[garys314]

I am considering replacing my 8mm camcorder. What format should i be looking to move to? I am just looking to take family video.

Thanks in Advance,

Gary

[mistergoof]

I think the main chaoices are either HDD (hard disk) and Mini DV (tape).

HDD seems to be the growing market from the view of number of cameras appearing on the market or due very soon.

Mini DV produces good quality recordings and you can get upto 1.5 hours on a tape.

How much have you got to spend ?

have a scan around at other threads with titles along the lines of "What camera should I buy"

[redsox_mark]

The other dimension is high definition vs. standard definition.

For standard definition, there is miniDV, DVD, and HDD. MiniDV tends to give you the best quality for the money... but if you are willing to spend a bit more DVD or HDD can also give good quality. The main advantage of DVD is the ability to shoot and share quickly. HDD has the advantage of no tapes or disc needed... there are other pros and cons which have been discussed lately.

For high definition, today there is only HDV, which is tape (apart from some pro-formats, like a £4000 solid state Panasonic..). But very soon (next month) Sony is bringing out high def DVD and HDD camcorders. High def gives you much greater resolution. These cost more than standard def models of course.

Do you have a budget in mind?