[infiltrator7]

My family is planning on buying a camcorder, and I'm not sure what kind to get. Is MiniDV the best right now? I'm going to be doing a good amount of video editing, so is MiniDV the best bet? Also, how much video can fit on a MiniDV disc or on a Harddrive based camcorder? thanks

[sostechs]

Go with MiniDV. Video/Audio is recorded to a small digital tape cassette and hold an average of 60 min. each. The footage is imported into your computer via FireWire input in DV format so you can edit it. The problem with DVD-R recording camcorders and such is the media is not in a good format to edit. If you want the best flexablility, MiniDV is the format and the most common.

Depending on what you want to spend, one major thing you want to make sure of is the CCD resolution. Ex: 680,000 and above. Get the highest you can for your budget and if your budget permits, check out the Canon HV10 or HV20. A true HiDEV camcorder for around a grand with great options.

[atomic tofu]

not sure what type of "BEST" you are looking at...

I am planning to try and pick up an HD cam for my vacation soon. So I am looking at the consumer models from Sony and Canon, and maybe Sanyo and JVC or Panasonic?

They all use a variety of media to store HD, from DVD, Harddrive to even minidv.

Again, not sure what your "best" is. I am leaning towards the Sony models that use mini DVDs or the Harddrive model. No minidv for me.

[AtomicAudio]

i would consider HD cammies if you wish. a friend of mine created a one hour film of us with some kind of thousand dollar program... im pretty sure it was easy the only thing that took him so long was to load it and to reformat or something...he used a toshiba that retails 1000 but not its down to about 400