My niece wants a video camera for her birthday.  What should I get her?  She already takes a lot of videos with her phone (has been for a couple of years) but wants something a little more professional.  She originally asked for a camera but is mostly interested in videos.   She's turning 15 but is pretty careful with her stuff.   I assume a dedicated video camera will be much better than a DSLR?

What about this? 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1109405-REG/panasonic_hc_v770_full_hd_camcorder.html

Edited April 26, 20179 yr by shellylh

http://www.red.com/products/weapon-8k

That does look pretty nice but might be slightly out of my price range.

Does she have a still camera?  If not, I would get her a mirrorless that also takes excellent video. 

She has a phone.  I was under the impression that a camcorder would be much better especially if you want to zoom. 

Panasonic G7 would be my suggestion.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

7 minutes ago, shellylh said:

She has a phone.  I was under the impression that a camcorder would be much better especially if you want to zoom. 

Depends on the lens you get.  You'd be surprised how much of what you see on the old teevee is shot on mirrorless cams and DSLRs (mirrorless tends to be better for video, due to the lack of a rolling shutter).

Camcorders are just about obsolete. Most consumers use DSLR or mirrorless for video now.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk