GainesvilleMoms.com

With Christmas coming up, my husband is so excited about buying a new video camera!! He wanted me to ask what other parents are using to record those special moments (type of camera, brand, etc). Do you prefer the mini-DVD type? Are there other types? We are new to buying a video camera.

We have a digital camera that also shoots video but it doesn't come out as clearly as we would like it to.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

I bought the Hitacjo DVDCam. It uses the DVD mini disk. The one I have is a 30x optical lens. It is pretty nice. I got mine off of Ebay -new for about $200. Just remember to buy an extra battery with more battery power.

I had a Sony Hand Cam- I really liked that too. You may want to look at eBay or half.com or overstock.com to see what you can get for a reasonable prices and then compare it to what Walmart or Best Buy or Circuit city has.

Lisa...I have one suggestion if you go with the MiniDV camera. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation regarding which brand tape to use. Even if it's the more expensive brand. The reason is this (I found out after mine broke). Apparently there is some sort of lubricant on the actual tape. And each brand uses it's own lubricant. Unfortunatley, these are usually different formulas and mixed together can cause a gummy gunk to build up in your camera. And unless your camera is under warranty, you have to pay an exorbitant fee (about the same as a new camera) to send it off for repair. And you may get a refurbished model back.

we have the Sony Mini DVD, I love it
It also takes really great pictures too. The only downfall is the disk are only 30mins, so you have to stock up on them. And yes paying for warranties can some times be worth it. I haven't had any troubles with mine.
I highly recommend not buying the top of the line new ones- I paid way too much money for it and about six months later it was only a couple hundred dollars, ugh.

I love hearing all of these suggestion! We have a JVC digital VHSC. And while it works great, there are a few things I'd look for in our next camcorder.

We don't have any lights, so we can't record if there isn't good lighting. And I think we will get a camcorder that uses DVDs next time. Our's uses those little VHS tapes, and I'm worried those aren't even going to be on the market much longer.

Stacy, you are likely right about the mini VHS tapes so if you can find a way to convert the ones you have now onto disc, I would do it. The next thing to go will be the VCR therefore you will have no way to play them. We have a Sony that uses those and now we don't even have a VCR so there is no point in my using that now! I would, and I actually am planning to very soon, get an HDD type camera that will record onto a hard drive. This way you can also pop a disc into your computer (if it has this feature and most do anymore) and copy the recorded material onto discs and those are easier to share with family and will hold a lot more recorded media. If HDD is out of your budget then the mini DVD would be the next best option.