Advise on dv camera please ? just the basics?

Question

hi im looking to buy a dv camera for my son to use , so nothing to expensive , i think i got the gyst of how they work just need a few answers

first of all im looking at something similar to the one in the link

http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.aspx/TruHome/TruGadgets/TruHomeEntertainmentPhotography/948985?ref=Search

questions i want to ask

do these take sd memory cards or is it just the small internal i would be able to use

is it a normal camera and a video were i can take moving videos and still pics?

if it takes sd media on average how long could i film on a 2gb memory card ?

as someone told me about 5 minutes for 1 gb so i would have to buy an 8gb to film 40minutes ?

also batteries do they last long ? when using the video feature

as im trying to add up the pros and cons of having one of these , is it going tpo cost me more money with batteries and memory cards , also im running vista would one of these be compatible with vista , any info please

Answer 1

i don't think this is an actual camcorder. the unit in the picture does not have an official "miniDV" logo. miniDV is tape, and from the description, this is a digital still camera that records 10 or 20 seconds of video onto an internal flash drive.

a real miniDV camcorder would not cost much more and would provide more satisfactory results.