OK

I agree with Ronnie - forget about DVD cams.  Mini DV is the way to go and Ronnie's recommendation of the Canon XL1 is right.  Personally, I have the Sony equilavent the DCRVX2000E.  This is also a 3 chip camera and the results are simply superb.  3 Chip means there is one imaging chip in the camera for Red, Green and Blue.

You can obtain software from the likes of Pinnicle that will edit the footage and you can make a DVD from there.  The results will be a whole lot better.  Personally, I use Adobe Premire Pro but this is on a different level.

At the end of the day it depends upon what you want to do with the footage you shoot.  If you want to make videos that have high quality pictures and you want to sell / distribute then this is the route to take.  If, however, you only want to shoot the occasional holiday for example and want to show to friends, then the DVD option is OK.

What ever you get, don't be sucked in by the gimicks like 100x digital zoom, endless dissolves and fades (you can do this at the editing stage) dolby surround (how can a mic on a camera be surround sound?) etc.  What you do want is a proper manual focus ring (preferably a zoom ring as well although hardly any camers have these now) control over white balance, back light facility etc.

Finally, I have found my Sony cam to be excellent.  The results from this semi pro unit are superb and it looks the part when filming weadings etc.  I have the extended info lithum battery and this powers the cam for an entire day and evening.

Sorry if I rambled a bit and I hope this helps.

Hi,

That looks VERY nice indeed.  You will get superb results with that cam mate.  Out of interest, what did you pay?

I have always fancied a shoulder mount cam but never been able to afford or justify.

Hmm my TV is a nearly 7 year old Sony 50Hz Wega, it has had 2 free visits for upgrading*, free updates via PCMCIA card when necessary

* Digital text and CAM support

My digital video camera is very good - only dropped twice this last week
It was one of the first Mini DV with a proper anamorphic mode.

Sony did a free repair on my wifes 3 year old digital camera (CCD problem - known bug).

Other makes I rate are Pioneer, Pace, and Castle

My own personal experience-avoid dvd cams!! Had a Hitachi one that went wrong & was a nightmare to get repaired then replaced!! 

I totally agree with other replies - mini dv or a hd camcorder is the way 2 go!

Thing is the dvd cam sounds a good idea but in practice isn't cause you almost always edit footage on a pc. This pretty much negates the advantage of playing the dvd disc straight from camera! 

Also,some makes of dvd cam encode with a unique manafacturers format which means any editing means encoding again! In addition, I invariably wanted to put my footage onto a full size dvd - something that can be done easier & cheaper with non-dvd cameras!

Now I have a cheapo Samsung mini dv camera which has very good video capture although admittedly the still photo's aren't as good.