Camcorder advice

[jonshaw1875]

Hi there,

Have just stumbled across this forum while desperately searching for info on camcorders that I can make senes of. Hoping that someone here can offer some advice.

I am hoping to buy my first camcorder and have been researching as much as possible but, while all the review sites and info sites give technical info and opininon on differnent models and features, I am not entirely sure I actually know what I am looking for in laymans terms.

To sum up briefly - I need a camcorder that will primarily be used for practising camera technique (I am an actor/presenter) and will therefore be locked off on a tripod in my home studio with me prancing around in front of it trying to get better. For this I probably do not need a particularly fancy camera however I would like to use some footage to add to my showreel (if any is worth keeping) and may also like to film various scenes outside of the studio for use on the showreel. Currently my showreel has a fair amount of professional work on it and, as such, while I can't afford anything near pro standard I would like the camera to be fairly good quality so that any footage used would not look too out of place. I will also use the camera for the usual family holiday and other more standard consumer use.

I think it is therefore worth going for HD. If so would anyone recommend, for the above, going with Mini DV tapes of HDD?

Looking at various review sites the Canon HV30 and Sony HRD SR11/12 look amazing but do I really need to go for that end of the market?

In terms of important things for me - futureproofing is the main one as I don't want to have to buy another camera in a year or two's time, an external mic option is also essential as I will deifnitely want to use an external mic, features for adjusting white balance etc I think I would probably use and low light performance would be good as I don't have great studio lighting.

Not so bothered about brand, weight, other functions that I don't need.

The only other thing that I am confused about would be editing. I will most likely use final cut and have a not too hot computer but that is due an upgrade too - I am not that techincally minded though so the more straighforward the better.

Any advice very gratefully received!

Thanks