anybody know much about camcorders as i am looking for a decent one up to

I got one a few years ago so some of this advice may be a bit outdated

Go for Mini DV over DVD or other formats as Mini DV is far more flexible and reliable. Make sure you go to somewhere like Currys/Comet where you can try out the camcorders side by side - I'd had my heart set on a Canon one as the spec was impressive for the price, but when I tried one it just felt rubbish in my hands compared to the slightly more expensive Sony one. Ignore digital zoom figures as they'll be something silly like 120x and just concentrate on the optical zoom figures and make sure they offer what you need. Check battery life of the models you're interested in - I didn't and ended up spending extra on top of my budget for a big battery. I was also advised to make sure I got one with firewire in and out, but to be honest, I've only really ever used firewire out (to pull the footage onto the PC).

I went for a Sony TRV-33 (at least I think that's the model) and have been really happy with it and friend's who've borrowed it have also been impressed. Only real downsides for me are that the tripod mount obscures the tape ejection mechanism so you can't change tapes while it's on the tripod (no big deal really) and the touch screen controls on the display are not the easiest to use in bright sunlight.

Chris

in the end i went for a panasonic 3ccd nvgs180b mini dv from currys at only

Sounds good! Will you be publishing the video? :rofl:

Chris

Sounds good! Will you be publishing the video? :rofl:

Chris

dont think i am ready to spend the rest of my life living in our shed:rofl: