Hi all,

I've compiled the comparison of consumer camcorders. I intend to inform this info to only new buyers who have no idea which format or media to choose. Please feel free to comment.

Thanks and Regards,
G A P


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General Comparison of Consumer Camcorders v1.3

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MiniDV Camcorder
SD format : DV
HD format : HDV (MPEG2)*
media : DV/miniDV tape

Advantages
- DV is the mature format
- For SD format, DV has higher video quality than DVD/MPEG2 format
- low price miniDV camcorder is available
- many software support DV editing

Disadvantages
- slow to view the footage (tape is needed to rewinded or forwarded)
- accidental recording over the recorded content is possible
- time consuming when transfer to PC (real-time capture over Firewire)
- huge file size (after capture) = 13 GB per one-hour footage

* HDV Camcorder records on the DV / miniDV tape
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DVD Camcorder
SD format : DVD/MPEG2
HD format : AVCHD (MPEG4)
media : miniDVD / DVD discs (various types)

Advantages
- very convenient - the recorded disc can be instantly played on DVD players or PC (some DVD players / DVD drives might not support miniDVD disc)
- quick to view the footage

Disadvantages
- the capacity of miniDVD disc is pretty low
- might take time to format or finalize disc
- shock/vibration might introduce artifacts

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HDD Camcorder
SD format : MPEG2
HD format : AVCHD (MPEG4)
media : built-in harddrive

Advantages
- very high capacity typically 20-30 GB
- fast transfer to PC
- quick to view & delete the footage

Disadvantages
- shock/vibration might introduce artifacts
- shock/vibration might cause problem with the recording harddrive

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Flash-card Camcorder
SD format : MPEG2, MPEG4
HD format : AVCHD (MPEG4)
media : SD card, CF card, Memory Stick

Advantages
- small size
- fast transfer to PC
- quick to view & delete the footage
- solid-state media - no moving parts (except using CF type II such as Microdrive) - very high shock resistance, low power consumption

Disadvantages
- flash card is expensive
- the maximum capacity of flash card is currently around 4GB for SD card, 8GB for CF card and 4GB for Memory Stick (still increasing)
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I just added HD format. Btw, I added Memory Stick in the media of flash card camcorder. This's due to the new AVCHD version that Sony added Memory Stick in the media of AVCHD. I guess we will see Sony Memory Stick camcorder soon.

Pls feel free to make any comment. Thanks

G A P

Right now at this moment, questionable if you can even edit AVCHD video. What software?


Rich

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FireWire Survey

I doubt about that as well. Perhaps for anyone who wanna early adopt AVCHD camcorder, I guess they must only rely on the software bundled with the camcorder.

And how soon we can make Blu-ray disc or HD DVD with AVCHD files ?

Rich, I completely agree - there are no COMMERCIALLY available products for editing AVCHD!

A couple other concerns/issues:
HDD's, if used in environments with a lot of vibration or shock, will fail. Fortunately HDD's continue to get cheaper so replacement should be (relatively) inexpensive IF one can easily access the HDD and not need to take the camera into a shop.

Flash based drives are now hitting the market. Selection is very limited at this time, but will continue to grow. For example one can get 8GB 1.8" SSD's - small compared to a HDD, but rugged and use much less power. Considering how prices for SDD's (and flash in general) are dropping, with a little luck one can keep the HDD in one's camcorder alive until a comperable size flash replacement is available.

Flash does wear out with use - but this shouldn't be a concern for most video applications as it lasts 10's to 100's of thousands of write cycles. This is the primary reason one would not want to replace a HDD in a PC with a SSD.

Greg

Another concern with hard drives cropping up is the operating altitude specifications. For those of you just have to climb those tall mountains or shoot out of unpressurized airplanes it could be a problem. I've seen some drives rated at only 8,000 feet above sea level.

Rich

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FireWire Survey

I'm not sure how much Sony/JVC will charge for replacing a harddisk.

Let's say a 60GB HDD contained fully with vdo footage is broken after a trip, that costs a lot. It's like a single point of failure.

Regarding flash card, it's easy to transfer data to a portable storage device. So high capacity card, 16GB+, might not be essential. I think carrying one 8GB card, one 4GB card and an 80GB portable drive suffices for standard def. Currently class-2 4GB SDHC card costs around $130. One year after, price would be cut by half at least.