Hello and thanks in advance.
What I'm looking for is an idiot guide for settings for the HD1A, this is my first camcorder and it was bought to capture a new addition to the family which is due in a couple of weeks.

Ultimately I want to record indoor and outdoor, transfer to my laptop then burn to disk, my questions are as follows:-

1.Not too bothered about HD at the moment from what I gather if the camera is on a lower setting I can record more footage, which setting would be best for achieving this. (I have 4MB)
2. Which setting is the easiest for still pics?
3. What kind of disks should I be buying to save footage?
4. Do I need to convert in order to burn to disk? MP4?
5. Will I be able to put music from my PC onto a disk to accompany the video footage?
6. Is the Movie maker program included in the package sufficient or should I be looking at something else?
7. What's the dogs name in the wizard of Oz?

As you have probably realized I am quite clueless and want to start off recording without changing the settings at a later date so that everything is uniform.

Quite impressed so far with this gadget although I do need to steady my hand a bit to prevent getting the Blair Witch effect.

Many thanks
Chris

Hi Chris,

If you are not concerned about HD, this is a poor choice for you. Indoor performance is grainy; this camera only performs well outdoors in my opinion, which is not going to be a main filming area with a newborn. I'd suggest you consider an S3-IS or another camera with a better dynamic range and indoor performance.

I have to cameras, a Fuji F30 and the HD1. I use the HD1 for outdoor video and the Fuji for everything else. To elaborate on the indoor limitations of the HD1, consider this. In the same light that I can record crisp video with my F30, my HD1 produces a video of nothign but blackness. Photo performance is equally challenged... great outdoors but poor within. I'll post examples if you feel you need to see them.

Thanks for your reply Chris.

I have however already bought the HD1A, I have used it indoors with the lights on and to be honest I did not think the quality was that bad, this is my first camcorder so I have nothing to compare with.

Utilizing the HD recording is something that I do plan to use in the future, for now I was just looking for some guidance for getting started up.

I guess trial and error is the name of the game.

Cheers

Trial and error works, but there are better ways and you are on the path to one. This forum contains a wealth of knowledge on how to leverage the camera. It's a lot to take in by reading the whole site, but a summary would last for pages and I don't see anyone jumping at the chance to do one.

I would suggest you start with the threads that are clearly about performance. They answer the bulk of questions you may have. Once you've moved through these, you'll be knowledgeable enough to start making your cam perform.

I can offer you a very quick overview of settings that might help.
1. The 60fps mode is not for use indoors
2. Manual settings and focus produce more reliable results
3. The cam performs best in natural light, so open the blinds and let some in
4. Avoid shadows as this cam won't capture detail within them
5. Use the wisdom of dozens of people with the combined experience of a few hundred years by reading the content of this forum

Best of luck to you.