What to look for in a camcorder?

[Blind_Io]

I would like to get a camcorder at some point. I want to use it mostly for documenting my off road trips and such. I plan to build a mount that will attach to the dash and point out the windscreen.

Honestly, I know fuck-all about video cameras, the last one my family had was made around 1989. So what features should I look for? Since I plan on using the camera while on the road, an easily replaceable media is important. A HDD is out, I don't want to haul a laptop with a big external drive along on my trips. I also need something that can function through the vibration of off road and dirt road driving.

Of course the smaller the camera, the better.

I don't need something that is really state-of-art. A used camera that is a couple years old will be fine if it has the ability to do what I want at a more reasonable cost.

[Ladamaha]

Night vision for those special dark moments.

Giggity.

Shouldn't this be in technology?

[darkshark0159]

Well, don't get a DVD camcorder. Those are awful because getting the video on your computer to edit is a great pain. I personally think tape/MiniDV camcorders are also to be avoided because I've dealt with several nightmare tape corruptions. That leaves SD-card and HDD cams, my recommendation. SD-card cams are cheaper and just as functional as the HDD ones with a class 6 SDHC card, so that is probably a good option.

I am not too up on the market otherwise, as it has been a while since my last camcorder purchase, but based on what I have seen, Sanyo seems to offer a lot of camera for the price.

[argatoga]

BetaMax.

Though if you want something less awesome solid state is always good.

[Speedtouch]

Panasonic and Sony offer the best lenses, but Sonys don't tend to take SD cards - only expensive Sony Memory Stick Pros etc.

[Cobol74]

Canon - great Vids - I have had mine 5 years works a treat and great piccie. Sound is OK for onboard mikes too - love it to bits. ...

USA Canon:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...categoryid=102