Do you really use a camcorder?

[tjevans]

My wife and I just found out we're expecting our first child. We're not sure of the due date yet, but it'll be sometime early next year. We were thinking of asking for a camcorder from relatives for Christmas. Our friends recommend against this; most who got camcorders when they were pregnant never use the camcorder. Just out of curiosity, who thinks they're good to have and who thinks they're a waste of money?

[ILoveLT]

I try to use the camcorder on special occasions such as at DD's birth, christening, birthday, etc., but it is cumbersome to tote around, even though I bought a small camcorder. I have a digital camera that I use almost daily, mostly because it is easier to upload onto my computer and most people want photos of the baby. I think technologically, we are not advanced enough (personally speaking) to create videos on DVD and send them around. If you are going to buy a camcorder, be aware that to get the minidv picture onto your computer takes a long time and then you need to create DVDs, which I have not had the time or skill or patience to do yet. If you get a DVD camcorder, you don't need to worry about uploading the video, but you might want to edit your vidoe.

I have just ordered a Baby Sherpa backpack which has a camcorder pocket so hopefully I will want to tote the camcorder more often.

So, no, I don't use the camcorder all that much, however, I am really glad I have the birth of my baby on video just in case I get around to making a DVD someday. Also, whenver I look at the videos of my child, I am really glad I bothered to take some videos, since I will never get the time back again.

[pritchettzoo]

I think they're good to have. We don't use ours as much as our digital still camera, but I like having one. The most important thing was DD's birth--a c/s but my DH followed her with the camera and so I got to see everything I missed while still in the OR. The price was worth it to me just for that. It's also fun to go back and listen to her first giggles or watch her rolling over jerkily. We happened to be videotaping her the first time she said "Mama." And right now DH is recording her playing the piano. We need to pull it out more often than we do; I tend to not want to because the background is messy or whatever and I need to just get over that.

If you get one, keep it charged up and in easy reach.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)
and a BOY! (coming July '05)

[samiam]

We don't tape ds all that often (maybe twice a month for 5 minutes at a time) but...I think they're great to have. We've recorded some really great moments of my son - him saying his ABC's for the first time, singing a song for the first time, etc. I'm sure in the years to come we'll cherish those memories, and it will be great fun for my son to see when he's an adult.

[August Mom]

I had decided that it was a waste of money and we weren't going to get a camcorder. Then, as I was over a week overdue, I became obsessed with the idea of recording DS's trip home from the hospital. I am really glad that we have the camcorder. I don't use it every day. And, I don't use it as much as the camera. But, it is so cool to capture those "firsts" on video versus stills. You think you'll never forget those special moments, but the memory is fleeting. It is amazing to look back and hear those first sounds, first words, see DC crawling and then walking and then waving, skipping or whatever. Some of those things you really can't capture in stills.

We have a MiniDV system, upload the video to the computer and then edit it, add music and burn DVDs. I admit I am behind on the editing part, but I am glad that I have the raw video anyway. It does take a lot of space on the computer, though.

Good luck and congratulations on your upcoming arrival.

[SarahK]

I absolutely refused to buy a camcorder for my daughter's first seven+ months. I didn't want to miss out on great still pictures because of trying to film something on the camcorder.

Then I realized that I couldn't get a good still picture of my daughter's adorable tummy scoot...and she started to outgrow it!! I panicked and my wonderful husband took me out that night to buy the camcorder.

It has come in handy for a few things since then, but overall we use our camera WAY more than the camcorder.

[ett]

We use our digital camera way more than our camcorder, but I still think a camcorder is good to have. Milestones like when baby starts crawling, walking, or talking will be captured a lot better with the camcorder. That said, a lot of the digital cameras allow you to record short movie clips so you could get one of those instead. Of course, the quality of the movies will not be as good as if you used a real camcorder. And you're also limited in how many minutes you could record.

[elliput]

I wish I had a camcorder. DH and I live a three days drive from both sets of Grandparents and we would like to be able to send video of DD to them. My digital camera does take short mpeg videos, but the resolution is very low. I keep hoping if I send crappy video someone will break down and buy us a digital camcorder!

[holliam]

We leave our camcorder and digital camera out in the family room at all times (high so baby can't reach), and I am constantly reaching for one or the other.

You can capture a lot of things on camcorder that you can't on digital camera. We just turn all of our recordings into DVDs and send to parents or post on our website.

I am doing 1 full tape per month.

Holli

[murpheyblue]

We have a digital camera and a camcorder. We have friends who recommended taping in short spurts and we've done a lot of that. I never sit and tape a whole event but I'll tape a few minutes of DD in the pool or running around or whatever. DH collects them all and eventually burns them onto a CD so we have a little collection of short films of DD. Our camcorder was a gift and I'm glad we got it. I use ours a fair amount for still shots too.

[amck]

BUY ONE and USE IT. You won't regret it. I think "they" say that if you tape just a minute or two each week, at the end of the year you won't have that much video but you'll have a great chronicle of a year you can never get back. You don't need a camcorder with all the bells and whistles - - just the bare bones basics will catch those cool "firsts". And, IMHO, sometimes when you're in the moment, what baby is doing isn't as meaningful - - - maybe b/c you're sleep deprived or just caught up in day to day life - - but to go back through the footage is so so so precious.

[angusmom]

Baby due in August and my parents insisted on getting a new camcorder because my whole childhood was camcordered (and we never watch any of it - it's all on Beta and some 8mm format!).

My mom got this one that records MPEG to an SD card which is very convenient to load onto the computer (using USB - doesn't even require a Firewire).

But we're stuck so far with what to do next to edit and then burn to a CD or DVD. My husband is pretty savvy with all that so he's figuring out what to do.

I'm glad we will have the camcorder. It's fun and easy. But here are the things we learned right off after buying it:

1. It's not as easy as the camcorder manufacturers make it out to be to get your video onto DVD, etc. It requires a bit of time and often may require additional software and/or hardware you might have to purchase. And you need to have a fairly recent PC to handle the large files and transferring and editing (good amount of RAM and fast processor, etc.) Just be sure to ask upfront so you know because it varies depending on the camera.

2. My mom's camera shoots the video at 640x480 resolution and my husband was dismayed by this. He says 800x600 would have been much better but it was too late to return the camera and start over.

3. Be sure you know what your additional expenses will be for extra batteries, memory sticks/cards, and/or the mini-DVDs or whatever media you record onto. My mom's camera came with a 512MB SD card which only holds about 20 mins of footage, so now she has to go out and buy a couple 1GB cards to be able to tape a decent amount. They cost almost $100 each! Plus the battery doesn't last super long - so she had to order two additional batteries that were $17.99 each (she didn't order the manufacturer's name brand ones for $50 each - she got a compatible brand that was cheaper). Plus, the camera came with a little leather cover, but not a carrying bag so she has to go buy a camera bag to hold the camera and related stuff. It really adds up!!

4. Definitely consider an extended warranty. We have friends with digital camcorders and they have had to have them serviced within the first year. So my mom bought a 3 yr extended warranty with hers just to be safe. This also adds to the cost!

Good luck and have fun and hope I didn't repeat too much of what the others' posted! :-)

[CBB]

It's so funny that I just was thinking about posting the same question. DH and I were talking about getting one. We had one that we used to tape DD's birth and when she was few wks old. We were never good at using it and stopped using it after a few wks. Few months later when DD became more interactive, we thought we'd tape again and realized the camcorder broke. We take pictures with a digital camera all the time and email to her grandparents. Just the other day, we were thinking that now it would really be a time to catch DD's cute moments. I don't have anything from when I was young but really wished I had some. I don't know why my parents tape graduations because I don't think I'll ever watch those. I don't know about anyone else, but I would much prefer watching a video of me as a baby. As I'm writing this, I'm feeling more and more guilty that we've lost many month of DD's babyhood that we didn't catch. I'm thinking about getting one as soon as we decide which one to get after some research. Now I don't know if we are really going to be good at using it once we have one, but I do think it's definitly good to have.

[amp]

Yes. We used it more when DS was born and thru his first year, and now we find ourselves using the movie mode on the digital camera for short clips. But we still use the camcorder for longer movies and events and we still try to capture special holidays etc on there. Plus, I'm due w/ my 2nd child this winter and I fully intend for DH to video tape the baby's first bath at the hospital, just like he did with DS. We couldn't do all of that w/ the digital camera. And since I will likely end up with a repeat CSection, I won't be able to go see that bath in person. We'll definitely keep using ours.

[mamalia]

Yes! And mainly b/c DH is lucky enough to have video of himself as a child, and we got such a HUGE kick out of watching his baby antics while we were pregnant that we became determined to capture our DDs. I'd suggest using it for the "everyday" stuff too, not just the big milestones, those coos and giggles mean soooo much. Congrats on your pregnancy! Malia

[heidi_timms]

We have a DVD camcorder and love it! I don't use it as much as I should, but I'm so glad I have it. You can capture "special moments" on your camera, but a video is so much more!
~Heidi
Mom to Kailey
4/03

[bluestar2]

We love our camcorder! It's a basic D8/Hi8 model and honestly it was the one thing I REALLY wanted before DC were born. I could have skimped on many many baby things but this was the one thing I wanted. I use it every couple of weeks or everytime DC do something new. They grow up so fast are are changing so quickly, especially in the first year. I use it mostly for my own documentation and just a few minutes each time so it doesn't get too boring. I've also edited down and made tapes for my family who live out of state. Once in awhile DH and I sit down with a big bowl of popcorn and laugh away at their antics and marvel at how much they've grown. Sad but true! :D

I take many pictures as well, but they can't capture the sounds and movements the way a camcorder can. I think it depends on if you think you will use it or not. I know many people who only take it out on vacations!

[Mom2Miri]

Absolutely get one! DH's colleague has 3 older girls and he said take as much as you can. As they get older, it's hard to remember what they were like and while photos are beautiful, video clips really bring back the memories. DH just showed some videos of the past year to our daughter this week and she already LOVES seeing herself when she was younger.

So far we found a nice digital camera was fine until she became mobile. After that, you need one with a very fast shutter speed. Then as she starts doing more things and talking, that's when video becomes the most fun.

Helen & Mirielle 2/03

[mudder17]

We have one and we recorded some moments of Kaya's birth experience (not the actual birth), the first week when she was home, and then nothing until she was maybe 4 months old? But since then, I'll grab it while at home and record fun moments. It's a lot of fun to have and I think as she gets older, she might find it interesting to look back and see things that she did. Anyway, I don't think they're a waste of money because so far we've filled up several DVDs worth of footage. :) I'm so glad I have her first steps, her standing up for the first time, her rolling over early on, crawling, interacting with the cats, etc., all those things I'll forget (some I have until I look back at the footage). So I'm really glad we have ours.


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[mudder17]

Yup, I'm like you. So you're not the only odd one. :) Camera and video on hand at all times. I was taking pictures of Kaya this morning doing some funny things and then she started pushing something around, which you can't capture on a still camera. I'm not quite doing 1 full tape per month, but I'm still getting more than I thought I would.


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[nupe]

We have an older one we got from grandparents. We thought we would try this one out before investing in a fancy digital one. We try to tape about 5 min/week, and additionally with new things he says/does.

Nupe

[anamika]

All the time. Almost every other day actually. Just simple everyday stuff. Of course if I could I would have a videocam on her all day :)
It's so great mainly b'cos we have family back in India and DH makes a CD every 2 months and sends it back home. They LOVE it - it's great that they can see her doing simple every day stuff like cooing and rolling over and her first taste of broccoli and just playing with us . We have so much fun editing it and adding wacky movie titles and things like that.

If you have family who are not very close (geographically, I mean ;)) I would definitely recommend it.
HTH and good luck,