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Camcorder For Birding (1 Viewer)

Lawts

Supa Silly Un
Hi it's a while since I've done any camcording of birds, having switched to photography several years ago.

I was looking at some of the new generation camcorders tonight in Curry's and wondered what the camcorder of choice was these days. Some of these seemed quite good in terms of spec. - 1080, HD, 40-52X optical zoom, all for about £150 - £250.

Can someone bring me up to date - i.e. not sure if any have stabilisation, the ability to take good stills etc. Also, is the video on my camera likely to be better in any event?

Cheers.
 
With you posting your request in the videoscoping thread I assume that you intend to connect the camcorder to your scope. If so, I would recommend buying a camcorder with a small zoom, i.e. 10-12x. A bigger zoom range would probably cause severe vignetting due to the design of the optical elements.

However, if you intend to use the camcorder on its own or with a converter lens, by all means go for one with a bigger optical zoom range. I was in that dilemma last year and eventually bought a Panasonic SD90 which has a 26x optical (41x intelligent) zoom. I have had some great results with or without a 2x converter lens attached. This model has now been superseded but no doubt the newer models are worth considering.

One major thing to consider is sensor size. As with DSLRs, the larger the sensor generally the better the quality of image produced. With camcorders it is the same. Looking at the specifications you will note that the "cheaper" models with the bigger zoom ranges tend to have smaller sensors. This is not a problem if you intend to video fairly close subjects, but if you have to zoom in to maximum to get a decent sized image then that is where the quality of the image may suffer.

The quality of still images produced by camcorders is governed by the number of megapixels available. For example my SD90 can shoot 5MP stills wheras the higher priced and smaller zoom SD900 can shoot 14MP stills. To be honest the SD90 stills give a slight "watercolour" effect and are lacking in detail if you crop the image.

If you have a computer with a powerful processor and enough RAM to handle video editing in HD then I would strongly recommend buying a full HD (1080p) camcorder. The quality of the footage produced is far superior to Hi8 or MiniDV. You will not be disappointed.

If you already have a compact camera or DSLR that shoots in HD then the decision is not quite so straightforward in my opinion. In the past I have connected my 7D to my scope and shot video at high magnifications. In the right conditions it produced very good results but if the subject moved closer or further away it was very difficult to refocus without causing problems due to camera movement or vibration.

Hope all of the above is some use to you. If I can be of any further help please contact me by PM.

Good luck!

Mike
 
With you posting your request in the videoscoping thread I assume that you intend to connect the camcorder to your scope. If so, I would recommend buying a camcorder with a small zoom, i.e. 10-12x. A bigger zoom range would probably cause severe vignetting due to the design of the optical elements.

However, if you intend to use the camcorder on its own or with a converter lens, by all means go for one with a bigger optical zoom range. I was in that dilemma last year and eventually bought a Panasonic SD90 which has a 26x optical (41x intelligent) zoom. I have had some great results with or without a 2x converter lens attached. This model has now been superseded but no doubt the newer models are worth considering.

One major thing to consider is sensor size. As with DSLRs, the larger the sensor generally the better the quality of image produced. With camcorders it is the same. Looking at the specifications you will note that the "cheaper" models with the bigger zoom ranges tend to have smaller sensors. This is not a problem if you intend to video fairly close subjects, but if you have to zoom in to maximum to get a decent sized image then that is where the quality of the image may suffer.

The quality of still images produced by camcorders is governed by the number of megapixels available. For example my SD90 can shoot 5MP stills wheras the higher priced and smaller zoom SD900 can shoot 14MP stills. To be honest the SD90 stills give a slight "watercolour" effect and are lacking in detail if you crop the image.

If you have a computer with a powerful processor and enough RAM to handle video editing in HD then I would strongly recommend buying a full HD (1080p) camcorder. The quality of the footage produced is far superior to Hi8 or MiniDV. You will not be disappointed.

If you already have a compact camera or DSLR that shoots in HD then the decision is not quite so straightforward in my opinion. In the past I have connected my 7D to my scope and shot video at high magnifications. In the right conditions it produced very good results but if the subject moved closer or further away it was very difficult to refocus without causing problems due to camera movement or vibration.

Hope all of the above is some use to you. If I can be of any further help please contact me by PM.

Good luck!

Mike

Thanks Mike for your full response. I have videoed down the scope in the past, but it was to use just as a camcorder without scope. I guess if I could find one where I could do both it would be better.

Do you know the rough price of the S90 and S900? I couldn't see them on the web. One of the ones I saw the other day (didn't note the make) was 1080p and HD and was about £250.

Thanks.
 
If you are not connecting to a scope, have you considered a bridge camera like a Canon SX50 or Panasonic equivalent? Admittedly more expensive though.

I have a Panasonis HDC-SD60 camcorder which we used for a while. Frankly I was disappointed with it's video performance. The focus would nopt hold very well and every time you wanted to adjust any aspect of operation it meant touching the screen. To be honest quite impractical when live videoing and if one was using manual focus plus you end up with a screen full of greasy fingerprints. Mind the current crop of camcorders may be different. However for video I now use a Canon SX40 which I find is far better than my Panasonic CC. But as I said later models may be better.

For me SX40 was far easier to operate and maintained focus automatically far better than the camcorder.
 
Thanks Mike for your full response. I have videoed down the scope in the past, but it was to use just as a camcorder without scope. I guess if I could find one where I could do both it would be better.

Do you know the rough price of the S90 and S900? I couldn't see them on the web. One of the ones I saw the other day (didn't note the make) was 1080p and HD and was about £250.

Thanks.

The link below will show just Panasonic models. Obviously other makes can be considered. The SX40 is worth thinking about too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr...1104372&ie=UTF8&qid=1351160710&rnid=419150031

Mike
 
Surprised Sandpiper looking at that list of CCs that many are so cheap in relative terms compared to the bridge cameras which can now video in 1080HD.

Does this indicate a lack of interest amongst manufacurers and possibly the death knell of CCs? as they prefer to develop cameras?
 
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