If you had the choice, Canon FS100 or Canon DC330?

[nigpd]

I need to decide between the Canon FS100 and the Canon DC330 as a christmas present for my partner. She wants a fairly simple camcorder for family stuff and likes the look of both of these. Both are in budget.

If you had the choice, which one would it be?

Thanks in advance for your advice

[A n d r e w]

If it's a straight shootout between these two, I'm backing the FS100. DVD camcorders are the pits.

There's also the Canon MD235, just to complicate things.

Andrew.

[felix2]

Having just spent an hour and trying about 8 different methods before successfully getting some footage off a Canon DVD camcorder so I could edit it, I personally wouldn't recommend a DVD camcorder of any sort.

I'm guessing you still get better "bang for your buck" with tape, but memory card or hard disk are obviously seen to be quicker / easier to access your footage (play it back, or copy it to computer).

[nigpd]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like it's gonna be the FS100

[A n d r e w]

Make sure to take a look at the FS100 thread here: My opinion - Canon FS100 review. It'll give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. Looks like pretty good value for money. The picture quality won't be quite as good as a similarly priced miniDV (tape-based) unit, and it won't excel in indoor settings without plenty of daylight, but you get the convenience of memory card recording and a tidy, small, handbag-friendly camcorder.

All the best,
Andrew.

[nigpd]

Thanks for the link Andrew.

Makes for good reading and looks like it will perfect for my lady.

Ive got Vista Ultimate and a card reader built in to my laptop so should be a doddle to convert to DVD