I'm looking to buy my mom a Point and Shoot Camcorder for Christmas,and I would prefer a long lasting,good quality camera.
Nothing cheaply-made or easily breakable.
Can anyone recommend any good brands?
There is no price range.
Thanks so much.
I really appreciate it.
Because people put a heavy emphasis on small size and light weight, there are no really robust consumer camcorders. They're all relatively fragile.
Do you want High Definition or Standard Definition?
Do you want it to record directly on DVD's? I generally recommend against DVD formats and steer people to better formats for editing. However, from your description, it will be used by someone that will never edit videos. If that's the case, a DVD based recorder makes sense because it doesn't require a computer or any extra work.
The big brands in the camcorder world are Sony, Canon, JVC, and Panasonic, Hitachi, Sanyo, and Samsung. I'm probably leaving someone out, but those are the brands that come to mind. I'm not familiar with any data on reliability or durability between the brands. I have a preference for Canon equipment, but I'm a part owner of the company, so I'm extremely biased.
I recommend that you look at
www.camcorderinfo.com for reviews and buying guides. A few specific models that I would look at include the Sony DCR-DVD508, the Panasonic VDR-D310, and the Canon DC50.
