Video cameras, handicams, camcorders. They used to be way too expensive in the thousands denominator. Yet, these days you can get them for as little as 46,000 yen (USD$460) with very good specs on battery time, video recording time, compact light small size and well integrated to all sorts of media. That's the Victor Everio GZ-MG330-R that I bought this week. Trust me, I am not the type of person who spends extravagantly too often. Never thought of spending this money 1 month ago. But, when me and my wife knew that we would be travelling more in the coming months, we decided to make the purchase. Its much influenced by a friend of ours who showed us their holiday videos all over the world when we stayed in their place in Singapore. Of course, we do not plan to do the same for the showing, but it does store good memories for the kids. Already Haruka get amused when I show her the video on this blog when she disturbs me working on the laptop at home. Come to think of it, this camcorder would be close to the 3rd most costly item in my life after my Tokyo apartment and Malaysian car on loan to my brother. I have an eye for getting good quality items for free or cheap such as my laptop, my family size 4 year old fridge and lots others through this tip. Believe it or not, that I save 58% of my gross salary every month through a 20 year regular savings plan and still see my bank account increasing through additional savings plans through multi money currency deposits. The little luxuries I treat myself and family to are from additional side projects/business, though maybe its about time we have a more free and easy holidaying and record it down, else my kids would remember my thrifty ways more than the holidays. Too bad I caught that down as evidence. Hah.
I must say this purchase is good value because just 2 weeks ago, it was 10,000 yen (USD$100) more expensive. Japan is certainly the place to hunt for electronic items if you are not planning to get the latest model that would cost a huge premium. This JVC or Victor model does not come with HD or high definition pictures but I doubt I am in the league of film directors to benefit from that. Its all I need - 30GB internal hard drive for 37 hours of quality high quality recording, 35x optical zoom (have not tried this accross hotel rooms :)), the ability to connect to the TV instantly, instant start and off mode when I open and close the LCD, auto LCD display backlight control in a dark room for ease of filming, one of the lightest and smallest hard disk camcorder. There have been other good reviews too. I even got a pouch free and additional 4500 yen off by using my Yodabashi card. Now, lets hope I keep this beauty still looking good for many years. My older digital camera already has so many scratches from my photo snapping adventures. How does daddy keep a firm hand on this pricey item with sweaty hands when filming a movie with kids running about (not yet, but soon for sure)?
p/s No camcorders as prizes for the Tip 100 contest but everyone's a winner. Add me on your blog and visit regularly.
No comments :
Post a Comment