Recommendations for video camera please...

[angelat]

I am looking for recommendations on camcorders. I would like to buy one for my DH and I for Christmas. But I’m always afraid that I’ll research one and then get it home and it’s horrible. Can you get a good one for around $250? I’d like to have one for our next trip (Sept 2009), but I’d like to give it to DH for Christmas.

Any recommendations either for or against, would be very much appreciated.

 

[bicker]

Personally, I'd stick with either Sony or Canon. I find that they're the best combination of easy to use, feature functionality, reliability, service and support, and performance.

One thing I would keep in mind now is how long you plan to use this camera. If you're aiming for a camera you'll use for a few years, then that's one thing. However, if you're looking to invest in a camera that you'll use for the next eight, ten or more years, then at this point you should restrict your search to HD cameras. The old, lower res cameras that have been the standard for a many years are soon going to be 'the old stuff'.

 

[ntsammy5]

We've always had JVC and they're great. Right now we have a very small hybrid (HDD and Flash) and it works like a charm but they also cost $500+ - min-dv ones are reasonably inexpensive now and take great pictures. Good luck

 

[bicker]

I would definitely recommend Mini-DV (inexpensive) or HDD (expensive) over DVD (inexpensive). The reliability of Mini-DV is unmatched -- I believe similar tapes are used for important data backups.