OK, a slight exageration but I've been reading way more than my employer would probably like me to during work about camcorders which I knew next to nothing about. I now know next to something about them but am held hostage by whatever review I read or forum I land upon. One minute I'm almost at the virtual checkout and the next my list has grown to 5. The problem is that I'm in the same boat as most people that dedicate too much time to researching a new toy. I like to know what I'm buying as I can't stand knowing that for £30 more (or sometimes less) I could have had feature x,y or z even though in my heart of hearts I'm probably never going to use them. I like to know that I've made a relatively informed decision which in turn makes me buy a better than average product (for my money) which in turn makes the enjoyment of the product that little bit better. I once bought a laptop without doing too much research and although it does the job well, I know I would have been happier if I'd just done a little more research and probably opted for another model. Hopefully you are getting my point...

These are essentially my major pre-requisites for camcorder:

It has to be easy to use as the wife will be doing much of the shooting and she has expressed a wish for simplicity. This is an overriding factor.

I'll be mainly shooting whatever my daughter is doing so that covers a myriad of possibilities.

It needs to shoot relatively well in poor'ish light (however, I doubt my acceptance quality is as high as Stephen Spielbergs so it doesn't have to be drop dead good).

I'm leaning towards the MiniDV format but I still love the fact that DVD is universally accepted (almost) and can be put straight into the DVD maching in the living room that my Nan can turn on and use (without any faffing about).

My budget is about £400 (I realise I need to buy equipment after this, carry bag, better battery, discs/tapes etc...).

I prefer the bigger brands (Sony/Canon/Panasonic etc...).

Smaller is better but ultimately I don't want to sacrifice quality.

I had originally opted for the Sony HC96 as this seems to be good at low level lighting conditions, had read a few good reviews and was one of the new kids on the block. Then I thought that £500 was a bit steep so dropped down to £400 and then went for the Sony HC42 but I read a review that it wasn't so good in low level light even though I'd read lots of customer reviews singing it's high praises.

Now I'm stuck not knowing what to do as I don't want to be disapopointed if I go with the HC42.

I've read the very informative review entitled "How to pick the perfect camcorder" but think the the final choices are a little out of my depth.

Any ideas?

[gkinghrn]

Go get What Camcorder magazine , find your budget price , check the specs and buy one...if it;s the wife who uses it she wont care!

Thanks for the advice about the mag. I've been trying to find it in NewsAgents and can't seem to. I've been to four main sotores so far and no luck...

[lfgj]

New edition should be out on 23rd March

[senu]

Yep...
base your camcorder around your budget and expect the camera to reflect that price: £500 is reasonable
All camcorders can be used in point and shoot video mode (full auto) only later do people try to see what more they can squeeze out of it by toying with manual controls
If its Too small, paradoxically there is tendency for a lot of shake: too big may need a tripod! (either way having one is actually good practice as shaky video is nausea inducing on playback !)
Low light cabability is relative but the "names" ( Sony Canon Panasonic) should gennerally not let you down.

[Peter Fugaccia]

I would quite happily recommend the Sony HC42 you are looking at. I use it mainly for the kids as well and often indoors. It copes reasonably well, but as you said we all have different standards. You will get the HC 42 for well under £400. I paid around £325 from an online retailer. If low light is something that concerns you, what about buying a light either hand held or for the camcorder to give extra when you need it. You should be able to afford that with the money left over from your £400 budget.
The HC42 is very easy to use and the widescreen LCD makes it easy to see exactly what you are recording. I am very pleased with my purchase.