[LittleRach]

Hi, I'm new here and looking for camcorder recommendations.

I'm expecting my first baby in May, and I thought it would be good to have a camcorder to capture those 'priceless' moments. I've looked around the internet, and I'm a bit bewildered.

I probably want to spend about £250-£350 (does this sound reasonable)?
Some kind of capability to edit films on the PC would be nice (but not essential). We have a standard DVD recorder and a DVD burner on the PC - will I be able to use these to record from the camcorder onto DVD?
Any recommendations for specific camcorders would be brilliant. Ideally something that's easy to use, not too complicated and pretty much 'point and shoot'. My husband and I are not great photographers!

Any advice at all that might help me find my way through the vast choice of stuff out there would be fantastic.

Thank you
Rachel

[redsox_mark]

That budget can get you a pretty good DV (digital tape) camcorder, or a more entry level DVD or HDD camcorder. With any of these options you can create DVDs using either your DVD recorder or PC. DV gives you the best quality for the money though.

I suggest the Canon MVX460, or if you can find one the MVX450 (the 450 seems rare, I think it may be discontined). They are the same except the 460 has DV and AV input. DV input allows you to save edited videos back to tape. AV input allows you to take any external source (e.g. TV, VHS tape) and convert it to digital for editing.

[LittleRach]

Thanks! I've had a look at this on some internet sites, and it seems to be the type of thing I'm looking for.

Another question - how do batteries work with these things? Do I plug it in to recharge it (kind of like I do my mobile phone), or do I have to take the batteries out and charge separately?

I also had a quick chat with my DH, apparently our PC has a firewire connection on the graphics card, will that connect to the camcorder if I buy a firewire cable? Some sites seem to say I need a DV cable, whereas others say firewire - so are these one and the same thing?

And finally, if I do go with this camcorder, what accessories (if any) would you recommend that I get?

Thanks so much - you all seem so knowledgeable here!

[redsox_mark]

You can charge the battery on the camcorder (like how you charge your phone). You can also buy chargers (so that you don't have to tie up your camcorder to charge the battery.

Firewire cable is same as DV cable.

Accessories? There is no specific "must have" items, other than a bag of some kind and tapes. Some to consider:

- A spare battery
- Video light
- Tripod
- Wide angle lens adapter (note MVX460 comes with one of these)

[LittleRach]

Well, I bought an MVX460.
I'm hoping that it will arrive today or tomorrow. We're off on holiday next week, so it will be the ideal opportunity to try it out. I'll let you know how we get on, and thanks again for all the advice.