Need help buying a camcorder

[CRAFTY]

If everything goes as planned, I'm going to LA in the summer of '08 (a trip that has been postponed way too many times, so I'm most definitely planning on going this time around). Since I'll be there, I thought it would be nice to capture some memories on a camcorder.

Now, like most people, I'm looking for a product that has a reasonable quality/price rate. I've just done a little bit of research on the Web (checked out the Canon and Sony websites) to know what exaclty is on the market at the moment.
Based upon the info I got off of the Sony website, I summed it up as follows:

1) First of all, you have to choose whether you buy a camcorder with Standard Definition (SD) or High Definition (HD).

2) Then, you have to decide which type of camcorder you want:
 - tape (HDV)
 - DVD (AVCHD DVD)
 - harddisk (AVCHD HDD)
 - memory stick (AVCHD Memory Stick)

Now, let me start off by saying that I haven't decided yet which type I'm going to buy: SD or HD. Most likely I'll buy a HD-camcorder, but I'm not 100% sure of it yet.
The most important thing for me to decide is of course which type I want: tape, DVD, harddisk or memory stick. From what I've read, the tape-camcorder seems to be the most popular one nowadays, since it has lots of storage capacity in contrary to (for instance) a DVD-camcorder.

Before I make it anymore complicating, I was wondering if anyone on this forum could give me some tips/suggestions on what kind of camera is worth buying.
Interesting note: I don't plan on using the camera that often. Like I said, I'll be using it for my trip to LA, but other than that, I don't use camcorders a lot. For future trips to, for instance Spain or Greece, I'll use it as well of course. In other words, the camcorder I'll buy will come in handy for me only once or twice a year.

Thanks in advance for the help WCC

[We Fly High]

i have a sony hcr 20 Mini DV cam, thats what ive been using past 3 years... i believe this is the most prevalent type stil.. and i think the mini dv is just an easier format to work with relative to like the dvds and everything (not 100). i dont know much about the hard drive or thte memory sticks...

just make sure u have good lighting functions on the camera.. thats what ive learned..

[CRAFTY]

^^^^So yours is a "tape" camcorder, right? Are you satisfied of your Sony cam, or would you recommend a different brand?

[AboveTheLaw]

I would generally avoid anything other than those camcorders using tape fomats (like MiniDV) as the compression formats used on HDD, DVD and Memory stick make the videos you record a bit harder to work with should you choose to edit them later on.

What's the budget you're working with?

[CRAFTY]

Well, that's a good question. I don't really have an idea on how much a good camcorder costs. None of the websites (Canon, Sony, etc...) have it listed on their page. Would you happen to know how much good camcorders costs these days?

[AboveTheLaw]

Well that's the thing, if I personally were to blow a $1000 on another camera I'd look at the Canon HV20. I was playing around with one and the image quality on that is pretty impressive. Not a bad price considering you can also shoot in HD (1920x1080 on standard MiniDV tapes, although you're limited to approximately 20 minutes of recording) and it has a HDMI output.

Consider which describes you best:

- Consumer: Standard camera, High optical zoom but low light performance, not much bells or whistles, for taping your friends getting drunk to post on youtube, etc. Anywhere from $300 to $600.

- Prosumer: More manual controls, tend to be limited to 10x optical zoom, better build and image quality and may have 3CCD or HD CMOS. Note that hese type are still limited in low light situations. Anywhere from $700 to $1000.
 
- Professional: Higher quality lenses, support for XLR to use with professional Mics, superior image quality in a wide range of lighting with higher optical zooms. Can be complicated and you'll most definitely have to read the manuals for these. You'll find these on production sets with limited budgets, independent movies, wedding videography, sales and corporate videos, etc. They also allow 24p, advertising it as a "Film Look" feature, but these are really terrible knockoffs of the sort of quality you can only get from using actual 35mm and 70mm film. Anywhere from $2000 to $7000.

- Industrial: Now this shit gets way outta line. Not much to say here, all there is to know is that you'll only find these in TV and sports broadcast. $50,000 and up.

(Price estimates. It all depends on where you decide to purchase from. I'd generally avoid retail)

Best thing to do is check out some shops but avoid all sales reps and just play around with whatever is on display.

Look for:
- Optical zoom (Disregard anything concerning digital zoom, which simply enlarges pixels)
- Records to MiniDV (Still the most cheap, reliable and most versatile format)
- Image quality
- Build quality (Google the model numbers you're interested in and check if there are any defects or known issues from other users)
- Image Stabilizer (Again check for optical over digital)
- Clear Viewfinder
- Ease of use
- Manual controls
- Firewire (for your PC or Mac to capture the video, which can then be editing, converted and burned to DVD)

Most Camcorders also double as a Still Camera, but it's best to get a dedicated unit for Photography if you're interested in that.

Good luck!

[CRAFTY]

^^^^Thanks a lot for the info. You seem to know what you're talking about. I'll go check out some shops next week, to compare different kinds of camcorders.

And as far as a budget is concerned, I think I'll go no higher than $ 1,000 and as far as a category, I'm situated in the "Prosumer" section.

+1 bro. Really appreciate your help.

[AboveTheLaw]

No prob!