AudiMan

I looking at getting a camcorder, but have no idea what type/make is the best to go for.
Budget of about £350,
Want to use for holiday filming, birthdays etc... but would like not to haveto buy loads of expensive storage cards, it's first use will be a 2 week holiday in the USA later this year, previously I've borrowed one (about the size of a fridge !!) and came back with about 3 hours of recording, so something which will do similar (without having to spend £££££'s on storage).
Also a good place to purchase, as I can see the chav salesman in Dixons just rubbing his hands with glee at customers like me !!.

Thanks

Ian..

Gutmann pug

E-buyer or digital camera company on-line.

Canon MV600i / MY650I that sort of thing. The (i) in the name mean it has AV and DV input meaning you can run bullet cams etc if you fancy in-car footage etc.

I have had two now and they are superb budget cams. Think I payed £279. They come with big zooms too. Basically they will zoom further than you can keep your hand steady, so more than good enough.

Gary

OllyK

I'd go for a digital tape based camera TBH. Storage cards are fine for pictures, but they usually are not fast enough to capture decent quality video - my camera has both and SD card based video is crap.

I have a panasonic, this is the replacement version of it.

There is also this which is closer to your price range. Make sure you have firewire card in your PC if that's how you plan to edit, USB is a pain in the bum. If you plan to edit via other means you may need to source a camera with DV in and out.

OllyK

Be careful with zoom - the optical zoom is the one you want plenty of. A 500x digital zoom is mostly a gimic that uses electronics to zoom in to the optically caught image - bit like zooming in to an image with photoshop, it soon gets very pixilated.

AudiMan

Good stuff guys, please keep the info coming, noted about optical zoom (this was the same with digi camera I bought),
Is mini dv the best format (from looking on Canon's web site it would appear it is at the moment).

Ian..

OllyK

I suspect there will be debate on format, especially with HD based cameras starting to appear, however, for now, yes I personally think Mini DV is the way to go.

scoobyjimbo

Agree with this recomendations.. nice unit
J