Steve'sDigicams

guitardude · Sep 13, 2006, 12:31 AM

I havent seen to much response on them searching through this entire forum....I was at circuit city today and i thought they kicked ass in quality and zoom. I just bought a DV8800 (black one) from Aiptek. Its not bad but i think i rather get something better. I played with some of the sanyo's but i dindt like the menu to much it was a pain.

any thoughts on the samsungs?? I tell ya they had some nice outside covering on the sport samsungs...really sexy looking haha.

sgspirit · Sep 13, 2006, 1:12 AM

The Samsung Minikets are beautiful little things, and I believe they take superior video. My problem with them, besides the price, is that they have a very limited digital still picture capability, typically limited to 800x600.

I bought a Samsung i6, which is classed as a digital still camera. I believe the Minikets take better video, and have a pivoting screen. But the i6 has all sorts of features the Minkets lack, costs far less, takes excellent stills, and has an amazing super macro mode. With the i6, and now the NV3, it doesn't make sense to buy a Miniket unless you need the 10x optical zoom. Now, how are you going to stabilize a 10x zoom?

Old HACer · Sep 13, 2006, 3:01 AM

sgspirit wrote:

Quote:

. Now, how are you going to stabilize a 10x zoom?

Its not easy ... MX4 owner.:-)

rgvcam · Sep 13, 2006, 8:37 AM

I myself had a look at the Samsung MPEG4 camcorders but any reviews I had read didn't seem impressed with the video quality. I don't know why and I would love to see uncompressed video from one of these and the Sanyo's side by side to see how they compare for myself.

guitardude · Sep 13, 2006, 8:51 AM

oh ok. Thanks for some of the comments. However it is better than the black aiptek (i think its the 8800 or prv 99.99$ at best buy) in video quality right?

I'm mainly using this for little concerts instead of using my A610. So mainly a good zoom is nice, pictures are nice but not important. Can you still get the i6??

What do you mean by stabilization just holding it stll? It doesnt have that option?

What others do you suggest to look at I mean i would love to save money haha

Thanks~!

sgspirit · Sep 13, 2006, 10:26 PM

If I were looking to get one in the Miniket's class, I'd consider the Sanyo Xacti hybrids. The main thing you give up is mp3, but they do have a competent still mode. The main Steves site has reviews of the Sanyos.

The Samsung i6 is certainly still available, on eBay, on-line stores, or a few of your local camera retailers. It's replacement, the NV3, is just appearing for sale.

HOWEVER, the Digilife DDV-920 does a much better job of video in low light than the i6, such as you'd deal with at a concert. It also records loud noise much better.

Image stabilization, as the name suggests, keeps the recorded image steady despite camera movement from shaking hands etc. It can be done optically or digitally. At this price level, they're all done digitally. It costs some image quality because it "crops" the image. But in many situations, the stabilization is well worth the cost in quality.

guitardude · Sep 15, 2006, 12:41 PM

So i was just reading up on the DV8800 in this forum...doesnt seem to be that bad for the buck. I'm just not sure if i should keep this or go with something diffferent...ugh. The video quality is not bad. What do you guys think?

The sanyos are way expensive. The most im looking to spend is 300 and some change.

rgvcam · Sep 15, 2006, 1:07 PM

In the right conditions ie plenty of light, the DV8800 is quite admirable for it's price. It is in indoor conditions that it doesn't do well in.

For $300, the Sanyo Xacti C40 is just within your budget and was one I was considering myself:

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-VPC-C40-...F8&s=photo

guitardude · Sep 15, 2006, 1:29 PM

hmmm not to bad at all. I may hit up B & H photo and check this out. What do you have now? I'm mainly looking to record shows at venues that are pretty well lit usually. I wish that model you suggested had a bigger lcd....oh well cant have everything hehe.

rgvcam · Sep 15, 2006, 3:03 PM

For $300, why not consider a miniDV? They are not very big and the video is much more easy to edit plus they will do better in lower light than the hybrids.

I have a PVR which is another name for the DV8800. I guess Aiptek decided that PVR sounded more catchy than DV8800 as the EXIF information on the photos shows it is a DV8800. I got it, because it's quick and easy to whip out for casual videoing of my year old son when we go places. A regular miniDV or minDVD camcorder is still too big for casual use. I don't tend to edit the video for this purpose, so the fact it uses MPEG4 is not of great concern to me. Also the video quality is adequate for this. I didn't want to spend $300 to $400 on an MPEG4 camera since I might use it at the beach etc. where the sand and/or water could get into it.

For planned events like concerts etc I feel it would be better to use a camcorder for the reasons I stated first.

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Sep 13, 2006, 12:31 AM	#1
guitardude Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	I havent seen to much response on them searching through this entire forum....I was at circuit city today and i thought they kicked ass in quality and zoom. I just bought a DV8800 (black one) from Aiptek. Its not bad but i think i rather get something better. I played with some of the sanyo's but i dindt like the menu to much it was a pain. any thoughts on the samsungs?? I tell ya they had some nice outside covering on the sport samsungs...really sexy looking haha.

Sep 13, 2006, 1:12 AM	#2
sgspirit Moderator Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 887	The Samsung Minikets are beautiful little things, and I believe they take superior video. My problem with them, besides the price, is that they have a very limited digital still picture capability, typically limited to 800x600. I bought a Samsung i6, which is classed as a digital still camera. I believe the Minikets take better video, and have a pivoting screen. But the i6 has all sorts of features the Minkets lack, costs far less, takes excellent stills, and has an amazing super macro mode. With the i6, and now the NV3, it doesn't make sense to buy a Miniket unless you need the 10x optical zoom. Now, how are you going to stabilize a 10x zoom?

Sep 13, 2006, 8:37 AM	#4
rgvcam Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,084	I myself had a look at the Samsung MPEG4 camcorders but any reviews I had read didn't seem impressed with the video quality. I don't know why and I would love to see uncompressed video from one of these and the Sanyo's side by side to see how they compare for myself.

Sep 13, 2006, 8:51 AM	#5
guitardude Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	oh ok. Thanks for some of the comments. However it is better than the black aiptek (i think its the 8800 or prv 99.99$ at best buy) in video quality right? I'm mainly using this for little concerts instead of using my A610. So mainly a good zoom is nice, pictures are nice but not important. Can you still get the i6?? What do you mean by stabilization just holding it stll? It doesnt have that option? What others do you suggest to look at I mean i would love to save money haha Thanks~!

Sep 13, 2006, 10:26 PM	#6
sgspirit Moderator Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 887	If I were looking to get one in the Miniket's class, I'd consider the Sanyo Xacti hybrids. The main thing you give up is mp3, but they do have a competent still mode. The main Steves site has reviews of the Sanyos. The Samsung i6 is certainly still available, on eBay, on-line stores, or a few of your local camera retailers. It's replacement, the NV3, is just appearing for sale. HOWEVER, the Digilife DDV-920 does a much better job of video in low light than the i6, such as you'd deal with at a concert. It also records loud noise much better. Image stabilization, as the name suggests, keeps the recorded image steady despite camera movement from shaking hands etc. It can be done optically or digitally. At this price level, they're all done digitally. It costs some image quality because it "crops" the image. But in many situations, the stabilization is well worth the cost in quality.

Sep 15, 2006, 12:41 PM	#7
guitardude Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	So i was just reading up on the DV8800 in this forum...doesnt seem to be that bad for the buck. I'm just not sure if i should keep this or go with something diffferent...ugh. The video quality is not bad. What do you guys think? The sanyos are way expensive. The most im looking to spend is 300 and some change.

Sep 15, 2006, 1:07 PM	#8
rgvcam Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,084	In the right conditions ie plenty of light, the DV8800 is quite admirable for it's price. It is in indoor conditions that it doesn't do well in. For $300, the Sanyo Xacti C40 is just within your budget and was one I was considering myself: http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-VPC-C40-...F8&s=photo

Sep 15, 2006, 1:29 PM	#9
guitardude Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	hmmm not to bad at all. I may hit up B & H photo and check this out. What do you have now? I'm mainly looking to record shows at venues that are pretty well lit usually. I wish that model you suggested had a bigger lcd....oh well cant have everything hehe.

Sep 15, 2006, 3:03 PM	#10
rgvcam Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,084	For $300, why not consider a miniDV? They are not very big and the video is much more easy to edit plus they will do better in lower light than the hybrids. I have a PVR which is another name for the DV8800. I guess Aiptek decided that PVR sounded more catchy than DV8800 as the EXIF information on the photos shows it is a DV8800. I got it, because it's quick and easy to whip out for casual videoing of my year old son when we go places. A regular miniDV or minDVD camcorder is still too big for casual use. I don't tend to edit the video for this purpose, so the fact it uses MPEG4 is not of great concern to me. Also the video quality is adequate for this. I didn't want to spend $300 to $400 on an MPEG4 camera since I might use it at the beach etc. where the sand and/or water could get into it. For planned events like concerts etc I feel it would be better to use a camcorder for the reasons I stated first.