New Camcorder - Mini DV or DVD

well-medicated

My teenage son would love a camcorder for Christmas, and since the whole family would be using it, I agreed, and have started to investigate types, makes, prices, etc. Would buying a DVD camcorder be an easier option to work with - ie transferring to PC, editing, etc?

Can these be used with recordable and re-writable DVDs?

Thanks in advance.

WM

Aiadi

If you are thinking of DVD versus tape then in my opinion neither. I would go for a hard-drive one with no tapes or DVDs as this seem to be the way forward. I would however wait for a bit as HD-capable cameras are slowly coming to the scene and until the price of these is more reasonable. If you are looking to buy now then I can't see much difference between tape or DVD although the DVD ones have a slight edge in terms of editing on the camera and ease of use. and yes they do work with rewritable DVDs (the best format in terms of editing and ease of use is DVD-RAM but not all PCs or DVD-players accept this format).

alared

As it is a first time buy, mainly for your son,I would go for a mini DV.
These days they are very compact and simple to use and can be picked up for about £160.
Why spend a lot of money first time round.
After initial use and novelty value a lot of camcorders gather dust in a cupboard.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21641

OK_Sauce

I concur. I would go for the Mini DV. Costs are down and performance is great. And a cheap firewire cable of ebay to the pc to transfer material, if your pc has a firewire port.

BigBouncyBall

If quality of picture is your main concern then i would go for Mini DV - its still the best quality.
If ease is your main concern then go for Hard drive (HDD) - just plug and play. Built for ease of use.
If you want a mix of both then DVD is a good option.

I would also look very carefully at the make of the camera. Sony are fantastic. Hitachi or some unknown make are not as good. They just aren't. Go with a well recognised brand rather than a company with no history of making cameras, lenses, tapes etc (Canon and Sony spring to mind)

Rikki

Decide what you want to use the camera for. Work out what features you need.
Visit a shop and have a look and a feel. Ask questions. You don't have to buy from them.

Personally I prefere mini dv (tapes).

Lawbag_2

where do you legally stand if you buy a DV camcorder because the sales assistant said the Hard Drive models were still a few years away, when in reality they were barely a few months away?