Small, Affordable, and Good Quality Camcorder?

Question

I want to get a camcorder to record memories with friends and maybe video journal. I want one that is very small, yet good quality. Also, less than $400. It needs to be able to be uploaded easily to my Mac and yet be able to view it on the camcorder. Maybe one that uses an SD card would work. I don't want to deal with bulky tapes. Links are nice!

Answer 1

MiniDV tape based camcorders will use a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire cable to connect to your Mac. Launch iMovie, import.

Flash Memory camcorders will need an extra step... you need to download and install StreamClip (free from Apple):

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/vi...

Connect the camcorder using USB or remove the memory card and put it in a card reader connected to your Mac. Copy the video file to your Mac. Launch StreamClip; open the file you just copied over; export as DV. Import to iMovie.

MiniDV tapes are not "bulky". 3 inches wide, 2 inches tall, 1/2 inch thick.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/contro...

or

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stor...

(takes stills, too - and can be used as a webcam)