Ok, after much ado about...

Product and price hunting I finally came to a decision about my ... much anticipated purchase of a new camcorder.  I'd had this new camcorder in mind for quite a while.  Granted, not at all this particular model, but certainly something somewhat similar.  Most people who know me know I go on a "seek and destroy" mission when it comes to getting the most bang for my buck.  I will hunt, and wait out, the prices on anything and everything.  I set my sights on something I want, then I ... wait it out.  *grin*  Kinda like a game. I guess I kind of have time to play with.  I have an incredible amount of patience for this "game".  Sure, I could go out and buy something that's priced a "mite" bit higher, but where the heck's the fun in that?  *grin...again*  It's sick, I know-it, but it's my kinda sickness, lol....  I'm absolutely that person who gets a cart full of "stuff" to the register and who dumps most of it "last second" because "we don't really need this crap, do we?"  My husband just loves shopping with me (not!).  Bottom line, why buy something for full price when you can have it at a bargain price?  By "at a bargain price" I absolutely mean "%50 off or cheaper". 

So my thrill purchase of the year thus far?  My brand spankin' new Sony Digital HD Video Camera Recorder.  That's right, it's totally High Def.  The reason this is such a big deal to me right now is because I've been searching for a deserving replacement to my older JVC digital video camcorder for over a year now.  Hey, I told ya, when I look for a 'deal' I look for a deal.  In some aspects of my life I can be quite the impatient personality, but when it comes to handing my money over to someone else?  Not-so-much. Call it what you want, I call it 'smart spending by an informed consumer'.  =:D

So, as the story goes, I've been hunting around the internet for the last year looking for a perfect replacement to my trusty RCA DV camcorder.  Check out the Canon HV10 and HV20 Models pictured to the left.  They're both super duper models, both of which peaked my interest, the HV20 I almost bought from 2 separate locations on the internet (thank goodness for resellerratings.com!).  My old RCA records to digital tape media.  Recording to tape has its benefits, but for me, it also has its drawbacks.  For one thing, I'll point back to that statement about me having my moments of impatience.  I don't like to sit around waiting for an entire tape to playback to be captured on my computer.  So, digital video stored on tape media?  Definitely a drawback.  The drawback to my not liking this media storage so much? Is that tape media storage is the safest mode of saving those oh-so-special-memories.  Tape media is less likely to degrade as quickly as other modes of storage, and by that facet alone, it is instantly more dependable.  That said, I couldn't get my mind off the wonders of the SD storage device.  See, for me, I like to just take something off my tape or my memory card and just... stick it in my computer and play the awesome footage I've just captured.  My dream storage device is very much akin to the SD card.  Straight up, there ya have it.  If I were to asked to say which storage media I'd love to see enhanced to the point where there were no questions remaining about whether or not it was dependable, I'd absolutely say the SD card.  Why?  Because what's simpler than sticking a memory card into a slot, capturing all my memories onto that little card, then taking

that card out of my camera and popping it into my computer for instant access to all those special moments?  Nothing could replace the ease of the one-two-step process. Nothing!  I suppose that's why I capture so many short video moments, here and there, with my digital camera.  It's not meant to be a movie taker, but it does take movies.

All of that said, it might not surprise y'all to see that I toyed around (seriously) with the notion of purchasing one of these sleek Sanyo Xacti-VPC-E1's.  Gotta tell ya, the pistol grip ergonomics of the thing is intriguing and slightly annoying, both at the same time.  I am seriously thinking about purchasing one of these bad boys within the next few months, just to have one to play with when I'm in a situation that I can't positively secure that my HandyCam won't get wet or absorb moisture.  Sheesh, I learned that lesson the hard way.  I took my Nikon 35mm (complete with 2

extra hard-core lenses) on vacation with us to Disney World a few years ago, and right when I went to use it on one particularly warm and muggy morning.... Nada.... I got all sorts of weird messages on my control panel... I took it in for help at a camera station and was told "It's probably due to moisture in the camera body..."  I looked at the guy like he was a flippin' Nut.  Turns out, I think he was actually right.  Total bummer for that morning because I couldn't get the thing to work.  I had to wait for everything to ... even out, I guess, in terms of heat/temp/precipitation inside and outside of the camera body.  Weren't-no-fun-times-had that morning! lol   So this Sanyo Xacti-VPC-E1 hits me where I live.  I want dependability in terms of defying the elements... I want a quick release storage medium that doesn't take up a lot of space in my carrying device (with an SD card who needs a carrying device?).  A storage media that doesn't take an hour+ to get an hour of video captured on my computer like digital tape media does.... and something that's small enough to do the job I need done, but also big enough to impress upon my psyche that it's not a "poser" in terms of what it's main function is supposed to be.  It's like people who have teeny-tiny digital cameras as their key chains.  Y'know?  You know those little things aren't taking pictures, and if they do you won't be hanging them on your walls any time soon, right?  You get what I'm saying... 

But... most importantly - beside all of that information .... not to be confused with "besides all of that information"... I absolutely needed the video format from the camcorder device to be immediately compatible with my brand spankin' new iMac.  I just got a kick ass iMac 24 Core 2 Duo 320GB with 4 Gig of Ram.  I ain't playin' the 2-step with video

formats. The device I was looking at purchasing needed.... absolutely needed ... to be immediately compatible with either MPEG-4 or H.264 formats, both of which are native to the iMac's incredibly cool iMovie '08.  Listen, coming from a 20+ year veteran PC user and long time amateur videographer, I gotta tell ya, 'ease of use' is my main deal.  So far, and I haven't done all that much with it, but the iMovie '08 program is layin' a love tap on my happy button every fricken time I load it up... Truth-be-told, I wound up purchasing this HDD Handycam after I fought long and hard against any "Sony" related notions of digital bliss.  I was told by an Apple employee at the Apple Store in New Hampshire that Sony camcorder output formats are incompatible "directly" with iMovie.   The real truth?   That ain't the truth!  It might "used to" have been the truth, but with iMovie '08, ain't so true no'more.  The guy was just trying to be helpful, telling me his experiences with his Sony devices, and how he had to go and get Final Cut Pro 6, or something like that, and then capture and render, and basically do all of those things I am currently unwilling to do given that I'm forking out thousands of dollars to basically "start from scratch".  If I'm starting from scratch I'm going to have things my way, all the way, or I'll find another product to work with.  Hence, when my Stepson kept trying to veer me towards the Sony brand I kindly thanked him (then, at times, forcefully reminded him) that I'm not involving myself with a product that doesn't meet my "1 step process" needs.  =:)  I really enjoy being in a position where I can have that sort of "overall" perspective and perrogative.  I don't get it all that often, especially not with high tech gear or electronics.  Generally speaking, when you have a computer and you want something to work with it (Particularly with a PC) you have to buy "stuff" like cords, and programs, and attachments, and ... all these things ... to make whatever it is you want to work,  work right.  With my mac?  Holy SHPOOP people!  All I did was... buy the damned camcorder, record something, connect it up via my USB cable, and voila!  It transferred without issue or "blue screen of death" straight to my external hard drive.  No settings to mess with.  No configurations to freak out about.  No strange noises or "I have to do this again'"s... none of that!  Just ... "point, click, record, hook up, download, edit, Happiness! The End!" 

And how?  Why?  Why was I able to accomplish such bliss?  Because this Sony Handycam HDR-SR5, which retails around the $1399.00 range, came into my possession carrying a %50+ off sticker price and the video format AVCHD.  What's AVCHD, you ask?  Let me tell you what it is.  It's the best of my Apple colored world.  It's MPEG-4 and H.264 combined.  I didn't have to pick or choose the video format that would work best with my iMac's iMovie '08.  I didn't have to weigh "better night vision over better sound quality" or "better anything over better... something else"... no. It's great at everything, across the board.  High def happiness in the palm of my hand, and in a video format that needs no translator or explanation for my iMac to understand.  All of this, and it's a Sony; the brand I refused to consider for the entirety of my camcorder search up until yesterday afternoon. 

I guess what it comes down to, is this:  I did a lot of research and finally, finally, came to a point where I felt I could

make a pretty informed decision.  Granted, everyone has their own opinion about what sorts of devices they feel are best for them.  Some people prefer MiniDV, some people prefer the MiniDVD's.  Ideally, if the resolution was going to be better I probably would have opted for the SD, but right now it ain't happening (although those Sanyo Exacti's have definitely caught my eye, and my interest!).  I tested other models... I researched, tirelessly, numerous other models over the course of the last 12+/- months, and when I came to that bottom line decision, I went with a High Definition Sony model that records in a format that's directly transferable to my hard drive via iMovie '08.

It's been quite a trip.  I'd love to write more, but I've been interrupted so many times I don't think I could salvage my original train of thought if you paid me!  RocketBoy is finishing up some homework and he just won't leave me be!  Ahhh, the joys of homeschooling!