Confused on which camcorder to buy?

Question

I've been researching the different camcorders and I am getting overwhelmed. I thought I would like to get a DVD one for the convenience of already being on a disc. I heard that the picture quality is not great and the editing is a nightmare for some. I am nervous about mini tape ones aren't those going to be obsolete one day? All I want from my camcorder is to record my kids, sport events, birthdays and vacation, good quality picture some editing nothing professional either on my PC or the camera its self....

Answer 1

Good question!

as the owner of a myriad of camcorders, i can thoroughly recommend mini DV. Don't think the technology is 'old' quite the opposite, mini DV is the most reliable form of digital data storage, much more reliable than DVD or hardisk. in fact, NASA use them for digital storage.

The DVD ones are ok if all you want to do it record, then chuck it straight into the DVD player, but if you want to edit (which is a lot of fun, and easy to do) go with mini-DV.

the new harddisk camera's that are out are great in theory, but typically the data is compressed into a format that is difficult to use if you do want to edit it, plus, the are still suceptiple to 'crashing' just like a computer.

many top end camera's use Mini-DV tapes, don't get confused by their tape form, it's digital storage, and as long as you keep them away from extreme heat/cold (that is, DON'T leave them in your car for three months) you can't go wrong. I've recorded thousands of hours to mini-DV and they havn't failed me once.

in camera editing can be tricky, just a warning. there are a lot of great programs out there for editing, even something as basic as windows movie maker is a good place to start. just google video editing software and you'll be set!

Answer 2

spefio's pretty well nailed it, but I don't think (s)he goes far enough by saying "in camera editing can be tricky" - it's much closer to impossible!  Record what you want as it happens and  do the editing on the PC.

Answer 3

DVD is very convenient. Take a look at this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LO6...

It's High Definition DVD, so picture quality isn't a problem, and it's really cheap on amazon too! I recommend,

Answer 4

Go to: http://www.epathchina.com/digital-camcor... may be you will find what you need.