I need to buy an HD camcorder for random general use and I'm trying to decide if I want to get a GoPro or not. A GoPro is about the same price range as many other camcorders, except you can do all kinds of cool **** with it like attach it to the side of your car or take it underwater. So basically, why would I NOT get a Go Pro if that's about my price range?

I don't really get why you would get a camcorder at all these days. Unless you need some extra abilities (ie, the things you described). Most cell phones take decent quality video as it is...

No zoom, barrel distortion (haven't looked at he new ones, and you can 'fix' it aftermarket) and a middling microphone. It's also tiny as **** for handheld use.

Again, the newest one may have differences. I love my GoPro, but it's a specific tool.

Well right, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that a cellphone recorder is on the same level as a camcorder. I'm just saying for general use, why would you need to buy a seperate $500 device, when your cellphone that you already have does the same thing at an (albeit mediocre, but) acceptable level.

Maybe he wants something that isn't "mediocre". Smartphones make passable videos, I wouldn't even go as far as mediocre. Audio quality especially suffers, and being able to do HD doesn't mean jack when the video is all wobbly (jelly motion or whatever you want to call it), extremely shaky (even with the half-ass image stabilization newer ones have), low bitrate, and basically unusable in low light situations.

Besides, it's not $500, it's more like $200-250 depending on what you're getting.

All I see here is "I'm not saying that your cell phone can replace the need for a camcorder, it's just that your cell phone can replace the need for a camcorder."

lol, ok. I'm really doing a terrible job here. He said in the OP that he wanted something for "general use". Well if he doesn't need anything fancy, it's likely he has an iPhone or an Android that does what he wants. On the other hand, if he does want something fancy, he can go and spend some money and get something that does the job better.

I would imagine if he had a smartphone, he would have already evaluated that option. They're seriously only worthwhile for maximum portability and for being "the best camera is the one you have with you". There's plenty of times when a smartphone will not only give you poor quality, it might produce /no/ good video at all. A cheap camcorder is actually MORE of a general use product than a smartphone would be.

GoPRos are great for what they are, but they are very annoying to hold, have no LCD, an externally limited interface, a barely functional mic, ect. For normal handheld stuff You'd be better off with a smartphone camera. I would look into getting something more appropriate to your usage, unless gopro stuff will be your primary usage.

CM, I guess what you're saying is true. To me, the value is to be able to have something that you already carry with you, and isn't bulky, awkward to carry, or heavy.

(Though, yeah, camcorders aren't exactly heavy these days... but mostly the whole "carrying an extra device" thing.)

cellphone camera... 720p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fkl2SVWP84

dedicated camcorder... not even 480p (camera shoots at 480p but the video uploaded to youtube was 240p)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTPgsaFZGwA

notice how the dedicated camcorder handles video better in general... the overall quality (outside of resolution and bitrate issues from what's on youtube) is better... colors are more accurate and the contrast isn't all ****ed... also it was on a tripod which BTW is much easier to use with a real camera... they do make mounting options for cellphones but it's something else you'd need to buy for use with a tripod...

and then notice how the phone's mic fails to handle the sound of the engines from the planes while the built in mic on the camcorder handles the loud noises of the reenactment quite well... just one issue which is the wind noise but one thing about camcorders is many models out there have the ability to use an external mic (there are also quite a few that don't especially in the lower price ranges) which you'll never see in a phone

You can also get/make underwater housings/good mountings for lots of camcorders.

Ironically that's false.

And geez dude, using ****-quality 240p video is a terrible way to make that comparison.

name one phone with a way to connect a decent external stereo mic

and the 240p video is in many ways better than the 720p cell phone example... the only thing my phone beats my camcorder on is the pixel resolution...

Hey guys remember how I always say that the quality of your optics and the size of the image sensor is more important than resolution or megapixels or anything like that?

Well, it's still true!

Any iPhone in existence basically. And if you don't want to bracket it into stereo mics (because even cheap camcorders don't do great stereo separation), you could add just about any other phone. There's even XLR input adapters.



It would be a lot better if it wasn't in **** quality 240p though. The bitrate is so bad that it basically ruins the video :P. That's the problem with it, not the resolution (YouTube recompresses 240p into "blocky hell").