The best part of camcorders: when rec button pressed they keep recording even if the world ends. Also: No overheating, no time limits, can use AC power, records hours with one battery, nothing extra needed etc. They work out of the box. It is so sad that those mirrorless things are hyped so much. And the most important thing in video is audio.
Totally agree about the video/audio statement. It doesn't matter how great your video looks, if it's 4K and all that -- if the audio sounds like garbage then people aren't going to watch it. On the other hand, you can get by with so-so looking video, as long as you have good audio.
i bought a camcorder (canon xa50) a few weeks ago. i am happy with it. a friend of mine who owns a sony a7iii checked it out and was impressed by the out of cam video quality, the autofocus quality (both in terms of speed, accurancy, consistency) and the flexibility of the lens (the zoomrange, the close up capabilities) and the audio possibilities wich are built in. we concluded, that the sony made better video in low light and has the cinematic look. but in order to get the same capabilities of the camcorder someone would have to spend several thousand in lenses and gear for the sony. the camcorder is so easy to pick up and just shoot.
@@ExCenterProductions I wanted the wireless remote, 4K, ease of streaming, and 1" sensor. To buy a remote for the XA70 starts at $1600 which is a control room type of device which I will most likely never need.
Check out the link for the wired LANC recorder I picked up. About $30 on Amazon and I'd be surprised if it didn't work with other XAs. Nowhere near as full featured as the OEM wireless control but still very useful (I use mine for recording vlogs)
All good points. I have several consumer grade camcorders and use them often; mostly because of the convenience. They are so easy; just flip open the screen and you're good to go. But the second best feature is the zoom. Even the cheap ones have an insane zoom range without changing lenses. Long live camcorders!
I too am a fan of camcorders. I acquired a couple of low end Sony and Panasonic camcorders for use with my ATEM mini. I recently purchased a 4k camcorder, but for most of my needs, the 1080 ones are perfectly good for RUclips.
Biggest advantage for me using a Camcorder. Long zoom capability while staying small and light weight. Mirrorless and DSLR camera lenses are heavy for comparable zoom range. This cause the sensors are smaller and a lens size can be reduced.
Another advantage with many camcorders is that, even with 1-inch sensors (which may or may not be considered "large sensor", that's up to debate), you can get affordable zoom ratios of up to 20x, to really get reach and get closeups of things that may be too dangerous or impractical to get by getting closer to the subject (e.g., construction or industrial zones, helicopter flyovers, etc.). The larger the sensor is, the more expensive, heavy, and cumbersome it is to get extreme telephoto shots like that with the kind of lenses you'd have to get. And even then most Super 35 and Full Frame lenses don't reach that far, unless you use DSLR or mirrorless lenses rather than cinema lenses. I haven't even mentioned being able to (again, inexpensively and without a ton of rigging) do those nice slow servo zooms in-shot, which have been a staple in broadcast and corporate for many years, but unfortunately I don't see much of anymore because of the switch to mirrorless or digital cinema cameras.
Great point! Without wishing to drag you into the messy mud of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this clip (at timestamps I'm too lazy to point to) really bares out your point. It would have been reckless to approach the actual gate when the soldiers were securing it, but I was able to get a pretty decent shot by zooming in from a tripod at about 20 meters distance. In fact, today I was pretty much exclusively surrounded by camcorders. So ..... ENG ops and me really see eye to eye about gear! ruclips.net/video/4QWDYPcj_0A/видео.html
I've had camcorders since the early 1990s, my first was a Sony CCDV-6000E (circa 1992), a Hi8 shoulder mounted camcorder, which I considered to be a real enthusiasts camera. Previously I'd been into Super8 film, as I like film quality. Hi8 improved over the poor VHS resolution of 240lines to 400-420lines. The only problem with that camera was/is it's a single CCD chip, so colours bleed quite badly. It failed due to 'Capacitor Fatigue' got it repaired in 2002, never used it to transfer my Hi8 camera tapes, so tried it recently (March 2024) and the 71 Capacitors must have failed again, despite it never having been used since 2002. I'd say it was too bulky, quality wasn't that great, but camera control was great, full manual control over zoom, focus (the auto focus wasn't great anyway) and manual audio control too. Still have this camera, may sell it for repair/parts on Ebay. Then in 2002 I bought a MiniDV, all digital, Canon XM2, 3CCD camcorder, great quality video, Standard Definition and even SD broadcast quality, even sold some video in 2005 from it that was included in a documentary shown in Canada. However I think controlling it through numerous menus made it quite hard to get control over it when you needed to. But all the manual controls are good, a great lens, even optical image stabilisation, which is great when used handheld. It even takes quite decent Digital still for the early 2000s, when digital SLRs weren't really about, compact digital camera weren't such high Megapixels 4-6MP, this Canon had 1.7M pixel shots that I could take on the included SD card. Still got this camera, will have to transfer all my DV tapes via firewire to USB sticks and as it's in excellent condition, with all original part may put it up for sale on Ebay, could expect to get 1/5th of the purchase price of £1700, if lucky (-: But it's supposedly quite popular with skateboard videoing and can be used tapeless with a SD recorder. The last bit of video I did was done in 2014 on my Samsung S4, I even uploaded it to RUclips, the 1080p HD picture quality was actually really good, obviously my photographic, film and video experience really made the best out of a camera, on a mobile phone, that was quite hard to keep steady and to frame without a zoom lens. But, the picture quality rivals the Hi8 and even the MiniDV camcorders, but without much direct control over exposure, zoom, focus or audio. I recently decided to get my 1990s Hi8 camera and finalised edit tapes transferred to digital, getting my CCDV-6000E repaired was considered, but is a bit of a no-go. So I recently purchased a decent, Sony DCR-TRV338E Digital8, camera that can digitise Hi8 tapes via firewire to my HardDrive based DVD recorder where recordings can be trimmed and recorded to DVD disc in higher quality than Hi8 had, I can also save the DV recordings to my laptop that also has firewire and re-edit/re-compile them. This will be quite an ongoing task, fortunately the Digital8 camera I bought appears to have been well looked after and is in good working condition and the camera externally has been cared for too. CANON XA70: If I'd like to get a new video camera this year, I think the Canon XA70 looks really good, I like its size and it’s controls over video and sound look excellent, quality wise the video quality looks superb, dynamic range is massive compared to VHS, S-VHS, Hi8 and even MiniDV, colour and resolution are amazing. I like the audio options and features are great as from my experience (of not using external microphones in the 1990s) external microphones are essential if you're interviewing and/or recording vocal performances of any kind. I learnt years ago that automatic level control (ALC) generally always did a bad job of keeping audio dynamic range and keeping noise levels low, ie the signal to noise ratio (-: always preferred manual recording levels on anything audio as ALC would often cause volume dips in short louder sections of recordings and then amplified noise levels in quiter recording sections. One question I do have about the CANON XA70 is this: Can you play and delete XF-AVC clips on the Canon XA70 itself, as it looks like from them manual you can only playback MP4 files on the camera itself. Can anyone answer that for me??
You CAN get cinematic footage from a pro camcorder if you go manual and use the features properly. I use the Sony PXW-X70 and it is still my favorite for film making and general B-Roll. Don’t get caught up in the mirrorless hype. Use what works best for your needs. Great video
The newer a6100 not only has a mic input but is even compatible with Sony's XLR-A2M adapter for XLR inputs with phantom power. So, mirrorless cameras have come a long way since the a6000. The real downside of the a6100 is the lack of a headphone jack, but you can get one on the a6600.
and the fx30 is even a real cinema camera for just 2500€. but still you have to purchase the lenses, the nd filters etc. and since i am using a camcorder i really appreciate the built in nd filters. i can change the filters in the camcorder with the press of a button in under 1 second, even while recording. camcorders and cinema cameras are really two different beeings for different tasks.
Thanks for providing the inspiration! I've felt camcorders make sense pretty much from day one with this video project but it was great to see that it wasn't only me!
would aou advise the xa40 over the pansonic x1500 or sony ax700 in terms of autofocusing and v log capabilities? i’m still deciding between those three models and even though i am tending towards the panasonic x1500 since i use a gh3 mirrorless which is same brand but was curious to know if you had a bit more experience before i purchase
Hi Mark! Sadly I've never used a Panasonic (or JVC or Sony!) camcorder. And it sounds like your requirements are above my current pay grade. All I can say is that for my pretty simple needs I love the XA40 and my only regret is not saving a little longer to buy the XA50 for its 1" CMOS and better low light performance. Best of luck whatever you decide to get! Daniel
Every reason you listed was why I stuck with camcorders. They cut the frills and just plain WORK! I remember back in high school one of my friends had a bon fire one night, brought my old sony camcorder and recorded from around midnigh tish to 6am ish. Had to plug it in and the file was split up but it just kept going till I hit stop. If I tried that with a mirrorless or DSLR....the camera would jump into the fire XD And small world, I picked up the HF R800 for the same reason too..cheap and takes a microphone. Ended up getting a vixia G50 a year later (it's basically the XA 40 minus the top handle and infared) with no regrets.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
The best part of camcorders: when rec button pressed they keep recording even if the world ends. Also: No overheating, no time limits, can use AC power, records hours with one battery, nothing extra needed etc. They work out of the box. It is so sad that those mirrorless things are hyped so much. And the most important thing in video is audio.
Totally agree about the video/audio statement. It doesn't matter how great your video looks, if it's 4K and all that -- if the audio sounds like garbage then people aren't going to watch it. On the other hand, you can get by with so-so looking video, as long as you have good audio.
That's why I use a Rode microphone.
I think this is the best single description of the pros of camcorders that I've ever read ("they keep recording even if the world ends")!
i bought a camcorder (canon xa50) a few weeks ago. i am happy with it. a friend of mine who owns a sony a7iii checked it out and was impressed by the out of cam video quality, the autofocus quality (both in terms of speed, accurancy, consistency) and the flexibility of the lens (the zoomrange, the close up capabilities) and the audio possibilities wich are built in. we concluded, that the sony made better video in low light and has the cinematic look. but in order to get the same capabilities of the camcorder someone would have to spend several thousand in lenses and gear for the sony. the camcorder is so easy to pick up and just shoot.
I just bought a Canon XA50 a few weeks ago. Was going to get the XA70 but it actually didn't have a few of the features I needed.
@@smilingscottsman i too missed the remote control on the xa70. What features did you miss?
@@ExCenterProductions I wanted the wireless remote, 4K, ease of streaming, and 1" sensor. To buy a remote for the XA70 starts at $1600 which is a control room type of device which I will most likely never need.
Check out the link for the wired LANC recorder I picked up. About $30 on Amazon and I'd be surprised if it didn't work with other XAs. Nowhere near as full featured as the OEM wireless control but still very useful (I use mine for recording vlogs)
@@DanielSRosehill I spoke with Canon several times about this matter and they said it wouldn't work with the XA70. But thanks for chiming in on it.
All good points.
I have several consumer grade camcorders and use them often; mostly because of the convenience. They are so easy; just flip open the screen and you're good to go. But the second best feature is the zoom. Even the cheap ones have an insane zoom range without changing lenses.
Long live camcorders!
I too am a fan of camcorders. I acquired a couple of low end Sony and Panasonic camcorders for use with my ATEM mini. I recently purchased a 4k camcorder, but for most of my needs, the 1080 ones are perfectly good for RUclips.
Biggest advantage for me using a Camcorder. Long zoom capability while staying small and light weight. Mirrorless and DSLR camera lenses are heavy for comparable zoom range. This cause the sensors are smaller and a lens size can be reduced.
Yes there are some of us left, I am about to purchase a Canon XF605, great video!
Thanks for watching. Great to know we have some adherents left!
Another advantage with many camcorders is that, even with 1-inch sensors (which may or may not be considered "large sensor", that's up to debate), you can get affordable zoom ratios of up to 20x, to really get reach and get closeups of things that may be too dangerous or impractical to get by getting closer to the subject (e.g., construction or industrial zones, helicopter flyovers, etc.). The larger the sensor is, the more expensive, heavy, and cumbersome it is to get extreme telephoto shots like that with the kind of lenses you'd have to get. And even then most Super 35 and Full Frame lenses don't reach that far, unless you use DSLR or mirrorless lenses rather than cinema lenses. I haven't even mentioned being able to (again, inexpensively and without a ton of rigging) do those nice slow servo zooms in-shot, which have been a staple in broadcast and corporate for many years, but unfortunately I don't see much of anymore because of the switch to mirrorless or digital cinema cameras.
Great point! Without wishing to drag you into the messy mud of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this clip (at timestamps I'm too lazy to point to) really bares out your point. It would have been reckless to approach the actual gate when the soldiers were securing it, but I was able to get a pretty decent shot by zooming in from a tripod at about 20 meters distance. In fact, today I was pretty much exclusively surrounded by camcorders. So ..... ENG ops and me really see eye to eye about gear!
ruclips.net/video/4QWDYPcj_0A/видео.html
The zoom range on a camcorder is awesome; it would cost a lot of money to get an equivalent lens for a larger format camera.
It would cost more then the camcorder! That's part of the reason why I also insist that camcorders are great value!
Nice content... Thanks for sharing
Always happy to share the camcorder joy!
I've had camcorders since the early 1990s, my first was a Sony CCDV-6000E (circa 1992), a Hi8 shoulder mounted camcorder, which I considered to be a real enthusiasts camera. Previously I'd been into Super8 film, as I like film quality. Hi8 improved over the poor VHS resolution of 240lines to 400-420lines. The only problem with that camera was/is it's a single CCD chip, so colours bleed quite badly. It failed due to 'Capacitor Fatigue' got it repaired in 2002, never used it to transfer my Hi8 camera tapes, so tried it recently (March 2024) and the 71 Capacitors must have failed again, despite it never having been used since 2002. I'd say it was too bulky, quality wasn't that great, but camera control was great, full manual control over zoom, focus (the auto focus wasn't great anyway) and manual audio control too. Still have this camera, may sell it for repair/parts on Ebay.
Then in 2002 I bought a MiniDV, all digital, Canon XM2, 3CCD camcorder, great quality video, Standard Definition and even SD broadcast quality, even sold some video in 2005 from it that was included in a documentary shown in Canada. However I think controlling it through numerous menus made it quite hard to get control over it when you needed to. But all the manual controls are good, a great lens, even optical image stabilisation, which is great when used handheld. It even takes quite decent Digital still for the early 2000s, when digital SLRs weren't really about, compact digital camera weren't such high Megapixels 4-6MP, this Canon had 1.7M pixel shots that I could take on the included SD card. Still got this camera, will have to transfer all my DV tapes via firewire to USB sticks and as it's in excellent condition, with all original part may put it up for sale on Ebay, could expect to get 1/5th of the purchase price of £1700, if lucky (-: But it's supposedly quite popular with skateboard videoing and can be used tapeless with a SD recorder.
The last bit of video I did was done in 2014 on my Samsung S4, I even uploaded it to RUclips, the 1080p HD picture quality was actually really good, obviously my photographic, film and video experience really made the best out of a camera, on a mobile phone, that was quite hard to keep steady and to frame without a zoom lens. But, the picture quality rivals the Hi8 and even the MiniDV camcorders, but without much direct control over exposure, zoom, focus or audio.
I recently decided to get my 1990s Hi8 camera and finalised edit tapes transferred to digital, getting my CCDV-6000E repaired was considered, but is a bit of a no-go. So I recently purchased a decent, Sony DCR-TRV338E Digital8, camera that can digitise Hi8 tapes via firewire to my HardDrive based DVD recorder where recordings can be trimmed and recorded to DVD disc in higher quality than Hi8 had, I can also save the DV recordings to my laptop that also has firewire and re-edit/re-compile them. This will be quite an ongoing task, fortunately the Digital8 camera I bought appears to have been well looked after and is in good working condition and the camera externally has been cared for too.
CANON XA70:
If I'd like to get a new video camera this year, I think the Canon XA70 looks really good, I like its size and it’s controls over video and sound look excellent, quality wise the video quality looks superb, dynamic range is massive compared to VHS, S-VHS, Hi8 and even MiniDV, colour and resolution are amazing. I like the audio options and features are great as from my experience (of not using external microphones in the 1990s) external microphones are essential if you're interviewing and/or recording vocal performances of any kind. I learnt years ago that automatic level control (ALC) generally always did a bad job of keeping audio dynamic range and keeping noise levels low, ie the signal to noise ratio (-: always preferred manual recording levels on anything audio as ALC would often cause volume dips in short louder sections of recordings and then amplified noise levels in quiter recording sections.
One question I do have about the CANON XA70 is this: Can you play and delete XF-AVC clips on the Canon XA70 itself, as it looks like from them manual you can only playback MP4 files on the camera itself. Can anyone answer that for me??
Great video. I still use my Canon XF 300. “Only” HD, but very nice HD. :) 2 XLR inputs, loads of adjustments available etc…..
You CAN get cinematic footage from a pro camcorder if you go manual and use the features properly. I use the Sony PXW-X70 and it is still my favorite for film making and general B-Roll. Don’t get caught up in the mirrorless hype. Use what works best for your needs. Great video
Yeah learning the manual features is a lot of fun. Thanks for supporting camcorders (and a killer one you've got there!)
@@DanielSRosehill
Gotta keep the brotherhood alive! Looking forward to more content.
Camcorders and full frame are both great, they are both valid choices for different things.
Yes, I watched it and I appreciate the shoutout!
Keep 'em coming!
You passed the test haha!
The newer a6100 not only has a mic input but is even compatible with Sony's XLR-A2M adapter for XLR inputs with phantom power. So, mirrorless cameras have come a long way since the a6000. The real downside of the a6100 is the lack of a headphone jack, but you can get one on the a6600.
Thanks for the clarification, Daniel!
and the fx30 is even a real cinema camera for just 2500€. but still you have to purchase the lenses, the nd filters etc. and since i am using a camcorder i really appreciate the built in nd filters. i can change the filters in the camcorder with the press of a button in under 1 second, even while recording. camcorders and cinema cameras are really two different beeings for different tasks.
I think the market for camcorders is growing … the SLR form factor is limited in many ways the camcorder is not.
I Agree👍🏻
Thanks for the shout out!
Thanks for providing the inspiration! I've felt camcorders make sense pretty much from day one with this video project but it was great to see that it wasn't only me!
would aou advise the xa40 over the pansonic x1500 or sony ax700 in terms of autofocusing and v log capabilities? i’m still deciding between those three models and even though i am tending towards the panasonic x1500 since i use a gh3 mirrorless which is same brand but was curious to know if you had a bit more experience before i purchase
Hi Mark!
Sadly I've never used a Panasonic (or JVC or Sony!) camcorder. And it sounds like your requirements are above my current pay grade.
All I can say is that for my pretty simple needs I love the XA40 and my only regret is not saving a little longer to buy the XA50 for its 1" CMOS and better low light performance.
Best of luck whatever you decide to get!
Daniel
You literally can't find an a6000 for 700 bucks anymore lol they are more like 300-400
Every reason you listed was why I stuck with camcorders. They cut the frills and just plain WORK! I remember back in high school one of my friends had a bon fire one night, brought my old sony camcorder and recorded from around midnigh tish to 6am ish. Had to plug it in and the file was split up but it just kept going till I hit stop. If I tried that with a mirrorless or DSLR....the camera would jump into the fire XD And small world, I picked up the HF R800 for the same reason too..cheap and takes a microphone. Ended up getting a vixia G50 a year later (it's basically the XA 40 minus the top handle and infared) with no regrets.
Amazing. They're wonderful!
Can't find 1 anywhere.
Camcorders? Still available from most video shops!
@@DanielSRosehill what kind of video shops or should I try best buy?
www.bestbuy.com/site/camcorders/all-camcorders/pcmcat186400050003.c?id=pcmcat186400050003
Home Grown !