Hi justjudy,
Your question is both difficult and easy. Easy because the Internet
has an embarrassment of information about digital video/still cameras,
difficult for the same reason (it's harder to distill than to
embellish). You didn't say whether you were interested in technical or
pricing information so I'll assume you want both.
First, let's assume you don't already know everything there is to know
about this very interesting and current subject. Like most electronic
product genres these days, the choices can be dizzying - there are
different formats, different brands, different quality levels,
different features, and, naturally, different prices. There is no way,
in the space of a brief answer, I can cover all that material myself,
but there are some excellent websites that do.
I would recommend you start by looking at "A Short Course in Digital
Video" at http://www.shortcourses.com/video/index.htm . This site will
walk you through an overview of the subject and a whole bunch of other
stuff. Best bet? Look at the "Introduction" chapter at this site, then
go to ON Magazine at
http://www.onmagazine.com/on-mag/how_to_buy/article/0,9985,128660,00.html
for a little Q & A that will give some additional information about
digital camcorders along with some useful guidelines about minimum
standards to look for when buying. Then flip back to the Short Course
to fill in the gaps on options and features. This site also has some
useful brand-specific information as well. I would also recommend
http://cameras.about.com/library/weekly/aabyb102201a.htm for a good
discussion of digital formats as well as a listing of their opinions
of the "Top 5 Digital Video Cameras" and the "Top 5 Budget Priced
Camcorders".
Armed with all that information about features and brand
possibilities, you should be prepared to do some comparison shopping.
Two good sites for that are PriceSCAN.com (
http://www.pricescan.com/digiphoto/080201.asp ) and BizRate.com (
http://bizrate.com/marketplace/search/search__cat_id--11140000,keyword--digital%20camcorders,de_id--200.html
). Both these sites will provide not only extensive pricing
comparisons, but also vital information about the vendors offering the
prices you're interested in. This will allow you to buy with
confidence that you're getting a competitive price from a reliable
company.
I'm confident that with the knowledge the sites above offer, matched
to your assessment of your personal needs, you'll be able to purchase
a digital camcorder that will serve you well for a very long time. If,
for any reason, you need further clarification of this answer, don't
hesitate to ask - I'll get back to you quickly.
Thanks for your question,
ericynot-ga |
