Videos help!

[sheahanmcculla]

I am looking into purchasing a camcorder to make some compilation movies. Is a standard digital camcorder good enough or do I need HD? Also is there a good program for editing the video clips? I know Calvin posted he got a new one but I havn't seen any movies yet!

[Cwest]

It has been my experence that the answer to your questions will be found in what your goals are, the amount of money you have to spend , and how much time you want to invest.
check out wetpixel.com
scubaboard.com
video university (lots of other sites- take your pick)
Hd often requires a computer and software upgrade to edit. It looks pretty good to me when down converted to regular digtal tho. I have seen some pretty good shots from regular point and shoot digital cameras. good enough to convey the experence anyway.
I play with video just for fun and to share with family and friends.
There are many others on-line(pros,semi pros, and beginners) that will get as technical as you want.
I use a Sony HC-1 in an Amphibico dive buddy housing, I edit with Sony Movie Studio DVD platinum edition.
If you look around a bit you will find most of the answers already out there. You will definatly find people with more knowledge and experence than me.
Good luck in your new adventure, It has brought a whole new dimension to diving for me.

http://stage6.divx.com/user/Seamonster01/

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=seamonster01

[Cwest]

oh yea... Digital diver.com
I knew there was another one I wanted to mention.

[drock]

Is a standard digital camcorder good enough or do I need HD? Also is there a good program for editing the video clips?

It depends on what you want to do with your video. If it's something for family and friends, there's no real need to go with HD. chances are most people won't care if it's not high def. There are still quite a few people who don't have HD tvs, and even if they do, you'll have a hard time finding HD DVD authoring software and HD disk burners at an affordable price, at least until after the Blu-Ray / HD-DVD format war is settled.

If you plan on doing more with it, HD may be the way to go. Even If you create standard def. DVDs, the quality will be better than that from an SD camera.

There are plenty of editing programs out there, ranging from straight cut programs to those with dozens (or hundreds) of effects, different ways of working with the timeline (how you add shots to your movie), ranging from simple drag and drop to complex, multi-layered split audio and video tracks, and prices ranging from free up to thousands of dollars.

I haven't tried the consumer level editing programs, so I can't give a recommendation on which programs are best. Your best bet for software may be to search google, see what comes up, and try various demo programs to determine which comes closest to fitting your needs.

[sheahanmcculla]

Thanks for the information, I will be doing a lot of research before I buy. It was actually your videos I saw on youtube thate made me want to make my own. so thanks for posting them! It seems the housings are twice the cost of the camera (OUCH).

Thanks again for all the help.