I have been thinking for some time now to buy myself a CamCorder – times have moved on and there is some varied choice out there and of course my needs are slightly different from the average person. The Mac has both Firewire 400 + 800 right on board and the ability for the Cam to be picked up as a Webcam should the need arise and this is what a lot of people already do when streaming.

Requirements

I need to be able to plug this Camera into both the Mac and the PC – all of my igs have Firewire and USB – so no major problem there. I need to be able to use it as a Fancy Webcam (with zoom etc), record and edit normal stuff and the quality to be god along with the cheapest one that does the job.

DV Cam

These are now on the bottom shelf, use Tape and feature 35/40 Zoom plus Firewire – this fits the bill so far – most are light to carry around and very cheap indeed (probably the cheapest out of all the models on offer). The fact it has Tape means it will be heavier, mechanical noice and maybe eats the battery. Out of all of them though – I can plug it in and use it as required BUT it will not be the highest resolution for sure.

Memory Card Cam

These take the SD Cards and in theory are the lightest out there, it is easier to carry out 5 SD Cards to record whatever and you can get them in HD I think (not sure). The problem is none of these feature anything but USB – this means it probably rules out connecting it as a webcam – it is something that no review will probably mention.To edit I guess – you stick the SD Card into the Computer and re-edit the movie – depending on the format though – recoding the movie is going to loose quality.

DVD Cam’s

I am not a fan of these at all – writing to a Mini DVD with the theory you can pop the end resutl in a player but this is just not the case from what I saw. I will pass on these.

HD Cam’s

These are quite appealing – none feature Firewire but with a 30GIG HD for example, no tapes required but means you have to get the movie out via USB and re-edit and from what I have heard, this is where the fun starts as some manufactures could not care less about the editing part.  Once again, no idea if these things can be a webcam – not the end of the world if they do not I guess as this is what webcams are for right?

Conclusion

We can see it a choice between old technology that we know will do what I want and new technology that might work but might not but offer a much high reselution. Maybe it would be wise to move away form the “Webcam” thought and stick with looking just for a CamCorder.