Camcorder recommendations

[zippy]

Hi all.

Current camcorder (panasonic HDC-SD1) is seriously suffering from cave-and-volcano-induced-traumatic-stress-syndrome and need replacing... 

Just interested in what today's favourites are?  Interested in both point-and-shoot types (like the SD1) and in more professional grade stuff - especially if proper waterproof housings are available for whatever model it is.  Low-light perfomance is (obviously!?) important, and it HAS to be full HD 1080i/1080p.

Z.

 

[cfmwh]

No idea of the quality, but as from tomorrow, Lidl are selling an HD camcorder for ?99. No idea what brand.

If you don't want to risk ?100's underground, it may be worth taking a look.

Info from their website:
Super stylish and ultra compact design 
Records HD movies directly onto your memory card 
Video Resolution: up to 1920 x 1080 
Captures photos up to (MP): 5 
Large 16:9 colour touch screen, which pivots by 270? and has a 7.5cm screen area 
Auto exposure plus automatic and manual white balance 
Suitable for SD or SDHC memory cards up to 32GB 
Includes 4GB SD memory card
Integrated video light, microphone, speaker and tripod socket 
Includes spare rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, HDMI, USB and AV cables, storage bag, lens cover, charger, software CD, instruction manual and more
3 year manufacturer?s warranty

 

[zippy]

whilst my gut instinct is that it's going to be sh1te - for ?99 it's almost tempting to try one out!

ta!

Z.

 

[brusc]

Gopro or contour seem good. Check youtube to see how they handle low light. Canon have a hd handheld waterproof camcorder. It's also good for caving. Can't remember its name though.

 

[SpeleoTrog]

I picked up a cheap Kodak Playsport ZX3 on Ebay (New they're about ?150, I got a used one for ?45)
It's only waterproof to 3m so not ideal for really wet caves. It survived 2 trips into OFD over new year and behaves reasonably well in low light although you'd need to augment the light for big chanbers/passages

This was shot on the second trip when I'd had a chance to experiment and sort out the light requirements - the only light source is my Petzl Duo (using the custom duo insert) and the cheap Alpkits the other cavers were using. The camera works at full 1080HD, I've reduced this at editing stage to be Youtube friendly

OFD II - To Shatter and Back

 

[Huge]

That was a quick bit of editing! Nice video. My mate and I met you underground at the bottom end of Salubrious. We were taking photos in Salubrious and you bypassed us by taking the sandy crawl (I was wondering how we hadn't seen you!). Didn't realise you were filming. Your 7 year old (we were talking to his uncle in the changing room before our trip) caves really well and makes me want to do more caving with my 6 year old daughter. Actually, she wasn't very happy that I wouldn't let her come along on this trip (She's only been in Dan-yr-Ogof and Eglws Faen). She was very interested when I got the survey out and wanted to see photos from the cave (thanks www.Ogof.org.uk) so hopefully I have a keen caver on my hands. She'll love the video when I show her tomorrow.

Sorry I was off topic.