http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/ Engadget Comments for Ask Engadget: best consumer / prosumer camcorder out now? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
QUADRANGATANG'D.]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
Yeah. T2i]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
Going to have to disagree and say a Canon Vixia...or if we're going higher, a Panasonic HMC-150.

Not knocking DSLRs at all...but they put photos before video. If video is truly what you're after, you can't beat a dedicated setup.]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Oh, durr, I just saw the price range (which is really more consumer than prosumer).

I stand by the Vixia.]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/I was reading some reviews on the Canon website about that camera and some people mentioned that the camera shoots about 6-7 minutes before it overheats and shuts down. ]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Mine's fine. I can get around 22 minutes on a 4GB card, and I haven't had any overheating problems at all.]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
Definitly Canon Rebel Eos 550D (t2i)
Only $750 here with basic 18-55mm lens

http://www.dailydealdigital.com/itemdetail.cfm?ProductID=265

or if you want dedicated camcorder then I vote sanyo vph-fh1. I've had great success with their waterproof variation.]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
sorry but you are 100% wrong as far as quality goes DSLR's look far far better then any camcorder you are going to get under a couple grand.]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 2nd 2010 12:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
As for the mic, you'll want to pick up the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder (at the end of the month)]]>Jul 2nd 2010 12:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Like another person has said, a DSLR is a camera first, a camcorder second. Although yes, you can get very shallow DOF (blurred backgrounds), you're giving away a lot of important camcorder functions, and getting jellocam for free. If you're making an indie film, then go for it. If not, get a camcorder.

The Panasonic HDC-TM700K and HDC-HS300 are within your budget and have gotten great reviews, and come with an EVF for when you want to actually see what you're recording outdoors.

Canon also makes great camcorders, but at this price range they tend to not have EVFs.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 2:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 2nd 2010 2:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
the handling of the hardware needs some getting used to and maybe a shoulder rig or something. but qualitywise there is no way you would get a more professional look for that money.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 3:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Although I myself am planning on getting a T2i, I disagree that it's the best option for what it sounds like you're looking for. That, and it's nearly impossible to get right now without paying a premium that would take you well over the $800 you're looking to spend at the top end.

I've been using the Canon Vixia HF200 for a year now, and I think it's wonderful. It gives crisp full HD video directly to SD memory cards, is very easy to use on automatic settings, yet has some customization capabilities, too.

If you want to see what it's capable of, take a look at my Youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/sivartis

and it's also responsible for all the recent digital shorts for ACME Comedy (I produce and edit there):
http://www.youtube.com/acmecomedy

The newest version of the camcorder is the Canon Vixia HF R100, which is only $400 on Amazon right now!

Hope this helps.
~Trav]]>Jul 2nd 2010 3:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
Which important camcorder functions are you giving up? IMO, whatever they are, they must not be a big deal since I haven't noticed any of them since ditching my camcorder for my T2i.

Also, the jellocam issue is greatly exaggerated. In practical usage I've never seen it. I've filmed my son running around, I've filmed football games, I've filmed airshows and I've never seen it. I realize it exists, and I'm capable of reproducing it but that's only when I'm trying to reproduce it. In normal usage I've never seen it. I film at 60fps so I don't know if that minimizes the issue. ]]>Jul 2nd 2010 8:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 2nd 2010 9:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
/flamebait]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
Ooh, ooh, let me try, let me try!

The iPhone 4 sucks. So does Android and Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft Kin FTW!!!]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 2nd 2010 2:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Yeah, because that's not prohibitively expensive....]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 2nd 2010 3:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/may i politely ask which planet you inhabit, kind sir? red muhfuggin SLAUGHTERS HD-recording DSLRs. SLAUGHTERS them. all capitals.

it's like comparing a shopping cart to a ferrari. completely different market, completely different results.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 9:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 3rd 2010 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 1st 2010 11:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
For a consumer camcorder the best value out there right now is the Panasonic HS250. It's usually 900$ but is on a extreme clearance price of $499 at BHphotovideo.com because the new models are being released. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/597285-REG/Panasonic_HDC_HS250K_HDC_HS250_120GB_Full_HD.html

Panasonic makes the best consumer camcorder out there, the TM300 which is being replaced by the new model this year, the TM700, which is even better. The HS250 uses the same glass optics as the TM300 so you can be assured you're getting some of the best image quality available with a few less features like the manual focus ring and hot shoe for accessories like a flash.

I would advise against getting the T2i even though it has great image quality because you'll essentially need to be focusing your video manually all the time which can get very tiresome and is complicated for people who just want to pick it up and record some video.

]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/At the high end of your price range (maybe a little over). Get the extended memory. Also holds an addl memory card.]]>Jul 1st 2010 11:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 2nd 2010 12:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
If you need something more conventional, the Canon HV40 is the one to beat.
]]>Jul 2nd 2010 12:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=ModelTechSpecsTabAct&fcategoryid=177&modelid=19840

and upper

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=ModelTechSpecsTabAct&fcategoryid=177&modelid=19830

32Gb solid states built in with supplementary sd card slots]]>Jul 2nd 2010 12:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/If you really want take advantage of a dsl you'll have to spend a lot of dough on supporting equipment, audio gear, mounts, grips. It's not good for half-assing. I have used vixias and they are nice. Also have the panasonic hvx200. But in your budget, Cleve mentioned the Panasonic HDC-TM700K. I also have this cam. It's a nice balance and I and our staff prefer it to the vixia. The ergonomics are better. It has a nice fat focus ring, manual controls, a headphone jack and an external mike jack... And does 1080p, has tons of on board flash storage and you can add more with the sd slot. BandH has it for 795. It's a great cam.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 12:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/Jul 2nd 2010 12:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/ask-engadget-best-consumer-prosumer-camcorder-out-now/
The best sub-$1000 camcorder is the Canon Vixia HF S21 (S21 has a viewfinder, S20 and S200 do not). Probably the best thing you can do is take the suggestions on this forum or Google "best camcorder" and then do some searches on Vimeo (or Youtube HD, though Vimeo keeps quality better) for video shot with this or that camera. That should answer a lot of your questions.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 12:30AM