Camera vs. Camcorder Advice?

[LBES]

Where do you stand on camera vs. camcorder for capturing video on multiday hunts? I have a GoPro, but I'm looking for something that gives me better video at long ranges and in dim light. I'm struggling to decide between a camera (mirror less-type camera with HD video) or a dedicated camcorder. I know many of the mirror less cameras have a 30 minute record length, and I can manage that. Majority of my hunts are backcountry, so weight and battery life are important. It'd be nice to have a good picture camera too, so I can see the benefit of having a camera that can do double duty. Trying to stay under $600. Thanks.

 

[sn.outdoors]

Dollar for dollar I believe you'll get more with a DSLR or mirrorless camera than you would with a camcorder.

You can get a solid setup with $600. In that price range it's hard to beat the Canon rebel series.

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[Kilboars]

I like my Panasonic camcorder for video. Great battery life and I use a GoPro for close up video and my iPhone for photos.


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[Jimss]

It's nice to have a variety. I have a panasonic camcorder I got off craigslist for super cheap. It has a zoom lens that allows me to really zoom in on critters while scouting and hunting. I often take video when scouting. Take the video home to look at it in great detail on a widescreen tv. It's also pretty fun to add photos to videos. There are some new superzooms that are relatively compact that also take 1080 HD video. I've been looking at a Canon sx60 which has around a 65x zoom lens for both photos and video. The new ones run around $400. If they come out with a new model the price may drop even more. I also bring my cell phone around which is fun taking pano photos and decent video/photos. I have a gopro that I've used quite a bit on fishing trips...taking underwater footage of fish, etc. On my last Alaska trip I attached it to my flyrod and got some really neat underwater video of spawning salmon. One of my favorite cameras is a Panasonic Lumix waterproof camera. It's great when it's raining and snowing. I've used and abused that camera. It takes 1080 video plus decent scenery and closeup hero=harvest pics.

As you can see I have a wide variety of cameras and video equipment for a wide range of uses. A lot depends upon what you intend on using it for and if you want something bomberproof for field use.

 

[LBES]

Thanks for the feedback - just trying to get ideas. I think the DLSR would be too big, so I'm leaning towards a mirror less like the Panasonic Lumix. However, still looking for good long range optical zoom for video. And the battery life for video on the mirror less cameras are much lower that a traditional camcorder. With that said, I'm talking myself into a camcorder as full HD video is what I'm looking for. The Panasonic V770 camcorder, or similar, is on the list. If I had that, I could round out the arsenal with my gopros and a cell phone for digiscoping and close up pictures.

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[maverick]

The Panasonic mirroless cameras have several ways to double the focal length of the lens when used for video. For instance the 14-140 already is a 28-280 because of the crop factor. But you can use digital zoom, 4K crop or extend tele to double it to 56-560. The 100-300 would then have a range of 200-1200. pick up a lowlight prime like the 25mm 1.8 and you would be set. Below is an example of the 3 zoom stlyes.


Panasonic G80 / G85 - Digital Zoom vs 4K Crop vs Ex-Tele - YouTube