[Urien Rheged]

Can anyone suggest what are the best camcorders to go for that can record straight to DVD? My maximum budget is £400, ideally looking for something a bit less if possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

[redsox_mark]

Panasonic VDR-D250, available online from £330, is good value. It is a 3 CCD model.

[Urien Rheged]

Please can you give me an idea on what I should be looking for?

Is the panasonic one the best one in that price range to get, are there any other alternatives to this?

Is the CCD number more important than the zooms?

Cheers

[redsox_mark]

There are other options.

At the most basic level you need to consider features and quality. In terms of quality I think that Panasonic is about the best sub £400. The Sony DVD404 is similar quality but costs about £450. Could also consider the Canon DC19 and similar price to the Panasonic; or if you want to go sub £300 the Sony DVD205.

For features, some things to consider:

Number of Mega Pixels (for stills - doesn't matter for video)
Memory card slot (useful for stills)
USB (gives more options for editing/PC connection)
The built in mic (some have 5.1 audio)
If it has an external mic input (most don't)
The amount of manual controls
Electronic or Optical Image Stabilisation (in this price all are Electronic I believe)
Accessory shoe (to mount a light or mic)

The VDR-D250 has

- 2.3 MP stills with a memory card (SD) slot
- USB
- Stereo mic built in
- Has external mic input
- Good manual controls
- Electronic IS
- Accessory Shoe

[Urien Rheged]

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...ory_oid=-24890


Just out of interest, saw this and wasn't sure how good this compared against the others.

[redsox_mark]

I'm not familiar with that model, but the Hitachi camcorders I've seen were not as good as Panasonic, Sony, Canon. In that price range I think the Sony DVD205 is a safer choice.