SD storage vs. HDD storage(JVC everio camcorder)

My friend wanted a camera so I looked for one in her price range and found the JVC everio 30gb HDD 1080i camcorder. We’ll she decides she all of a sudden knows cameras and looks online and finds the same camera but with SD storage(not included ofcourse) and wants it because its cheaper. She didn’t want to get a miniDV and have to keep buying tapes, which she will have to buy SD cards which still cost a good amount to have enough storage(10gb+). She says the SD is “better quality” but I told her its the same camera. Anyone have input on HDD vs SD?

If anyone knows of a good 1080i(or close) camcorder under $400(preferably HDD) lmk, also something thats compataible with shitty macs.

HDD will certainly be cheaper than buying a whole bunch of big SD cards.

and what kind of mac? older macs are not capable of reading the file type used by the HDD cameras out of the box. you have to get some program to make it work. i can’t remember what. it’s a huge pain in the ass.

Ya not sure what version of mac she’s using but she refuses to buy it since its not plug and play. I told her she just needs the plug in but shes on of those paranoid type of ppl, plus its her money buying it lol. Right now I’m looking at this: Panasonic HDC-SD9 AVCHD 3CCD. Its 1920x1080 HD and has 3 ccds, plus its a bit cheaper on ebay(new) and some of the auctions come with SD cards. Its partially compatible with macs in the one mode, then I’ll tell her she needs the plug in and hopefully by then she’ll relize its worth it since it’ll still overall be under $400.

Don’t bother trying to help, she’ll just buy what she wants/the salesperson tells them to. And then bitch at you when it doesn’t work.

The cost of those SD cards will add up fast for the sizes you’ll need.

You read my mind.

Why store the media on the SD or built in HDD?

I’d want to move it to a computer immediately and then back that up.

In which case, a 2-4gb since SD card would probably be fine.

Agreed on both parts. I never help women shop for tech stuff. They will buy whatever is cheap or someone in a store shirt tells them to.

If she got the SD one, she is going to fork over some cash for the SD cards if she wants to take advantage of 1080i video.

A 1 hour show of 1080 video is about 3-4GB. Use that for reference.