Old camcorder for experimentation

cristo00

Hey everyone,
I'm looking for a digital sd camcorder, but I don't really care about definition, it just has to be practical, cheap, easy to find (on ebay or local markets I guess).
Could you list me some? I need it to take notes and film things for myself, put some stuff together.

PLUS, I ran into a JVC GR-C1E today and I'm really into that old feel. It would be probably impossible to have that with a cheap sd device, but if you have some advice on how to achieve that style or if you know any other camera with a different strong effect I'd be happy to hear.
Thanks a lot.

12harry

Welcome to recording Video - but you don't say what this "experimenting" will be.... the snag with old-kit is that the mechanicals may not work and batteries are difficult to obtain. It's true you may be able to use a Power-Pack, or switch-mode PSU  - so these could be used for "experimenting"....
However, if you want to show your experiments to an Audience, then you need to Edit the output, maybe add some commentary, music and sound-effects,  -which help make the presentation "interesting" - this means the files need to be easily transferred to a PC and you need to Budget for some modern software.... most will handle older formats, but the quality may suffer, as modern audiences are used to crisp will filmed material that is on TV every day.

My initial thought was that you should spend maybe £50 on a GoPro "Look-Alike" which will be HD and may offer 4K  - if you are after the prestige "Look" of an older camcorder,    it may not produce anything .( see above ) . . . . so you may need to build one ( model), which then contains a budget piece of kit.   If your budget can stretch to £250 then you will get a conventional camcorder a few years out of production ( but some are "new stock" I understand )..... these will offer better filming facilities and the Audio options will be far better. However, being a tad larger you won't be able to hide it in a "model" and the look is also likely to be difficult to make "realistic" - Something like a shoulder-mount VHS camcorder will look the part, but they are heavy and cumbersome, with shockingly short battery-life - and that was when the batteries were new.

Can you let us know what these Experiments might be ?

Terfyn

For cheap SD cameras look at Amazon. There are cams for £50-£70.
But if you want a camcorder to create old film effects you may need to go upmarket. The Panasonic HC-V770 has Miniature Effect, Silent Movie, 8mm Movie, Time Lapse Rec etc.

As Harry requested, please clarify your requirements.

cristo00

Thank you both for your replies.
I don't want to spend a lot and have a mediocre (or just good) camera. I'd rather spend less (around 100 euros maybe, but there's no real budget limit) and have an older used camcorder with an older film effect.
Maybe I'm underestimating the difficulties of having a vintage device. How can I achieve such a look with less fatigue?
For "experimentation" I just mean using it as a personal tool, not caring about definition and not having in mind an audience.

Terfyn

Buying old cameras is fine but with certain warnings. You said SD so you won't want a tape based unit, tape mechanisms can fail. Modern cameras have mechanical moving parts, optical zoom, optical image stabiliser etc and have connecting wires inside which can break. You also need to check on the availability of batteries and means of charging. So check out any purchase.

My choice for cheaper cameras would be last years model. The manufacturers try to bring out new models every year and so the older units do get priced down. (a bit )

JabbaNut

Just set the video resolution to DVD or less and either 16:9  widescreen or 4:3 old TV.  Frames per second 25p or less.  Old Film TV look done.

12harry

He hasn't made this purchase yet, so agreeing the settings is way down the line, er, IMHO.

christo00 - I'm not understanding what you want . Are you after something of a certain era? ( & Why?).... if it's more than 10years old it's likely to exhibits faults - these are rarely fixable ( Esp. if your Budget is low ). Most repairers will charge more than yr budget, just to open the thing.
What's wrong with the  "older camcorder" you have already?
Maybe you should buy a modern (modest) "Stills" camera which has a movie-mode . . . these are often 720 which is just above home-DVD quality - but may not be 16x9 Aspect, so this will look odd on any modern TV.  Then put the files into a PC with suitable software and you can  . . . . . . . .  as much as you can stand - Software has many filters to wreck footage ( It's all down to the "Cinema-Look" ), though why anyone would want to spend real money on high def. and then pretend it's filmed on a 8mm Bell and Howell - I don't know...... but then folk are free to spend their money as they see fit.
The most crazy effect I saw about 1 yr ago was "Light Leaks" - by using perfectly good footage( although even that needed some improvement by the camera-person). The original file is merged with Light-Leaks to produce an over-exposed film that has the effect of film that's been badly loaded and has the edge fault.... hence the term "Light-Leaks" - Of course if you want bouncy footage which is out of focus, then almost any camera-setting will produce something close . . . .
I'm not sure that you understand that an older camcorder will not produce acceptable files - you'll be v. lucky if it works at all.... so IMHO it's money down the drain...unless you want it to just look at it... ( a "Collection" perhaps? ).
Also, I fail to understand the purpose of having poor files for your own use and never an audience . . . . ?
Why do you need a moving-image?
Perhaps you can say if this is NOT for family holidays? ( Where permanence is important )
It is NOT for a school/college project?

. . . . . . . . - as I say I'm at a loss to understand -

Cheers.