Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

Okay guys - I was looking at picking up a good spotting scope.However, after looking at what's available I've determined that, for just about the same price, I can buy a digital video camera with a monster zoom - that will accomplish the same objective.

Why a video camera over a spotting scope? The camera willgive me footage to post all over youtube in my quest to become the next Bill Jordan!

What I need is something with a MONSTER zoom. Most of my glassing is 400+ yards out, and I need to pull it in. Secondly, it needs a low light setting, so I can use it in the late evenings and even while spotlighting.

Third - this thing can't be some nancy sissified camera. It's gonna get damp and banged around. I frequently destroy things.

Thefourth criteria is probably most important: Price!

I'm an enormous cheapass, so I gotta keep the price as low as possible.

I'd like to buy it sometime early next month. I'm gonna sell some plasma and sperm over the next couple weeks and save up some dough.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

Good luck finding one with those capabilities cheap(especial with high quality footage). I found a great spotting scope at an astronomy/hobby store clearanced for less than $100. Might want to look somewhere like that if you can't find the cheap camera.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

That is going to be hard to find. Some of our camera run up to 100K + that is right 100K+ and they are not great at lowlight. We usually have to pack it up about 30min before the rest of us would be done hunting... I would go with a nice spotting scope. Nikon makes a low cost decent quality scope.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

LOL - I think you guys are misinterpreting my request. I don't need or want any type of professional-grade or HD recorder. I just want a glorified spotting scope that records.

My homeboy has a $200 piece of crap JVC that's a few years old - and it works fine for what I need. It's just a major pain in the ass, b/c it still uses tapes - and we can't get the stills onto the cpu.

Seriously: A low-light setting, rubber gasketed seals, a minimum of 30x optical zoom and cheap. Those are my requirements. I don't need to go overboard. I'm not filming HD movies here.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TRGRNI

http://www.zoommania.com/descript.asp?prodid=DZHS500A

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-PV-GS35-MiniDV-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B0007QN874

http://www.pricespider.com/products/456852/Hitachi-Digital-Camcorder-30X-Optical-Zoom-1500X-Digital-Zoom-1-6--CCD-2-7--16-9-Widescreen-DZ-GX5020A.html

Did a search and found these.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

Now that's in the ballpark of what I'm looking for, Bruce.

Ideally, I'd like to keep it around $175-250 - and I'm partial to the digital recorders, so I don't have to fuss with dvd's or anything. $450 would be the MAX, before I start going into convulsions and getting diarrhea at the thought of spending too much money.

Is there a certain feature or brand that has a better design as far as weather resistance goes? Now, I'm not planning on soaking it in a downpour, but I know I'll have it out on some humid days - and there will come a time where it will be exposed to some type of light moisture.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

http://www.nulime.com/6-0-Megapixel-Outdoor-Water-Resistant-Digital-Video-Camera/p225358

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SCX105L-Sports-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B0007QN8AG

http://dealnews.com/Panasonic-SDR-S10-P1-SD-Camcorder-for-200-free-shipping/221003.html

It seems that you will have to decide on the "trade-off". granted, these are fast searches and I am skimming them but, you can have weather/water resistance at a cost of optical zoom or vice-versa. Personally, I would take the best optics/zoom and then buy a weather resistant case. If you are careful you can film and still keep it dry unless it is a downpour but that would probably affect the picture clarity LOL.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

Bruce - I've been looking too - and I think you're right. There are weather-resistant models, but you buy those at the expense of a good zoom.

I need the zoom.

So I'll probably just get a cheapie with asolid opticalzoom and try to keep it as dry as possible.

As for the night-shot feature, I don't need tv-quality footage. I just wanna be able to look at it on the bigscreen and be able to count the points on a nice buck. Maybe do a few still captures to show the HNI crew what a real Pennsylvania Booner looks like. LOL

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5621882

My buddy has one similar to this that works well and he found it in a pawn shop for like $150. From what I have looked at JVC is a good bet most of them have a good zoom and a hard drive with SD card expansion if you need it. I can't find it online but I went to walmart the other day and they had a JVC for around $200 just like you are talkin about.

Some at best buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=croo tcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d3031 2d3031~~cabcat0400000%23%230%23%23dh~~cabcat040300 0%23%230%23%231j~~f398%7C%7C4a5643~~ncabcat0403002 %23%230%23%238&list=y&nrp=15&usc=abcat 0400000&sc=abCameraCamcorderSP

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

Something like this?

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=789192


or make sure that you check this site with some regularity, should be able to find a videocamera for under $200 in a month or so

http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?sduid=0&f=9&sort=threadst arted&order=desc&daysprune=7&icon=28


or the main page of the site

http://slickdeals.net/

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

After an extensive and exhausting search of the ENTIRE Internet (yes, the whole thing) I have determined that this is the camera best suited for your needs. 35x Optical Zoom for long-range viewing of the nearest all-male nude beaches (you don't have to lie to us Fran) and 115x2864 still images stored on an SD card for your at-home viewing pleasure without having to rip film to hard disk.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/478921-REG/Canon_1878B001_ZR850_Mini_DV_Camcorder.html

Pick up this handle little case and cheapo tri-pod for steady filming action and for under $200 you're all set.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/366414-REG/Sunpak_620SUNKIT_Digital_Camera_Camcorder_Case_.ht ml

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

Justin - thanks a million man. I actually looked at the same camera and thought it was a pretty good fit for what I needed... A couple questions:This might seem REALLY dumb. What is a "mini DV" recorder. I'm guessing D.V. means "digital video." Do these things take some kind of actual videotape, or those mini-dvd's?


I think the Mini-DV camcorders use these things. But I'm not sure. Can you keep using the same tape over and over again?

Would it be hard to get the video from the camera and put it in MPEG format on my computer?

I know that the still shots will be stored on the memory card. Can you put video on the memory card too?

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

So you have an Heir to the throne? Or to get money?

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

You're correct, Mini DV takes the tapes that you posted. You can use the same tape over a few times, but if you're going to do that they make special "master" tapes that cost about $20 each but hold up a lot better than recording over the same standard tape a bunch of times. FYI standard tapes cost about $4-$5/each. I personally only use mine once, but I'm also retarded and have a stack of tapes sitting on my desk that I will most likely just throw away some day now that I have all the footage on my computer.

As for gettingthe footageonto your PC, it's actually very easy. You can use something as simple as Windows Movie Maker (included free with XP) or spend a few bucks (generally under $100) on a piece of software that allows you some basic editing. Some people choose to download illegal copies of softare from the Intarweb, but I do cannot recommend such things. All you need is a Firewire connection on your PC, a Firewire cable, and you'll be watching videos on your computer in no time.

RE: Tightwad needs a video camera.
 

Sweet.

So, I guess the camera you posted is a good deal, b/c it has:
[ul][*]night mode[*]1024x768 still shot[*]a memory card receiver[*]35x optical zoom[*]cheap tapes[*]motion jpeg recording feature - allows me to put a short video clip on the memory card[/ul]
In the item description is says that I can record "breathtaking vistas," which is awesome. I definitely need to film some breathtaking vistas.

Thanks for your help guys. I'll probably get it ordered on payday.

As repayment for your troubles, the King promises to post a video online of himself shooting a groundhog this summer, and its head exploding. It will be awesome.