Good HD Camcorders for Railfanning

[Scoot]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy a good HD Camcorder for railfanning. Does anyone have any good suggestions they can offer? I'm going to do some raifanning in Palmer, MA, at the Steaming Tender, and hopefully around Selkirk, NY this summer.

Thanks for any advice,
Scott

 

[oknotsen]

Let me google that for you.

That resulted in, among many other usefull sites, for example this.

 

[whitepass]

It depends a lot on how much you can spend, can go up to $40,000US.

 

[masontaylor]

Since the quality of any photographic enterprise is so influenced by the lens, and bearing in mind that HD video recording is available on so many DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and Bridge cameras, you might find that you'd be better off going in that direction instead. But the previous poster raises the most important question - what's your budget? *

 

[Scoot]

With my birthday coming up soon, I'm likely to get some money. I wanna stay around $300, so I can also get a few other things I need.

Scott

 

[masontaylor]

300 bucks will get you the Panasonic Lumix FZ 47 (which is called the FZ 48 in Europe). Strongly recommended - I have one myself as an alternative to my much bigger (and rather more expensive) gear. It's not always practical for me to lug the big stuff around (when I'm hill walking I need to travel light), but the FZ 47/48 has proved an excellent compromise. It's small and neat, has a good Leica lens and takes brilliant stills - better yet, it does full HD with stereo sound, and even allows some manual control of video - really unusual in such a budget package.*You could probably spend a bit less if you can find a reconditioned one from an authorised Panasonic repairer (as did mine).

Of course you'll need a few extras - a couple of memory cards and a spare battery - while a UV filter for extra lens protection and a light tripod would be useful: if you shop around you should be able to pick them up quite cheaply: I bought all these and a carrying case in the UK for the equivalent of another 50 bucks or so.*

Hope this helps....

 

[Beattie]

Sony - Handycam HDRCX190 for 300.00 U.S Dollars is I think is good bang for you buck. I own myself a Sony HDR-CX260V 550.00 U.S Dollars. All I can say is that with everything I have bought from sony tvs,headphones, and cameras they never deliver lower than my expectation. I recommend it.

 

[Red_Rattler]

It depends a lot on how much you can spend, can go up to $40,000US.

Are yooou sure you haven't added one extra zero by mistake?

Remember though that I think CNET is an Australian site. Not sure if this is a reliable site, but their is something called www.camcorderinfo.com, and also Australian I think www.productreview.com.au (It's best if you check the URL for the last one)