such as in-camera editing.

Also true for the Sony 550s.
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post #10 of 12
9/26/10 at 5:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisWiggles View Post

I have the HS700 which is the TM700 with the hard drive. I always have an inherent concern about physical shock damaging hard drives, despite the fact that they're supposed to be pretty resiliant to that.

My perspective is less about concerns about HDD failure, but simply about risk of having the camera stolen or confiscated while traveling and having ALL of your footage on the camera. If you use cards, you can easily mail them back to yourself, as you travel, or place them in various places in your luggage so that if your camera gets stolen or whatnot, you don't have all your eggs in one basket.

I like the ability to film for long periods of time without having to worry about card space, but I generally ingest from my camera when I get home at night unless obviously I'm traveling. So I like to leave the footage on the camera as an extra backup.

Of course, you can put cards in the HS700 and have it both ways if you want.

Just a thought.

Also, FYI I have not had issues with physical shock and vibration on the camera disrupting writing to the disc. And I've shaken it around quite a bit, and held it down to vibrating and bumpy dashboards and windows on buses and cars and things. It's funny, I have external drives sitting on my desk that glitch out if I strike my desk with my hand, but I've never had an issue with the HS700 so I wouldn't be worried about traveling with it and having the disc be a problem; but I would still take a handful of cards with me if I were going on a long trip like that.

I hope that's helpful to you.

Now you're into the generic "HDD vs flash memory" debate . I don't take sides in that one, considering the preference to be mostly personal as opposed to technological. My note related only to the altitude comment from Ungermann.

Since I film on vacations up to 13,000+ feet, I've never actually owned an HDD camcorder. I went straight from mini-DVs to flash memory.

I generally just prefer the lighter flash memory and have enough memory cards sitting around that the cost of those has not been an issue for me. As you suggest, I also offload "critical" film on vacation to a second set of cards and store it elsewhere during the trip. I took a USB hard drive with me on one vacation and used it as the backup, but don't do that now that I have a flash camcorder with both internal memory and a secondary card slot.
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post #11 of 12
9/27/10 at 6:26pm
I really am not getting into the debate, I really don't have any preference either way, just some thoughts on it.

And either way the 700 comes both with and without the HDD, so whatever your preference is it works either way if it's a camera of choice for you.

And if anything, I would lean towards not having a HDD in a camera. I've had HDDs fail on me at home, and it's inevitable. And I say that despite having the HD700 with the HDD.
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post #12 of 12
9/27/10 at 8:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulo Teixeira View Post

You can always downgrade to 1080 60i within the camcorder and not use the 1080 60p files for now.

I would not recommend this. From my experience, you loose so much quality by downgrading to 1080i using the camcorder or HD writer. I would say 20% lost in quality and downgrading also produce some jittering.
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