Buying an HD Camera

[Salad]

Ok, so for Christmas, I got the choice to get an HD camera, and right now I'm trying to figure out which one to buy between 2 of them.

 

Flip Mino HD

 

and

 

Panasonic HDCSD10K

 

I live in Canada, BTW.

 

I can get one up to 450$ before tax. I know there's a big difference between both, but I don't want to make Hollywood quality videos. It will be mainly for school projects and probably for YouTube after. If you got a better choice, it would be nice. I want a good video quality, that's about it (apart from it being HD)

 

I really would like to get a Flip, the reviews I saw are excellent, but I don't want to buy something too low quality. I also don't want to pay too much for nothing for what I need.

 

Thanks :)

 

EDIT: There's also for a possibility the Flip Ultra HD, which is the same price as the Mino and the screen is bigger, but you can't customize it.

[Mirror]

Looking at the two and with what you said (school projects) flip video would be better for you. The big difference for your sake is resolution which the flip is 720 and the Panasomic can go 1080. Unless you have the editing software needed/wanted to make 'better' projects, stick to the flip to save you some money. If you want to drop more money, go with the Panasomic. I say this because the Panasomic can shoot in 24 and 60p, as well as 30 fps which is the flip's only style. 24 fps = film standard, 30 = standard/broadcasting, 60 fps is super fine but rarely has any uses.

 

Your choice really, I'd love to have that panasomic but I'm a film maker, that's why. :P Have fun with the new camera! :)

[Salad]

Looking at the two and with what you said (school projects) flip video would be better for you. The big difference for your sake is resolution which the flip is 720 and the Panasomic can go 1080. Unless you have the editing software needed/wanted to make 'better' projects, stick to the flip to save you some money. If you want to drop more money, go with the Panasomic. I say this because the Panasomic can shoot in 24 and 60p, as well as 30 fps which is the flip's only style. 24 fps = film standard, 30 = standard/broadcasting, 60 fps is super fine but rarely has any uses.

 

Your choice really, I'd love to have that panasomic but I'm a film maker, that's why. :P Have fun with the new camera! :)

 

Actually, Flip shoots at 30 fps too. Check this page:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dm=DEBUG&sku_id=0665000FS10124434&catid=#MoreInfo

 

BTW, what's 24 and 60p? I will be editing with Adobe After Effects, and I won't use this just school projects. I love making films but I didn't have a camera (Always used my friends one)

[Mirror]

Sorry, I wasn't clear with what I was typing, I am confusing. Yes, I knew Flip was only 30fps, that's what I was trying to convey with my horribly confusing message. :P

 

Let me go a little bit more indepth with frame rate. Your frame rate is how fast each frame is captured and flashed in front of your eyes. Standard broadcasting is 30 fps (or 30 images a second). A film is shot in 24fps, so there is less images being flashed in front of your eyes giving you a film like feature and feeling to your movie. 60p means 60fps so there are more images being shown, which gives a very smooth like video, but it is rarely used. For example, I only used 60p to capture a golfer swinging a golf club and then bringing it into Final Cut and then slowing it down so it was a very rough try at a high speed camera. It worked for what I needed it for. So 60p is only used by those who know how to use it.

 

If you like making films and want more control over what you are shooting, definitely get the Panasomic. Manual focus is your friend when wanting to shoot something beyond generic school projects, which this feature is NOT on the flip. So if you want to start making your own films and learning the 'business' then definitely go with the Panasomic. School and less, get the flip.

 

Hope that helps. :)

[Salad]

Sorry, I wasn't clear with what I was typing, I am confusing. Yes, I knew Flip was only 30fps, that's what I was trying to convey with my horribly confusing message. :P

 

Let me go a little bit more indepth with frame rate. Your frame rate is how fast each frame is captured and flashed in front of your eyes. Standard broadcasting is 30 fps (or 30 images a second). A film is shot in 24fps, so there is less images being flashed in front of your eyes giving you a film like feature and feeling to your movie. 60p means 60fps so there are more images being shown, which gives a very smooth like video, but it is rarely used. For example, I only used 60p to capture a golfer swinging a golf club and then bringing it into Final Cut and then slowing it down so it was a very rough try at a high speed camera. It worked for what I needed it for. So 60p is only used by those who know how to use it.

 

If you like making films and want more control over what you are shooting, definitely get the Panasomic. Manual focus is your friend when wanting to shoot something beyond generic school projects, which this feature is NOT on the flip. So if you want to start making your own films and learning the 'business' then definitely go with the Panasomic. School and less, get the flip.

 

Hope that helps. :)

 

Great, thanks for that info, but TBH if the FPS is 24 or 60 I don't really care, it's mainly the video quality that's important to me. I searched YouTube and saw examples, but YouTube video quality is bad. There's also the fact that the Panasonic is normally at 700$ , so 250$ of rebate is really interesting. Would you say that the quality would be much more better from the Panasonic or if it would be comparable (is that even a word? :D)

[Mirror]

Quality would definitely be better off of the panasomic. It shoots in 1080 rather than 720. The higher the resolution, the better.

[Salad]

Thanks. I think I'm getting the Panasonic :) When I will get it, I will make a test. This video made me choose:

 

[Mirror]

I'm glad you found a video test that worked for you. Hope it works out for you. :)