Tapeless Camcorder, the first ever!

[Quadophile]

JVC has come out with the first tapeless camcorder (a 4 GB built-in Hard Drive shooting 1 hour of Video) which also boasts a 2 MP still camera taking pics with a resolution of 1600 x 1200. AND IT IS TINY! It weighs only 350 grams including the drive and the battery

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JVC GZ-MC200 at I4U News

 

[ChristopherP]

That looks nice, real nice!

but i believe there were a serious of tapeless camcorders released a good year ago now, the DV series? Also there was a newer series - here...

http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=851&showAllImages=0

Obviously not as good quality as the JVC, but sureley its still a tapeless camcorder...

 

[Quadophile]

Chris the quality on the JVC is comparable to the ones with tape. The link you provided is indeed a tapeless camera but comparably very low quality and resolution. I checked it out and according to the details provided it can take an hours video on a 256 MB card whereas the JVC takes an hours video on 4 GB hard drive, so the difference has to be huge in terms of quality. The difference in price is also not small.

The JVC is a direct replacement of the current breed of camcorders using Digital Video tape which is in most households.

 

[ChristopherP]

i think i would still much prefer tape - can you get spare hard drives for the JVC for when you have used the hour of recording? If so, i doubt they are as cheap as tapes!

 

[Becky]

Wow, that looks great! Unfortunately it's a little out of my price range I wonder if they would send Ian one to review...?!

 

[Quadophile]

Yes spare drives are available so not an issue. However, once the hard drive is full it can be converted to DVD and the video erased to be used again.

The Micro Drive used is also called the Compact Flash Type II card which is essentially used in many high end/newer digital cameras that support Type II/Fat 32 file system. Fat 32 overcomes the Fat 16 limit of 2GB.

The drive is is available at $207 or less depending on where you shop.

Take a look at the Hitachi 4GB Microdrive

 

[ChristopherP]

Ouch! over 200 bucks for whats essentially a spare tape!

6x 90 minute Mini DV tapes are 24 bucks in Sams Club!!!

 

[Quadophile]

Ouch! over 200 bucks for whats essentially a spare tape!

6x 90 minute Mini DV tapes are 24 bucks in Sams Club!!!

$200 is 1/6th of what it used to be 2 years back and the max capacity was like 1GB so in real world scenario, it is 24 times cheaper.

Also do not forget this is the new technology at initial stage, what yu think is very expensive will be dirt cheap in the next 2 years and everyone would be having one since they would be very affordable.

 

[ChristopherP]

You could say the same about the DV tapes too...

Yeah, this will be obsolete in a a few months, and the companies are skimming the market milking every penny from it before they have to drop the price.

I'll leave it a couple of years

 

[Quadophile]

Those who embrace new technology the moment it is introduced pay for R&D + hardware. Those who wait for a year or two for the prices to fall will be paying essentially for obsolete hardware.

The choice is yours!

 

[floppybootstomp]

Those who embrace new technology the moment it is introduced pay for R&D + hardware. Those who wait for a year or two for the prices to fall will be paying essentially for obsolete hardware.

The choice is yours!

Me, I'm always behind by a step or two, it's financially prudent, I believe is the expression

Like, the system in my sig is what I've been heading towards for a long time. No sooner do I realise my dream system than it's obsolete. I'll probably go 64 bit mid summer, or when prices fall to a reasonable level.

I really don't see the point in being 'first kid on the block' just for the sake of being first with everything.

I still get a buzz when I upgrade, even though it's probably 'old hat' to lots of people. No point in throwing money away, unless new equipment is going to give you a serious advantage in some way or other.

Have to say though, that Camcorder is sweet, a very desirable toy indeed

I have an old Sony analogue Hi-Cam 8, can't remember the last time it got used, actually, it seemed small once, but is now positively bulky. If I had that JVC tapeless model, it would probably get used quite frequently.

 

[ChristopherP]

I still get a buzz when I upgrade, even though it's probably 'old hat' to lots of people. No point in throwing money away, unless new equipment is going to give you a serious advantage in some way or other.

...because it's still going to be miles better than what you were used to!

I have an old Sony analogue Hi-Cam 8, can't remember the last time it got used, actually, it seemed small once, but is now positively bulky. If I had that JVC tapeless model, it would probably get used quite frequently.

We had an old toshiba one, was maybe late 80's? That was good, once...!