Any word on a Blu-ray Camcorder?

[DezNutz]

Really interested in seeing a Blu-Ray recording HD camcorder. I see they have DVD capable recording camcorders, and there are plenty of 1080p camcorders, but for me I am really only interested in HD and the ability to record to the standard HD format, Blu-Ray.


Has anyone seen anything on possible Blu-Ray camcorders in near future?

[groovyone]

Hitachi. Already out I thought.

[cathexist]

Yep, only 2 models out right now, one also has a 30gb hard drive:

http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-DZ-BD7...1989644&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-DZ-BD7...1989644&sr=8-2

Apparently they don't have good image quality though

[Woody]

Edit: I am too slow.

[Chevypower]

Read all the camcorder threads... the Hitachi turns out to be a piece of crap. Get a Sony, despite not recording direct to Blu Ray. You can transfer it on your computer, and use the larger discs.

[Amon37]

At this point the Sony SR-12 is your best friend.

[DezNutz]

Since the only two out right now are crap.. I think I will wait for a better model.. I want an all-in-one 1080p dual layer Blu-Ray camcorder.. I do not want to hav e to transfer everything to a PC than burn to disc.. just an annoying step that should not have to be taken. I should be able to be on vacation burn a disc and hand it out right there to watch in all 1080p glory.

Would be nice if Sony made one.. could get 5 times points on my Sony Card lol

[theprophecy247]

ya i heard Hitachi wasnt the best

[Neo65]

I bought the first hitachi model. I think it has too many rough edges to fix to recommend. The quality of the recording was not as good as the canon, the sonys or the panasonic AVCHD, but they are close. The reason for not buying it is that it tended to hang a few times if you leave it recording too long. (10minutes+)

If you want to buy an AVCHD camcorder, make sure they have a higher bitrate mode (eg : 17Mbps+) and check the reviews. Some of the earlier AVCHD camcorders tried to overcompress the video and the results are often too 'soft'. The new ones from canon and panasonic are now better than HDV at the highes bitrate settings for both (17 for AVCHD vs 25 for HDV).

Otoh, they are are the first to use the mini BD-RE recording media, so in principle, you can go direct from camcorder to archive and have each disk playable on the BD player.

The format is still AVCHD (BDMV) so if you have an application that can edit AVCHD, then it will work with this camcorder.

[Bobby Henderson]

I'm not fond of any of the consumer level camcorders using optical discs or hard discs for recording. The ones trying to use SD or CF cards suck as well.

The main problem is bandwidth. The units that still use MiniDV tape or some other kind of tape yield the best results because they are recording the video at much higher bit rates.

[WickyWoo]

MiniDV is something like 24mbps. The disc based camcorders are doing half that, and doing complicated compression on the fly to boot.

I'd love to see a DV codec camcorder that goes to flash personally

[ground chuck]

wife's cousin has a sony 1080p camcorder and did some filming during christmas. we hooked it up to my 1080p tv for play back and it looked good.

[Chevypower]

DV (standard def) is 25mb/s, HDV is MPEG also at 25mb/s, but is 1440x1080. AVCHD is usually around 15-17mb/s MPEG 4 based, but is 1920x1080, in m opinion is better than HDV. The Mini DV tape isn't that reliable, and dropouts look really bad when it's in HDV format. You can't always just compare bitrate and assume the higher number, the better. If all else is equal, then higher bitrate is better, but AVCHD - HDV is not equal. So consumer camcorders, go the Sony HDR-SR12 (16mb/s 1920x1080i), prosumer camcorders go the Sony PMW-EX1 (35mb/s 1920x1080p). The Exmor CMOS imaging sensors on these camcorders produce excellent results.

Consider the negatives about having a built-in BD drive in the camcorder. 1. You probably have to be really steady while it records. 2. Low record time with smaller disc. 3. Editing from encoded discs is harder than from raw files. 4. Battery life is going to be an issue. 5. Higher price tag. 6. Can't delete files you don't want so easily. 7. End up spending a lot more money on the media.
On the Sony HDR-SR12, you can record 14hrs and 40 mins in the highest quality possible before you need to start backing up to Blu Ray discs or whatever else. What's that, like 14 discs you will need to purachase for the Hitachi to record the same amount?

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

I'm not fond of any of the consumer level camcorders using optical discs or hard discs for recording. The ones trying to use SD or CF cards suck as well.

The main problem is bandwidth. The units that still use MiniDV tape or some other kind of tape yield the best results because they are recording the video at much higher bit rates.

With that said glad I bought the Sony FX1 which does 1080 on mini-dv.
I'm the third review on the page.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HDR-FX1-D...2177370&sr=8-1