What is the best camcorder/ video camera for a beginner?

Q. I've always been into the whole making movies thing.
And I would like to start making short clips and stuff.
But i don't know where to start.
What would you recommend?

-I'm looking for an affordable video camera. And I'm imagining one of those $2000 ones but I guess that's too.. way out of my league at the moment. I can't really see myself making a video with a itty bitty camcorder.

A. I was looking for a "good" camcorder that was reasonably priced and easy to use. I read many, many reviews and compared several different makes of camcorders. I kept leaning towards the Canon FS100 camcorder. I was told that the video quality of the Canon FS100 was better than the competitors when it was being shown on a widescreen television. But the reviews really confused me because there were reviews that went from 5 stars down to one. The higher reviews said the camera had great video quality, while the 1 & 2 star reviews said the video quality was terrible. Video quality was probably the most important feature I wanted in a camera, so which was it, really good or really bad. The only way to find out was to try one myself. So I ordered one from Amazon.com, because their return policy is excellent. If I didn't like it for any reason, I would just return it. When I received the camcorder, I charged the battery and started using it immediately. I think it is very easy to use, and the "video" quality was excellent on my widescreen TV. I was thrilled. When shooting in extreme low light situations, the video is grainy, but acceptable for me. I really don't plan on shooting in the dark with the mini video light on the camera. Regular indoor video with existing lamp light, was still excellent quality. BUT, if you are wanting to use the camcorder for still pictures, don't. The still picture quality is pretty bad. Now, about the packaged software that comes with the camcorder. I didn't like it. The camcorder saves the video in .MOD format, which MAKES you use the Canon software. So for you beginner and intermediate users, my suggestion is to download "SDCOPY" from the internet to your computer. The "SDCOPY" will convert the .MOD files to .MPEG files. Then, you will be able to use different software programs. I am using Windows Vista on my computer, so I use the Windows Movie Maker program that comes on Vista to burn my video onto DVDs. So I didn't have to buy any additional software. I am not shooting video for "professional" reasons. I just want my memories recorded onto DVDs so I can watch them in years to come. So for those of you that may be looking for a really good camcorder at a great price (under $500 at Amazon), and one that is easy to use, then I recommend the Canon FS100. How can you go wrong at that price and receive great videos? I absolutely love mine.

Original Question

What type of camcorder should I recommend for my work to purchase?

Q. We are looking for a camcorder that uses Mini-DV tapes. We would film indoors a lot so good low light quality is important. We are looking to spend less than $1500 but for the right camera could go up to $2000. We want good sound quality. I am not a pro so I wouldn't need a bunch of fancy controls, but some flexibility would be nice. What camera would you recommend us to purchase? Are there any that you have experience with that are terrible? Thanks!

A. Hello there,
the GS500 is rated pretty good for light situation and is a three ccd! Professional quailty made by panasonic.

You can go to camcorderinfo.com and look at the reviews. It was a little too pricey ($999) so I settled for a gs300

lance

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