Beginner Camcorder buying advice

Shaun Palmer said:
Evening TP

I’m after a little camcorder, just for family videos, so don’t need anything massive or with capabilities I’d never use. I don’t want to spend more than about £300.

Is something like this ok?

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camer...gria-hf-r88-camcorder-black-10159648-pdt.html

Cheers
Shaun
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Probably best to look on youtube for video done with that camera. I have an old camcorder from many years ago, so not well up on the modern stuff. I would check the specification, and see what size the sensor is. Probably only a little sensor, being a budget camcorder.
 
Also not sure if the above Camcorder produces better quality video, than say a Camera with a decent sized sensor.
 
jonbeeza said:
Probably best to look on youtube for video done with that camera. I have an old camcorder from many years ago, so not well up on the modern stuff. I would check the specification, and see what size the sensor is. Probably only a little sensor, being a budget camcorder.
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Good idea never thought of that lol

jonbeeza said:
Also not sure if the above Camcorder produces better quality video, than say a Camera with a decent sized sensor.
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My SLR doesn’t autofocus in record mode unfortunately

Giblets said:
I would not be be too keen on the battery dangling out the back TBH.

This Panasonic would be a better buy IMO https://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic...VSrXtCh2d1gJvEAQYASABEgKajvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Cheers I’ll take a look :)
 
A second hand Panasonic FZ1000 might be worth a look, as it can record upto 4k which may make it more “future proof” and it has a far better lens and codex.
They can often be picked up for £300 - £350.
 
Having got a Panasonic HC-X900m camcorder I can recommend the make. Don't forget in your budget the price of a class 10 SD card. I would recommend a Sandisk 32gb card with 95 MB's speed. Oh and also think about a video tripod . Velbon do some that are not expensive even with the fluid head which you will need


Taken with mine ealier this year hand held


not bad from bright sunlight into a shaded area
 
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For a given chip size, a move from HD to UHD reduces the size of the pixel by 4. Each UHD pixel gets 1/4 the number of photons so you require better amplifiers and processing. You may find an HD model gives better image quality, especially in low light.

I wouldn't worry about autofocus, never seen one work well enough to rely on.
 
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