Digital Camcorder

[Mommy Poppins]

OK - I'm starting to look at a new camcorder. I'd like one of those small ones with the flip open color screen. Figuring I can use it at Disney and then send it with Jim when he goes overseas. What do I look for other than price? Digital zoom, optical zoom? Not sure what all that stuff means or what would be good features? Anyone know anything about them?

 

[Nik's Mom]

I have a JVC digital camcorder. It has 700x digital zoom. I like that it is a very small camcorder. The only thing that I don't like is that it uses night vision to record at night. It just doesn't look good. My old camcorder could record in the evening without that weird grainy look to it. If you will be recording at night, make sure you ask about the picture quality.

 

[Ambassador]

Check www.cnet.com, www.asksimon.com, and consumerguides.com for their recommendations in several categories. We recommend the Sony MiniDV Handycam® Camcorder DCR-PC350 and the Canon Optura 40.

 

[all4fun]

dpreview.com is also a good site for reviews on digital camera/camcorders.

Edit to add:
You can also try www.mysimon.com . After looking at dpreview it actually is a terrific site for digital cameras, but not for camcorders. sorry about that!

 

[dirkus]

The sites mentioned will have a lot of good information. Remember, though, that digital zoom is basically just enlarging the existing picture -- same thing that you can do to a still in any imaging software such as Photoshop -- after more than just a little bit of digital zoom you will really notice a drop in quality. Go for as much optical zoom as you can get / afford.

 

[montblanc]

I liked the small ones too but found too much of a compromise in picture quality, especially at night. Lens size definitely has an effect.

Mini DV is I think the best format, DVD is delicate and your data can go bad easily (one fingerprint messed up mine). Unfortunately most of the time you can't really judge the quality until you bring it home and review the films.