Recommendations for a new HD camcorder

[shin89]

Hi everyone! I'm deciding whether the Sony HDR-PJ230E/B is a good buy and if there's any other recommended models in the price range of $800 to $1000.

I would prefer inbuilt flash memory as well as SD card.

Was previously using a Panasonic 1MP video camera. So almost everything should be an upgrade.

 

[Johanli]

1. Good to read up on reviews on sites like cnet.com, trustedreviews.com etc before buying, and watch videos posted on Youtube to compare qualities
2. Before I bought my Panasonic HC-V500, I tested also Legria R36, both HD and hi-zoom because I take videos of birds. Sony pricing was too high and zoom too low for my needs. I paid S$780 for the V500, the R36 was offered at S$660.
3. The Panasonic HC-V500 gives me very good videos and also sharp photos, so I'm happy with it. They have a model V500M which has internal memory but I don't consider it worthwhile to pay the extra cost. The Canon Legria R38 has internal memory, but image stabilisation loses out to the Panasonic.
I hope that helps.

 

[shin89]

1. Good to read up on reviews on sites like cnet.com, trustedreviews.com etc before buying, and watch videos posted on Youtube to compare qualities
2. Before I bought my Panasonic HC-V500, I tested also Legria R36, both HD and hi-zoom because I take videos of birds. Sony pricing was too high and zoom too low for my needs. I paid S$780 for the V500, the R36 was offered at S$660.
3. The Panasonic HC-V500 gives me very good videos and also sharp photos, so I'm happy with it. They have a model V500M which has internal memory but I don't consider it worthwhile to pay the extra cost. The Canon Legria R38 has internal memory, but image stabilisation loses out to the Panasonic.
I hope that helps.

Thanks for posting your first post as a reply to my thread!

I still got plenty of time to plan my purchase as my holiday trip is at the end of the year. I did look at the R38 and thought the specs and price was not bad. But many people, including you, advised me to get Sony/Panasonic for their better Image Stabiliser.

I shall take a look at my choices Might even get a simple PnS for video as they're not that bad too.

 

[mediamonk]

Either sony or panasonic would be good.