What type of camcorder should I buy for movies with friends and filming sports games?

[bennyone]

I am a fifteen year old boy who wants to get a camcorder. I need it to be definently under $400. The cheaper the better, but it does need to be quality. I will be using it for movies with friends, filming sports games (example: Ultimate Frisbee), etc.

 

[Chuckie]

Here's a good explanation of the various types of camcorders - http://www.digitalvideoclub.com/basics/camcorder.php What you decide to buy would depend on what you plan to do with the video. I'd suggest a miniDV camcorder if you think you'll be getting into movie making / video editing.Here's a great website to research camcorders:http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

 

[Jake]

There are a number of camcorders that could easily work in your price range. The JVC Everio line has some nice hard drive based camcorders that are under $400. If you can up your budget by about $50, the best consumer camcorder in the under $500 category is the Panasonic PV-GS3xx line which has 3CCDs and will give you the best looking video image of any of the starter camcorders.Whatever you do, steer clear of DVD camcorders if you plan to do any kind of video editing as the files are painful to work with for editing on a computer.Here's my 10 favorite tips for anyone buying a digital camcorder:http://www.jakeludington.com/camcorder/20061016_10_tips_for_buying_a_digital_camcorder.html