I'm going to be buying a camcorder which format should i go with?

Question

the little hi-8 tape, dv tapes, the little cd ones or something else. Also I don't have an HD tv so i dont think i'll be getting a HD camcorder, please help I know nothing about getting one.

Answer 1

Really depends how much you want to spend.  The older technology will usually be the cheapest route; however, it will not be as good quality video as the newer technology, for instance Hi-8 vs. DV tapes.  I will say, however, that for the average person, either would suffice as far as quality goes unless you were a professional videographer.  I have used the following:  VHS, VHS-C, Hi-8, DV tapes, and have now just purchased a JVC Everio SD card based cam and I love it!  Again, for the average person, the video quality is decent and what I like best about it is that it is so small and easy to handle.  It is rather lightweight becuase it stores all the video on the little SD (and SDHC) memory cards and not tapes.  The problem with tape based camcorders (even the DV tape ones) is that they have a dew sensor built in for safety reasons that will shut the camcorder down if it detects dew, and will not allow you to use it.  This is a good thing because if the tape got wet it would stick to the mechanism and crumble up inside the camcorder and jam it.  However, these dew sensors have been a problem for many people, including myself, where as the dew sensor falsely reports dew on numerous occasions, thus causing me to miss my video opportunity (child's school plays...etc).  Also, the size of the SD memory cards is way smaller than even the smallest tape sizes out there and thus take up alot less space in a bag!