Just a quick question....what is the best video camera to use that has the ability to upload vids to the computer.....???? Just wondering if I should use a CD writer one or one that can connect via usb.....I don't have a lot of $$$ but would like something decent for the price. Want to take vids of offroading in the 3

 

I think this really depends on the length of videos you plan on making. I simply use my digital camera and it works great for taking short videos. It also depends on what you plan on doing with these videos. The reason I say this is because you need to remember that videos take a lot of space and if you are planning on say posting them online then you are not going to want very long ones. For example, My camera is a 7mp camera and I can only take 15 minutes worth of video on a 1GB card.

 

If you want to keep it super cheap, follow SandT's recommendation. After that, I would recommend any name brand camera that records on tape (MiniDV). I like it better than the small DVDs for ease of use, ability to record over the tapes and lower cost of entry (buying the camera). I recently picked up a JVC GR-D850U. I liked it for the small size and the 35x OPTICAL zoom (digital zoom is worthless).

I would save another 25% of your budget for accessories including an extra battery, extra tapes and a case.

I don't leave most of the raw video on my computer, I leave it on the tapes because they do take up so much room. For one trip my friend and I shot a combined three hours of video. I boiled that down to two videos, one five minutes and the other seven minutes. Once I configured them for YouTube they were each under 100mb. (you can find my videos on youtube on my channel, username alrockaz. Some are in the forums here too. Actually, the videos are from two different video cameras and one regular digital camera. See if you can spot the difference.)

Last, I would recommend Firewire over USB. Much, much better integration between Windows and the camera on Firewire than on USB. Buy a Firewire card if you need to, assuming you have a desktop PC. Most new computers have a Firewire input in them. If you need a cable, buy it online for $5 vs. $25 at Best Buy.

 

Don't know but whatever it is I don't have it.

 

Save some money for the sticky pod, too.

 

Yup. Alrock is right on the money. Buy a video camera that has a firewire IEEE1394 port, and if you dont have that port on your computer now, get a card that has a firewire port on it. To make it easy, you can use Windows Movie Maker 2 which is free and installed on your system standard. It takes control of your video camera and can easily download your movies from your camera to your computer. Then it's a piece of cake to upload them to YouTube or put them on a DVD.

 

I bought a midrange camera to use just for this. I chose the Sony DCR-HC42 which can be had for under $400 now... The only way I record is to the Memory card. I own (4) 1gb memory cards and that is enough for the entire weekend. I also bought two 6 hour batteries and some other goodies...

I like it because it has Night Vision and that helps when it starts to get darker... and it has the Carl Zeiss 12x Zoom...

It's good enough to record wheeling events... if I need a nice still image then I have my Canon.