Totally off topic (help with camcorder purchase please)

[Susan]

Help please techy heads. We want to buy a camcorder and are lost with which one to buy!

The last camcorder we had we bought back in the 90's was a big thing like they use to shoot films, cost a bomb and we hardly ever used it because it would only run for around 30mins on a full charge and then as time went on it would only video for around 10 mins. A spare battery cost half as much as the camera cost, so we never bothered buying one.

 

We want something that is really easy to use and cheap! Lasts a good while on a charge and is easy to put onto DVD hopefully with the software provided. Not bothered about HD and not too bothered about a built in hard-drive etc. Wants to be idiot proof though.........................would be using it on holidays to video our dogs and would like to take close up stills and vids of fish and our tank etc, so macro would be great.

 

I've worked out that the following three cameras are contenders based on the fact they are cheap enough for us.

 

JVC GZ-MS210SEK

JVC GZ-MG750BEK

Canon Legria FS306

JVC GZ-MS210SEK

JVC GZ-MG750BEK 80GB HDD Digital Camcorder

 

 

On paper the JVC 80gb camcorder is the best deal of the three but I've read some reviews about the battery usage on one charge not being very long around 40 mins. I'm also worried about how long it would take to copy over to the computer for putting onto DVD- again, needs to be idiot proof and very easy.

 

The JVC GZ-MS210SEK is great got everything we need but I cannot find any reviews on how long the battery remains charged when filming and there isn't much difference in price between that one and the 80g hard-drive one...........especially after we've purchased a couple of SDHC cards.

 

The canon sounds the easy to operate, but I wondered if it would zoom etc fast enough to catch fast moving golden retrievers and fish lol. Do they have macros?

 

As you can see I'm a totally clueless when it comes to tech stuff, thanks for any help you can offer. :)

 

Thanks

 

 

 

[Susan]

Thanks Marcel, you are looking for a more recent machine wanting HD, we are not worried about HD. I will go and take a look at the ones you recommend Thanks. :)

[Susan]

Many Thanks Marcel. I will go and take a look at the Samsund HMX H200.

[WeeboTech]

Bump

[Susan]

Marcel, we thought about what you said regards HD and you're right the camera really should be HD. So, we opted for a Canon Legria HFR16 HD purchased from QVC so we can send it back if we don't like it. Like I said, we are not techy heads so I'm sure this camera will do way more than we really need. I liked the cameras you recommended but we wanted to buy something we could return if we didn't like it lol. Thanks for your help.

Canon Legria HFR16 Full HD 1080p Camcorder w/ 20X Opt Zoom, 4GB Card & Case