HD Camcorders

[Aggie]

Me and my better half want to purchase an HD Camcorder for Christmas. Anyone have one and have any warnings/suggestions.

I know we're limiting ourselves with price but we're hoping not to spend more than $500-$600.

Thanks in advance!

[suggums]

hope you've got good hardware if you plan on doing all the editing of footage yourself-that hi def stuff takes up lots of hard drive space and resources. i havent made the transition myself, as there's still no universal hd standard, like mini dv has been. thats what i still use, and $500-600 goes a lot further for a mini dv camera than an hd, not to mention the potential editing investment. i'd stick with the big brands and just do some online research as far as what features you want specifically-for example, whether it's a camera with an internal hard drive or one that writes directly to dvds, a resolution setting of 720p or 1080i, or the zoom length, these are all considerations based on what you'll use it for. from a quick google shopping search it looks like sony, canon, panasonic, and jvc all have cameras online in your price range, but be sure you know what you're getting for the price-you don't want to end up with a refurbished model without lots of the accessories if you're expecting an unopened original box. and just read lots of reviews of the products before buying anything

[PapaBear]

hope you've got good hardware if you plan on doing all the editing of footage yourself-that hi def stuff takes up lots of hard drive space and resources.
When it comes to space and resources, Newegg has some crazy good deals right now. For instance... 640GB hard drive for $75. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218&nm_mc=TEMC-Essentials&cm_mmc=TEMC-Essentials-_-content-_-Essentials-_-22136218) Depending on the type of RAM you use, I've also seen 2GB of RAM for around $24.