Good video camera for outdoor/Jeepin adventures?

[IllianaXJ]

I'm looking to buy a decent video camera that would work well for both "normal" video (school plays, etc) and also outdoor activities. Ideally I'd like to mount it the dash of the XJ for wheeling trips, (found a bracket on eBay) and then upload the video to the computer. We already have a very dated Sony Super8 camcorder, but I have always hated the video quality, plus I haven't figured out how to convert it to the computer.

I'm not looking to spend a ton of money, but I don't want a bottom of the barrel camera either. Any suggestions?

 

[IslanderXJ]

How much are you looking to spend... exactly?

 

[XJEEPER]

I won a Canon Alura 100 DVR at a contest at work last year. I've been pretty satisfied with it. Compact, uses DV tapes as well as SD chip for storage options.

 

[IllianaXJ]

Well, my wife and I were at Kohl's (of all places) and I picked up a DXG-506V digital camcorder on sale for $85. Regular price was $149. It's nothing super fancy, but it will take digital video in MPEG4 and has a 5.1MP still image camera and MP3 player as well . It will support up to a 2GB SD card for memory and has 32MB of built in memory. It should work for what I need it for. My only complaint so far is it doesn't have a mount for a tripod, but oh well. I'll do a more in depth review once I get a chance to use it over Christmas.

Pics for size reference (excuse the crappy pics from my HP digital):

More info from Amazon:

Product Features and Technical Details

Product Features

• More than just a camcorder, take still photos, operate as a PC webcam, and even play MP3 music
• Stunning MPEG-4 movies in 640x480 resolution at 30 fps
• JPEG still format with 5.1-megapixel CMOS sensor
• Built-in 32MB of flash memory and SD/MMC card
• USB 1.1-compatible; powered by four AAA batteries

Technical Details

• Imaging sensor: 1/1.8" CMOS 5.13 megapixel sensor
• Active pixels: 5.1 megapixels
• Storage media: Built-in 32MB flash memory, SD/MMC card slot (supports up to 2GB)
• Sensor sensitivity: ISO 100
• Lens: F3.0/8.0, f=8.25mm fixed focus lens with mechanical shutter
• Focus range: 4 feet to infinity, macro: 6.7 to 7.5 inches
• Still image format: JPEG (DPOF, EXIF), Direct Print
• Image resolution: 1MP, 3MP, 5MP, 12MP (Firmware interpolation)
• Image quality: Fine, normal
• Movie file format: MPEG-4, sound available
• Movie resolution: 640x480 pixels/30fps max, 320x240 pixels/30fps max
• MP3: MPEG 1.0 Layer 3
• Zoom: Preview digital zoom 4x, Still image playback digital 10x to 30x
• LCD screen: 1.7-inch TFT (480x220 pixels)
• Flash effective range: Less than 3 feet
• Flash modes: Auto, off, forced
• White balance: Auto, flourescent, cloudy, sunny, tungsten
• EV compensation: -2.0 EV to 2.0 EV
• Self-timer: Off, 10 seconds, 20 seconds
• PC interface: USB 2.0 high speed
• TV out format: NTSC, PAL
• Shutter: Mechanical shutter, 1/2 to 1/500 second
• Auto power off: Off, 2 minutes, 5 minutes
• Power supply: Camera: 4 AAA, PC Cam: USB 5-volt
• System requirements: Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98SE; Intel Pentium III 500MHz or higher; 32MB or higher RAM; Standard USB 1.1 port; 4x CD-Rom or higher; 10MB free HDD space or higher
• Width: 2.8 inches
• Height: 3.5 inches
• Depth: 1.5 inches
• Weight: 4.8 ounces (without batteries)

 

[IllianaXJ]

After playing around with this for a little while today, I've come to the conclusion that this camera works pretty good outdoors with good lighting, but when used indoors the videos get pretty grainy. We'll see if this is a permanent solution or if it gets traded back in for a better camera.

I'm hoping to stay at or under $200 if I can for this, don't want to run the risk of trashing a $$$$ camera due to vibration, dirt, dust, etc.