A few years ago, I picked up a Canon Vixia HF R800 HD camcorder used off eBay for $200. I was tired of filling up my phone with long-form video recordings (family weddings, etc), and I liked having the large optical zoom.
I was thinking of upgrading this year to 4k, and it seems that everything is either $150 scamware off Temu or at least $1k jobs from Canon or Sony.
Obviously I expect a price hike for 4k, but is it that much more expensive to make a 4k camcorder? Five years later, and they’re still 5x more expensive than 1080p?
I think, in general, there’s now a bigger gap between amateurs and professionals.
Amateurs, who just want some easy snapshots or video recordings, who used to buy said camcorders or compact cameras, are extinct. They now use their newest Pixel or iPhone, which provide a good quality for their price, are very simple (algorithms do the dirty work for you + easily accessible UI) and are with them all the time.
They provide a decent quality, and most people don’t even notice that at all to begin with.
Professional photo- and videographers on the other hand spend a lot of money for equipment. They want every tiny bit of quality for their work, and often don’t care if a camera costs 1500 or 2000 bucks.
Companies noticed that and now only offer two classes: the “phone with good camera” for casual photography, and “fucking expensive equipment” stuff for pros.
We both are the rare exception. I also just bought a compact camera recently, because I don’t like photographing with my phone.
We are a dying breed.
The real question is, why do you want 4k?
The sensor-/ image quality is way more important.
4k is just the amount of pixels and is useless if the sensor doesn’t get enough light.
You can still have very bad quality and shoot in 4k. The drawback is a lot of wasted memory.
The only reason, imo, to get one is if you shoot for very high res screens or crop a lot in post pro.
But 4k AND good hardware is pro-teretory.
You have 3 options:
If I were you, I would get a used higher quality camera.
They still perform great and will hold a few years into the future, while also being less expensive than new devices.
My honest advice is: if you are the guy who has to shoot weddings, either don’t do it and let the pros do it for this special day, or get good equipment that lasts you for the next years. Getting a camcorder right now sounds like a waste of money in my opinion.
Adding onto this, I think the fact that digital still cameras also shoot video now contributed to the market for consumer camcorders disappearing. Again, why spend that money on a separate device if something you already have does a pretty good job?