[Simon S]

I've decided to invest in a camcorder to capture the odd weekend of climbing. Which features should I be looking out for/are essential. I'd like to be able to edit footage, so I guess USB connection, or firewire is required? My budget is (preferably) under £300.
Cheers, Si

[superfurrymonkey]

Firewire you will need for getting the dv on to your computer, I`ve just bought a canon mv830i from ebuyer for £220 and canon do the mv850i which would still keep you within your budget, the video quality is excellent and the zoom is amazing, there`s slight motor noise on very quiet shots but thats the only drawback, one thing I`ve been told is to stay away from jvc and that canon make the best camcorders by a guy I know who makes a living with his.

[Simon S]

What do you think of this one......

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1006213371.1149161530@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccegaddhmeiddimcflgceggdhhmdgmh.0&page=Product&sku=105044&fm=10&sm=1&tm=undefined&tabIndex=1

Si

[Bubba]

I wouldn't buy fuck all from PC World

[account_inactive]

 

[Monolith]

yeah definitely don't go to pc world. you can occasionally get some good ebay bargains. I highly recommend that you get into the world of super 8 film making. There are a ton of places that can put super 8 film onto dvd for cheap. You can also play around with the film and etch it/experiment with it.
combined with any of your digi film, it can look pretty cool. There's a super 8 film-making centre in Notts I think, a quick browse of the tinternet should reveal a number of UK specialist places. 

[Jim]

make sure you can buy a massive battery and a decent wide angle lens (x0.5ish) to go with it is my advise

[Simon S]

Well I've just had a canon mv850i come in the post. Cost £236 delivered and came with a (probably rubbish?) 0.6 wide angle lens.
I'll let you know whether is ok or not.
Cheers

[Jim]

how big a battery can you get for them now?

[Simon S]

I've just ordered a 1200mAh, 7.4v although I'm don't know if its the biggest, it was the best I could find. They reckon on 3-5 hours of life, but I bet it won't last that long! Still with 2 batteries that should be adequate.

[Jim]

I've got the mv850i, had it a while, its an ok camera but the biggest battery I could find was the 1450mAh and it don't last very long to be honest. Also the widest proper screw on lens (not the snap on type) was 0.7 which ain't really wide enough.

[Simon S]

How long was "not very long"? Is that with the LCD display turned on?

[Jim]

I've never timed it but not as long as you would like.

[Simon S]

When you connect it to the computer for editing on, say windows movie maker, do you use the usb socket(on the cam) or the dv socket. I tried it with the usb cable supplied and coudn't get movie maker to capture the vid form tthe cam.

[Jim]

use the firewire