Do you own a camcorder?

[Palmyra]

If you own a camcorder, what is the model (what kind of camcorder is it...hdd, minidv, etc.)? How well does it work with Ubuntu (or Linux in general)?

Please provide as much information as possible, especially on compatibility. I'd appreciate whatever you can provide.

[kellemes]

Sony DCR-HC37 (http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=145784)

Nothing special, not too expensive, does it's job very well.
It's not a camera for professionals but so isn't my budget. ;-)
I didn't really understand the pro's and con's of mini-dv vs harddrive, now I do, it's very cheap and very practical, I can blow my movies onto my hd using the (not included) firewire. And when my hd overflows I can always keep the mini-dv's.
Quality of the movies are fine for me, when filming in the dark or with bad light you do get a little grain, but that's very much acceptable and to be expected.
He's small, I was surprised these camera's did become so small these days.. Very easy to hold, and the touchscreen works pretty fine.

I must admit I don't use GNU/Linux to play with this camera, I'm the proud user of Ulead Mediastudio Pro and so use this software to pull the movie onto disk, and edit it.

I don't think you have to worry about Linux compatibility since you need only to be able to connect using firewire (very much prefered) or USB and I can't imagine this will be an issue.
If you're interested in video-editors for Linux, well.. there are a lot, search the forum.

Anyway, as far as the camera is concerned.. I'm very happy with it.
I think I filmed about every minute of my son's life, and he's 7 months.. ;-)

If you do have more questions, let me know..

[CaptainCabinet]

I don't. But I do have a 7.2 MP camera that can record decent movies. It's a Samsung D75.

[Palmyra]

There only ONE person on this message board who owns a camcorder and who is willing to reply?

It will only take a minute or two. Replies are appreciated.

[Dr Small]

I have one, but I don't knom all the specs, except it is HDD.

[Anduu]

Sony DCR-SR40 (http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/ProductDetailDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&productId=1003064)

It works fine with Ubuntu...just plug it in and it shows up as another drive.

It comes bundled with some handy software which of course is Windows only.I can't wait till Linux becomes mainstream so we can get thi9s kind of stuff.It woul;d make life so much easier.

All in all I am quite happy with it.

[Palmyra]

With HDD, there shouldn't be too much of a compatibility problem since Ubuntu should recognize the camcorder as an external hard drive. Considering the state of Linux video editors, I should probably strike editing off my list, because I can't expect to do any good or easy basic editing with the software that is available now. I'll probably purchase a camcorder based on its video quality and features now that I do not have to worry about Linux compatibilty.

If Linux video editors become mature enough, JVC's .mod video files may be a problem. Sure, these files are just MPEG files, but even MPEG files are not standard in video editing. Sony, I believe, also uses MPEG files. I was thinking of avoiding JVC for this reason, but if the major camcorder manufacturers use MPEG files, there's no sense in doing so. I can either hope for MPEG to become a standard format in video editing at one point or I can convert the MPEG files into something else when I need to edit. Oh well..there's no rush in editing anyway. That can be done a while from now, but the problem with converting files is a loss of quality and the massive hard drive use you'll need for storing the original files, the converted files, and the edited files.
No one here has a JVC camcorder?

[EvilMarshmallow]

I use a JVC Everio. Can't remember the model number (I'm at work right now) but it's one of the lower-end hard disk camcorders. 30 GB Hard disk inside... runs like a champ with Gutsy. It was literally plug-n-play... it recognized the JVC hard disk like a flash drive, and the movie files worked right out of the box. Freaked me out... I had psyched myself up for doing lots of research & tweaking, but it just worked. I don't do much editing, I just want to be able to store my home videos (1st kid on the way!). It does it well. I was amazed.

[Palmyra]

I use a JVC Everio. Can't remember the model number (I'm at work right now) but it's one of the lower-end hard disk camcorders. 30 GB Hard disk inside... runs like a champ with Gutsy. It was literally plug-n-play... it recognized the JVC hard disk like a flash drive, and the movie files worked right out of the box. Freaked me out... I had psyched myself up for doing lots of research & tweaking, but it just worked. I don't do much editing, I just want to be able to store my home videos (1st kid on the way!). It does it well. I was amazed.

It looks like the toss up is between JVC and Sony. Both are attractive, but I am now leaning more towards JVC.

[Palmyra]

Before getting any in-depth reviews, I bought JVC GZ-MG130U. I am going to give it a spin and I will report back for duty! Any immediate questions...fire them away!

[mips]

Before getting any in-depth reviews, I bought JVC GZ-MG130U. I am going to give it a spin and I will report back for duty! Any immediate questions...fire them away!

I was just about to tell you not to buy a JVC. Me and a friend purchased our jvc camcorders on the same day. His broke like 5 days after the warranty expired and JVC would not assist him in any way, to fix it would not have been financially viable anyway they told him. He purchased a new camcorder but a different brand.

Last year my camcorder started displaying "Removed Lens Cap" errors although the lens cap was off. A bit of googling led me to find out this is a common problem on jvc and they actually have a procedure to deal with owners of these defective cams.

So I contact the local jvc distributor for repairs, tell them what the problem is and they give me a verbal estimate over the phone. Then I tell them that it is a factory defect and jvc has issues statements to this effect, oh no they are aware of it. So why bill me? Uh, sorry we will only bill you for labour wich to me is not on (if there was no factory defect there would be no labour, common sense). So I argue with a few egits and eventually spoke to a guy that was apologetic and told me to send it in. I only got my campcorder back like 9months later and then the bastars wanted to bill me for it as well and I had to go through the whole process again of arguing with people.

I own a jvc , tv, vcr x2, had a home theatre system of theres at one stage so I 'was' a fan. I will NEVER ever again in my life buy a jvc product simply because of my last experience.

[TimTow]

I have an ELURA 100 (Canon). I have been trying to get gutsy to recognize it. When I plug it in, nothing, I have trying USB and firewire, nothing. Any thoughts?

[DavidTangye]

Thanks for the "heads up" on JVC.

[DavidTangye]

I would be interested in reading your review... Hope you are still going to write it.

Do you know of any sites with other camcorder reviews?
It sounds as if hard-disk type camcorders should work automatically with Ubuntu. I wonder if there are any exceptions?

[Bungo Pony]

I own three camcorders. One is a Canon something-or-other. I really don't like it. While it's nice and small, I find the digital video to be quite grainy and it doesn't seem to have a manual focus setting. The only thing that is good about it is it picks up color very well indoors. It works horribly with Ubuntu.

The second one I own is a full size RCA VHS camcorder which I absolutely love. It's got manual and auto focus, iris, and zoom. I picked it up a couple months ago at a thrift store for $20 and fixed it up. I really needed the manual settings, and this one does the trick. The video quality is excellent. It's much like the one in this ebay auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/RCA-VHS-CAMCORDER-MODEL-CPR-250-W-CHARGER-BATTERIES_W0QQitemZ180225852832QQihZ008QQcategoryZ 22787QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'll try and remember to put up a pic of it.

The third one I own predates the VHS camcorder. In fact, it predates Betamax camcorders. You need a seperate video recorder for this one:

http://labguysworld.com/RCA_CC-002.htm

http://labguysworld.com/CC-002_005.jpg

I have a VCR that this thing connects directly to which is currently in need of repair. The camera itself is also in need of slight repair, as the film behind the lens is discoloring. It weighs a good 15-20 lbs and sits on your shoulder. I recorded quite a few videos with this thing, and they turned out pretty good. However, I'm now looking to get rid of it.

All my camcorders work horribly with Ubuntu. It would be much better if I could get some kind of software to record from the composite input on my TV card.

[rktompsett]

I'm looking for a camcorder that has a video input, in a price range of around $200 - $300. Any ideas?

[cariboo]

I'm looking for a camcorder that has a video input, in a price range of around $200 - $300. Any ideas?

This has nothing to do with the subject of the thread, and the thread itself is over 5 years old. Please start a new thread, as this one is closed.