Camcorder Question Revisited....

[Aidan Wilson]

I'm not certain about this but I'm pretty sure if you want a quick and 
easy (drag and drop, effectively) transfer to a computer, then the video 
needs to be in a compressed format, like mp4 or something. Otherwise, 
uncompressed video takes way too much space to fit on a video recorder 
with even the very best hard drive space. Tapes, dv, are probably the 
best quality option, but the transfer to computer has to be at actual 
speed, and is a bit complicated to set up (you have to set the computer 
to record, then 'play' the video, etc.)
Having said that, I think Claire Bowern has recently been using a 
hard-drive mp4 video recorder and from her blog entry 
http://anggarrgoon.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/wednesday/ suggests she's 
happy with the result.
I would worry about the sound quality though. Again, I'm not certain, 
but I'm pretty sure that if you compress the video, you compress the 
audio. I know it's not ideal, but at the worst you could set up a small 
wav recorder separately, with a good mic of course, then use final cut, 
or whatever video editing programs are out there, to splice the video 
with the good audio.

Sorry that I can't suggest any specific recorders at all, but there are 
at least a couple more considerations to take into account before buying 
a device.

-Aidan Wilson
Audio at Paradisec

Heather Souter wrote:
> Taanshi, everyone,
>
> I recently asked a question about camcorders for language
> documentation purposes and recieved a number of responses.
> Kihchi-maarsi!  Thank-you very much!
>
> Today, I would like to ask one more time about camcorders just in case
> anyone else would like to share their thoughts with me....
>
> I am looking for a camcorder that has both an external microphone jack
> (to capture all important sound) and headset jack (to monitor all
> important sound), plus I would like  the transfer from the camera to
> the computer (Mac G4) to be easy as possible.  Of course, I would like
> all this to come at the lowest price possible!  A tall order!!
> Anyhow, if anyone else has ideas for me, I would very much appreciate
> hearing from them!
>
> Eekushi pitamaa.
> Heather Souter
> Community Language Researcher--Michif Language
> Camperville, MB
> Canada
>
> PS: If there is a website(s) with info and/or tips on recording good
> audio when taking a video, I would love to know about it!
>