Which is the best among Mini DV, Hard disk and Flash memory?
 

What is the difference between them? And which is best? I want to buy camcorder, but I do not know how to choose. How do you think about these three models? I can get much information from here. Thanks.

Most definitely you can get much information from here, but try the travel technology forum instead.

p.s. welcome to FT.

buy all three and let us know?????

I would suggest the hard drive route at this point. Flash technology is great but has a couple of issues: 1) storage is more expensive / limited than hard drive, and 2) limited re-write cycles on flash can cause memory to fail quickly.

I would recommend a flash drive. they are small, very light. they are plenty reliable, cheap enough and big enough($30 for 16 gig). do not use them for storage. just transfer data to a computer hd.

If all you care about is the quality of the video, then right now Mini-DV is the only way to go. On the other hand, if you're after more practical storage options, you can work out for yourself which suits you better between flash and HDD based storage.

The next step is to choose a camcorder with Optical Image Stabiliser - most of us are using camcorders in our palms (not on tripods) and an OIS is the best way to reduce the annoying vibrations. Panasonic is very good with OIS, especially making it available on its cheaper cameras.

However if you want the best image quality, the best optics, a very good OIS, and good feature set, then go and buy a Canon HV30.

A reasonable starting point is www.camcorderinfo.com

willy - why do you say that min-DV is better quality than HD or flash memory? I have mini-DV was considering upgrade to HD / Flash...

The MiniDV format uses only spatial compression without temporal compression. Each frame is recorded as discrete image, and each frame's quality is not affected by the previous and subsequent frames. MiniDV has the disadvantage of only 1x transfer speed from camera to computer, and a linear-access storage format.

Hard disks offer large capacity and fast transfer rate to the computer. The down side is hard disks are fragile and may not survive a drop. Hard disks are also not changeable if you fill one up and need to record more. You will need to transfer the recordings to a computer and delete them from the camcorder to make space.

Flash media offers the best durability and fast transfer rate, but the shortcoming is in the relatively expensive media cost, though that is dropping by the day. When you fill up a card, you can either transfer and delete video clips or pop in another card. Flash-based cameras are usually the most compact of all types.

Hard disk and flash camcorders usually record in MPEG2 or 4 format for SD models, and AVCHD format for HD models. There is a bit of controversy and interoperability issues with the AVCHD format used by Sony, Panasonic and Canon.

FWIW, I have been using a Sanyo Xacti flash camcorder/digital camera since 2004.

AVCHD is a nightmare to edit if you dont have a quad-core with 8gb of ram, etc.
So for now, I would say stick with MiniDV (if you want HD video, get an HDV camera) if you are getting a consumer camera. Otherwise, for the prosumer and proffessional models, Panny's P2HD and Sony's SxS or CF systems get a recommendation from me.

Dont know anything about flash memory, but I was advised NOT to buy Mini DV. Too many problems with them apparently.

i plan to buy another one online

That's quite a broad description - what kind of problems?

Hard-drive camcorders, flash-drives and DVD-recorders all use significant compression that introduces major artifacts and significantly impacts video quality. All of these kind of machines use AVCHD. Though there's nothing wrong with this codec per se, all manufacturers of consumer AVCHD machines arbitrarily limit bandwidth to between 12 and 17 mbps. There are a number of miniDV-based HD camcorders that use HDV as their codec and don't limit the bandwidth, which is 25 mbps. With twice the bandwidth, more data is pumped through, less compression is required and the picture is better.

However, this is only half the story.

Video quality is a function of several factors: compression codec (and bandwidth), lens quality, sensor size and density, and electronics. Manufacturers who target their machines at consumers looking for something "easy" know that image quality doesn't matter as much and will stint on glass, sensors and electronics (and use highly-compressed, bandwidth-limited AVCHD).

In the current consumer market, if you care at all about video quality, you want and HDV machine (which means miniDV tape) and the best of these, bar none, is the Canon HV30.

I have a Sony DSR-PDX10 DVCAM, its a very small 3 chip
mini dv camera. Shoots in both 16x9 and 4 x3, broadcast
quality in good lighting. They quit making them but can
pick them up on eBay.

Great little unit, rivals a lot of shoulder cams.

MTBF, due to complexity of tape handling and rubber deterioration, they have a very limited life span. I have two (one miniDV) that failed in only a few years.

Either they're bad units or you've mishandled them. I've had two miniDV camcorders and one HD miniDV camcorder. Never had the slightest problem with them, and I've been banging around the world with them, shooting hundreds of tapes.