Whats a good camcorder for filming hunts?

[Firefighter]

I'm looking for a camcorder to use for filming my outdoor excursions. Any advice? Obviously I'd like a camera that is durable and performs well in low light conditions.

I'd like to keep it under 550.00

I've had good success buying factory re-certified electronics from ecost.com so don't be afraid to point me at a 1000 dollar camera...I may be able to find it for half price:).

Thanks in advance!

[SPITFIRE]

I'm looking for a camcorder to use for filming my outdoor excursions. Any advice? Obviously I'd like a camera that is durable and performs well in low light conditions.

I'd like to keep it under 550.00

I've had good success buying factory re-certified electronics from ecost.com so don't be afraid to point me at a 1000 dollar camera...I may be able to find it for half price:).

Thanks in advance!
Talk to Connell boys but the HD camera Dan has rite now is way out of your price range.

[Firefighter]

I'm not looking to start a TV show or blow 5 grand on a camera that will be obsolete in 3 years.

I've heard great things about the canon vixia hv30...

[Critter]

10x isn't much magnification when filming hunts. We have 20x on our xhA1 and that is a little as I would want to go. But like you said your not filming for tv so.....
Campbell Cameras has the hv30 for $500 right now.

[Ack]

Do a little searching here Jason........

http://www.bloodbro.com/messageboard/viewforum.php?f=43&sid=380932e87b2141e5da20a6fd652a24a8

I'm sure you'll find more than enough information, but feel free to join up and ask some questions....these guys really know their stuff! :coolgleam

[chris_kreiner]

I film everything using just a Sony SRC-200. This camera has a HDD so it makes it easy to put on the computer and upload to youtube. The quility is pretty good. I actually have a video that will be airing on Michigan Out of Doors that was taken with this camera. You could probably pick this camera up for around $250-$400. I've had mine for just over a year so far and the only problem I have had is it doesn't work in extreme cold, temps in the teens.

[QuakrTrakr]

I have an HV30 and it's a great little camera for the money. It has a fantastic picture and it's very easy to use. Here's (http://hv20.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6) a great forum with great info where to buy. huntingfootage dot com is a good place for that kind of stuff too.

[Jet08]

We just bought a Sony this spring and we really are happy with it. It has a 40x zoom and did a great job with our turkey hunts. I think we payed around $350 for it. I just pulled up walmart.com right now just looking for the name of it (which i couldnt find by the way) and they haveo ne with a 60x zoom on there for pretty cheap.

[Islander26]

I won't spend a penny on another Sony product. Both myself as well as my neighbor had Sony cams that lasted a little past warranty, kind of ironic. A problem with the recording backlight, about a 4-500$ repair:rant:. Mind you both of us probably had a total of 40 hours of tape recorded. They wouldn't back there product and there are many complaints on the same issue. I've been hoping for a class action suit against them otherwise it would be in the garbage right now.

Just my 2 cents...

[QuakrTrakr]

I really like the Sony HC90 too. It has nice color and decent in low light. You can find them on eBay for around $300. Only thing I don't like about the consumer grade Sony's, you have to use their proprietary microphones usually. Whatever you get, manual focus is a must! An external microphone input really makes a difference too.

[dsconnell]

If you are going to get into editing and all that fun stuff I would jump on Ebay and pick up a Canon GL which you can still find for uner $600.. I dont know anything about the other camera referenced here but I did have the GL and for the money is a great camera and has very stable steady shot... Check the LUX on these cameras you are looking at.. That is the only downfall to the GL is it has a 4 lux which is not the best but not all that bad either..

[jeffthedj]

I hear the GL is good..I run the Canon XL1 but thats a little bit more than $500(1300 used). But man the footage looks sweet! I had a hand-held JVC but it broke after one season so I decided to spend the money on a nice one(Thanks to Steve1983) They are a big camera so there harder to run by yourself.

[dsconnell]

Just took a peak at the reviews on CNET...

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/canon-vixia-hv30/4852-6500_7-32786397-1.html?tag=page

Everything points to good picture quality but if you are not looking for a TV show then you should not need HD. Other great thing is it has a 0.2 LUX s low light capabilities should be good.

HD eats up a whole lot more on the hard drive then SD..

SD footage would be fine with what you are doing.. Alot of the footage that we have used on the show is from Sony PD170's which film in SD..

Here are a few things I noticed that would turn me away from this cam..

1) Camera is extremely light and therefore when holding for longer periods of time you will shake and with this camera your footage will suffer.. Just like with a heavier gun and a bull barrel they did this for accuracy & steadiness..

2) Battery Life - You will need to see if you can get high capacity batteries to run the camera on such as a 10 hour or 12 hour cause you will have to film with the LCD monitor open.

3) Which leads to the next one being the Eye Piece is not adjustable and does not have the eye relief so you will find yourself filming all the time with the LCD monitor open and this eats up your battery life about twice as fast as with it closed..

4) Manual Focus Ring - I see in the reviews alot of folks were not all that thrilled with the manual focus capabilities and if you are hunting in the woods you will need manual focus. If you are on a field edge you will be ok with Auto..

5) Microphone Quality - I see a few people there said the same thing about the mic quality being pretty sub par and I dont know if you have the capabilities of attaching an external mic but I am guessing not..

I would pick up a GL.. Has very good picture quality and none of the above are a problem! You lose some of the low light capabilities but for ease of use and all around footage it will be a better camera..

[tmanmi]

I have a Sony DCR-SR45. It is a hard drive camera but you can record on memory cards also. It will hold about 7 hours on high quality, 10 on medium and 20 on low. You can get a little less that 2 hours of high quality when recording to a 8GB memory card. It will also take still photos 640x480. Has a 40x zoom and will really pull things in. The microphone is pretty sensitive but I wish it could be muted because it really picks up me cursing under my breath when trying to film things.:lol: It also has infrared (0 lux) which is good to about 10 feet. You can purchase an infrared spot that will mount on the camera that is good out to about 100 feet. I purchased the next better battery that what came with it to extend recording. I think this camera has been discontinued and replaced with a model SR47 which has double the hard drive space but I don't believe it has night vision. I bought mine through crutchfield's scratch and dent and paid $275. The camera retails for around $399. One thing I don't like is that it doesn't have view finder just the lcd display screen. Not sure on how many drops a hard drive camera will take either.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665291488

I have a buddy that has a Sony DCR-HC52 which has many of the same features of the SR45 including night vision but is a Mini-DV tape type camera but they can be picked up for about $200.

(http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665291488)

[QuakrTrakr]

HD doesn't use much more data than SD. I use both. The only thing you have to look out for when buying a used camera, are the hours on the recording head. Most cameras in the Prosumer category should have an hour meter in the software. camcorderinfo.com is a great source for camera reviews. I like the Canons quite a bit. As for hard drive cameras, vibration really freaks them out. If you plan on driving down the road with the camera on the dash, the hard drive's heads skip all over.

[dsconnell]

1 hour of HD from the Sony Z1U I run is 40GB of disk space vs SD is about 25.. To me that is quite a bit.. I am sure some cameras may be different depending...

[QuakrTrakr]

I guess we just see it differently. ;) I don't think 40g is that big. But, I have a 160g for my main drive, and a 500g for my main workspace. Either way, you need hard drive space to edit. Especially is you wind up rendering in different formats for YouTube, dvd, etc.

[dsconnell]

Its not a big difference when you are storing it on external sources that are 500GB plus but if he is just downloading to his standard computer that is 120GB or less it will add up quick.. I just had to pick up a 1 Terabyte External the other day.. Just was looking at it from his perspective.. At any rate filming is addictive.. I am sure we can both agree on that! Be prepared to spend more time in the woods with a camera then with a weapon! I know I did last year!

[Critter]

And be prepared to start filming for someone else. My partner and I take turns filming and hunting. We spend more time in the woods but I'm actually hunting less. Get used to passing shots you can't get on camera and a whole boatload of other fun problems that come with filming. I wouldn't have it any other way though.

[dsconnell]

And be prepared to start filming for someone else. My partner and I take turns filming and hunting. We spend more time in the woods but I'm actually hunting less. Get used to passing shots you can't get on camera and a whole boatload of other fun problems that come with filming. I wouldn't have it any other way though.

And leave a minimum of 30 minutes earlier than you normally do to get in the stand...

[QuakrTrakr]

Its not a big difference when you are storing it on external sources that are 500GB plus but if he is just downloading to his standard computer that is 120GB or less it will add up quick.. I just had to pick up a 1 Terabyte External the other day.. Just was looking at it from his perspective.. At any rate filming is addictive.. I am sure we can both agree on that! Be prepared to spend more time in the woods with a camera then with a weapon! I know I did last year!

I totally agree. I keep external 1tb drives for storage and archiving. Isn't it amazing how fast the price of these drives are dropping? I think I saw a 1.5tb external at Newegg for $129 the other day. What's pretty cool for me, I tape other people's hunts, and I'm amazed at all the different hunting techniques other guys use. I've learned alot, and I give tips (when appropriate, and DEFINITELY not trying to be pushy). I thinks it's actually harder to tape, than it is to hunt in a lot of cases.

[Critter]

And leave a minimum of 30 minutes earlier than you normally do to get in the stand...
I forgot about that one! Makes for some dang early mornings but it's worth it. The images we capture and share with our friends and family are priceless.