Compact Memory Card Camcorders

[MS]

I'm thinking of getting one of these. Yes, I know their video quality is not
supposed to be as good as comparably priced or even cheaper mini-DV
camcorders. But I like the convenience of the camcorder being small enough
that one can carry it in one's shirt or pants pocket, and that the video is
stored directly as a digital video file, one does not have to play it in
real time to transfer it to the computer.

A few models I have been looking at:

JVC Everio MC100

Panasonic SV-AV100

Sanyo Xacti VPC-C6

Samsung SC-M105S.

(I believe the last one is actually the same camera as the more publicized
SC-X105L, but does not have the hands-free lens attachment (helmetcam), of
that model.)

Has anyone reading used one or more of the above, and could comment on it?
Any other models you care to comment on?

(I know that Panasonic and JVC have later versions of the older models
listed, but those would be much more expensive. Also, the other JVC models
could not be considered "pocketable".)

(I know there are also cheaper models in this category, from Aiptek, Mustek,
etc. I was thinking of getting something that has better video quality than
those, with optical zoom, etc.) (Again, I know the video quality of any of
the above is not up to mini-DV standards.)

I would appreciate any input into this type of camcorder, especially any
input into the models mentioned above.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I'm thinking of getting one of these. Yes, I know their video quality is not
supposed to be as good as comparably priced or even cheaper mini-DV
camcorders. But I like the convenience of the camcorder being small enough
that one can carry it in one's shirt or pants pocket, and that the video is
stored directly as a digital video file, one does not have to play it in
real time to transfer it to the computer.

A few models I have been looking at:

JVC Everio MC100

Panasonic SV-AV100

6

Samsung SC-M105S.

(I believe the last one is actually the same camera as the more publicized
SC-X105L, but does not have the hands-free lens attachment (helmetcam), of
that model.)

Has anyone reading used one or more of the above, and could comment on it?
Any other models you care to comment on?

(I know that Panasonic and JVC have later versions of the older models
listed, but those would be much more expensive. Also, the other JVC models
could not be considered "pocketable".)

(I know there are also cheaper models in this category, from Aiptek, Mustek,
etc. I was thinking of getting something that has better video quality than
those, with optical zoom, etc.) (Again, I know the video quality of any of
the above is not up to mini-DV standards.)

I would appreciate any input into this type of camcorder, especially any
input into the models mentioned above.

I have the Sanyo Xacti VPC-C5. I don't know anything about the
differences from the C6, but I find it OK.

The video can be a bit artifacty in that there are outlines sometimes
due to sharpening, but it's not awful, just not really great. The
stills are a bit better.

What's nice is that it's always with me, and it's good enough for that.

Gino

 

[MS]

The video can be a bit artifacty in that there are outlines sometimes
due to sharpening, but it's not awful, just not really great. The
stills are a bit better.

Can that sharpening be turned off or modified?

From what I've read, the C6 has some improvements over the C5.

They also have another new model, the HD-1. It's supposed to be
high-definition. It is a little larger in size, so not as pocketable as C5
and C6. It's much more expensive, and from what I read isn't worth the extra
money. So the C6 is the Sanyo model I'm considering, as well as the other
models mentioned.

Thank you for your input.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Can that sharpening be turned off or modified?

From what I've read, the C6 has some improvements over the C5.

They also have another new model, the HD-1. It's supposed to be
high-definition. It is a little larger in size, so not as pocketable awould
and C6. It's much more expensive, and from what I read isn't worth the extra
money. So the C6 is the Sanyo model I'm considering, as well as the other
models mentioned.

Thank you for your input.

I don't remember any capability to adjust the sharpening. Also, I have
a downloaded manual which does not contain the word "sharp", so I
assume there is no adjustment.

I went to the Sanyo site, but couldn't find any support or manuals
today, so I would suggest that you Google to find a manual (or if
you're a better navigator than I, go to http://www.sanyo.com/ and find
one).

Have you looked at the usual review sites? Like
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/
as well as
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/c5.html#specs

The second one reviews the C-5. I didn't look today to see if it
reviews the others.

I suspect (leaping to a conclusion) that the 6 is a 5 with more pixels.

Wish I could help more.

Gino

 

[MS]

I went to the Sanyo site, but couldn't find any support or manuals
today, so I would suggest that you Google to find a manual (or if
you're a better navigator than I, go to http://www.sanyo.com/ and find
one).

Were you looking for a manual for your C5, or for the C6? I think I actually
downloaded a C6 manual the other day, I forget from where. If you would like
to see one, I could try to find out where I downloaded it from, or perhaps
post it as an attachment to a post to this thread.

Have you looked at the usual review sites? Like
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/
as well as
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/c5.html#specs

The second one reviews the C-5. I didn't look today to see if it
reviews the others.

Yes, I have. I believe both those sites also have reviews of the C6, I
cannot remember for sure.

I suspect (leaping to a conclusion) that the 6 is a 5 with more pixels.

A logical conclusion, and yes, that's part of it, megapixels that is. But
I've read there are other improvements as well. (I think I might have read
about it at steve''s digicams.)

If someone reading has tried more than one of these units, it would be
interesting to read their comparisons.

I'm actually leaning now more towards the Panasonic or JVC models mentioned.
They record to MPEG-2, DVD quality video. Although as I said, from what I
read, I don't think any of the cams mentioned will get as good results as a
mini-DV camcorder, but the Panasonic and JVC models will certainly come much
closer to that than the Sanyo and Samsung. Much less compression than the
mp4 used in the other two models, much easier to make a DVD from. (And of
course, one could recompress at higher compression and lower resolution to
make suitable videos for web and e-mail.) Of course, the trade-off is that
such DVD quality video takes up much more space. With the Panasonic only
having an SD card slot like the Sanyo, the card will fill up much faster. (2
GB SD cards are inexpensive now though, and I hear 4 GB SD is on the
horizon.) The JVC, however, has both an SD and a CF card slot, the latter
being wide enough to hold a microdrive. It comes with a 4GB microdrive, and
one can buy an 8GB microdrive for around $150 now. So, much more space to
hold high quality video on the JVC. Although still small and pocketable, it
is larger and heavier than the other three models mentioned, so there's
another trade-off. (It also has the longest boot time, I think 13 seconds or
so.)

I think the Samsung model mentioned has probably, from the reviews I've
read, the least video quality of the four models mentioned. It uses memory
stick media, which to me is less preferable than SD. However, it has a
couple things going for it. For one, I think it's the smallest and lightest
of the four models, even beating the Sanyo in that respect. Furthermore, I
have seen it for sale new for $209, much less than I could get any of the
others for (including used on Ebay). That puts it in the price range of the
higher end of the "cheapo-cams" (Aiptek, Mustek, etc.), while I think
probably providing better video quality than them, and including a 10x
optical zoom. (Same zoom for Panasonic and JVC, the Sanyo only has a 5x
optical zoom.) ( I think it boots up quickly too.) If it was the same price
as the others (or at what was its normal price) I don't think I would
consider the Samsung, , but at $209 new it looks tempting.

Again, I'd appreciate hearing from anyone else who has tried one or more of
these models, or others. Thank you.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Were you looking for a manual for your C5, or for the C6? I think I actually
downloaded a C6 manual the other day, I forget from where. If you would like
to see one, I could try to find out where I downloaded it from, or perhaps
post it as an attachment to a post to this thread.

I already have the C5 manual, but thanks. I couldn't find a link to
*any* manuals the other day, but I didn't try too hard, since I had no
need.

<SNIP>

While I have your attention

I had the opportunity to put an MP4 from my Sanyo C-5 onto an iPod
since I last posted here.

It required conversion to an iPod compatible MP4 format, which took 10
minutes (I'm guessing, I didn't time it) in the iTunes software, but
only about 3 minutes in a free (but weird) program called 3GP
Converter. Both converted files actually looked very good on the iPod.
They were taken in a living room that was fairly dimly lit by
fluorescent screw-in light bulbs.

Of course, the iPod has a 2.5" screen, so sharpening effects and
low-light noise might just have been invisible...

Gino

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I already have the C5 manual, but thanks. I couldn't find a link to *any*
manuals the other day, but I didn't try too hard, since I had no need.

I meant to say: I didn't have a need for a manual. What I was trying to
do was to find a link for you. However, I didn't succeed in finding
anything relating to downloads, including manuals, at Sanyo's site. So
I gave up, after not trying as hard as I would have if I needed the
manual myself %)

Gino

<SNIP>

<SNIP>