Questions about cameras.

Hello. I wanted to do a short movie/video presentation . It will be less than 5 minutes long and just will be a discusion that will be taken indoors during the daytime. I will probably try to Microsoft's Movie Maker since that is what is on my computer. I will be showing the movie thru a computer on an overhead projection system at school.

I have never try this before.

I am try to figure out if I should go out and bu y a new video camera or use one of the cameras that I got. I have regular Sony digital camera that does video. It is 3-4 years old. I also have a Panasonic that uses mini DV tapes. That is about 5 years old.

I was at the store yesterday looking at the newer camcorders ( lower end) such as the Sony DVD650 and Sony's DCR SR68. One uses a hard drive and the other uses DVD's for memory. I was reading some user's reviews on those two cameras and there was a fair amount of comment about the video quality. They both have Standard video. Not High Defintion. The saleman was saying the quality would be find but when I came home and was reading the reviews it made me wonder. Are the reviewer's comment beacuse the cameras are not that good? Or is it that they are trying to view it on a 40 inch HD tv and are use to a blue ray or HD movies? I am looking for a good picture but not expect HD quality.

I am also a little worried about video formats. Is it easy to load a video from a Video camera to a computer into a program such as Movie Maker or am I going have reformat the files? Any help or ideas or experiences would be greatly apppreciated.

Thanks Danny

The most used formats are "avi'' "mpeg" and "mp4" if I am not mistaken.

There is tons of software titles that can handle the job. If you have something that is already on the computer that you are comfortable with, use it. Some of the others have a very steep learning curve. A couple of them I have tried and given up on.

If you have a camera that will allow you to record then dump easily to the computer use it. Again, ease of usage. Keep it simple.

If you need more direct information about some of this, please let me know.

Clif

Most standard video recorders will use avi or mp3 format. the New ones will user mp4. You may have to download a codec pack to payback some of the videos on your computer. If you have problems still with playback then you can download a free conversion utility called avs video converter for your computer. I have used Windows movie maker on occasion successfully. It is easy to use and usually saves it back in avi or wmf which is playable on windows media player. If you see a .mov file they are playable on apple quicktime which is downloadable for free too. AVI is not high definition and you will loose some quality when you compress the files anyway and depending upon the settings of your camera.....I had no problems with viewing or editing the movie files from my canon sd1000 camera. However when I get movies from China families who all have high definition cameras, I have to convert them......As for seeing your videos, try your little home camera first and play with the adjustments on the camera to judge its quality......have fun and take care....Danming

Sorry I forgot to mention that household still cameras usually have a built in video capability but usually the quality is poor and the zoom on a dedicated video camera is superb.....Be aware that many manufacturers will place the movie on a disc that can only be opened by proprietary software and recording software.....Such was the case when I bought a liteon dvd recorder. My computer will not read the discs and only that recorder can playback. However your home cameras should have the ability to save in avi format at least anyway and that format is a widely used format along with mpeg4......I don't think moviemaker will read mp4 format movies.....So as Cliff says try your own personal cameras first and then if the quality or zoom doesn't fair well then graduate to a common brand of video recorder.....

First, I want to say thank you. Next. I am slowing finding my way around. Stumbling around so to speak. I can get the video from the camera to the computer but so far I can't get Movie maker to download it. I have to drag it into the work space, Not sure how but at time I get clips? of the whole movie. But I am trying to figure how I can select which part of the clip. Right now it seems to be random. What I would like to know is what is the filmstrip at the bottom of the page is for. And is there a way to add subtitles to the movie. Any suggestions? I am reading things on net and looking at some video turoials. any help would be appreciated.

Danny

Ps I am using a HD JVC camcordoer with evio software.

If you have dragged it into the workspace then you might be okay....I do know that some formats are equivalent but with proprietary extensions so just renaming them works but not for all of them. I have used movie maker a few times.....it does a good job....I also use something called AVS video conversion utility if I cant get it too recognize a certain format.....have fun.....Danming

Well I am still working on this. My JVC camera uses a hard drive for it storage medium. It keeps the information in the camera alright. The problem I that seem to be having now is to getting it out of the camera into the computer. I have tried to do this with several cameras and several different software. Window XP and Window movie maker vs Window Vista and Window LIVE movie maker. Regular and Live software are somewhat alike but definitely not the same. I need to use the Window LIVE WM because it will do captions/ subtitles for me. The problem that I seem to having is to get it into the LIVE proram. I can view the movie on the PC ( But it it seem to be playing off the camera hard drive) but I don't seem to get it to the computer hard drive. I have tried the JVC instructions but it does not work as they say it is supposed to. very frustratiing at this point.

Danny

PS I have gone to You Tube for help. There is a lot of info out there.

When you connect the camera to the PC does it give you the option to play or move it to the PC?

When I connect mine to the pc it opens a wizard to select options.


Clif

Clif, If I am in Window Live Movie maker . I am having a lot of problem using that program to download the movie. I have been playing around with too much. I am going to take a break from it and get some rest. Thanks

Danny

I am making a little progress. I found that the "quick getting started " instrutions were a little misleading. Also I installed software that came with the JVC video camera. Sometimes it seems to help me but at other times their brower seems to hinders things. Still learning.

Danny