If possible, take a demo unit of the digital video camera you plan to buy outside before making a purchase. Many of the LCD screens on camcorders don’t perform well in bright sunlight, making it next to impossible to see what you’re recording. There are little visors you can get to shade the LCD screen from the sun, but that’s also one more thing to carry. If you can find a camcorder with a great LCD screen, you’ll be better served.

If you find the LCD isn’t performing up to par in bright light, the Hoodman LCD sun shade is likely your best alternative. –Jake Ludington

If you buy a digital video camera, you need a tripod to go with it. There’s no other accessory, outside of a longer life battery, that will improve your video recording experience. The key here is to get the right tripod. It’s tempting to get the off-the-shelf options at the electronics store, but they always fall short. Look for a fluid-head. Make sure the tripod extends high enough to shoot effectively – 72-inches is a good starting point, because anything less often leaves you shooting the backs of people’s heads in a crowded area. eBay offers a great selection of fluid-head tripods at competitive prices. –Jake Ludington

The current range of digital video cameras with digital still camera functionality is inferior to almost all digital still cameras. The idea of a combined camera is better in concept than it is in practice. If taking digital stills is important, get a camera designed for taking digital stills. Focus on the core video features when buying a digital video camera and think of the digital still functions as a convenient bonus if they happen to work well. If you’re dead set on getting a camera with both features, get a digital still camera with video functions – the still cameras take better video than the video cameras. –Jake Ludington

I’ve seen the CANON DC40 and I am impressed. Canon DC40 is very attractive with a functional design It was built with solid quality. The videcam is very decent daytime and surprisingly solid low-light video quality and has a broad set of semimanual photo and video controls.

However,the videocam also has its boo-boos. It has small LCD and it uses Mini SD cards rather than standard SD. It has a blinding video light and there’s no S-Video input for converting analog video to DVDs.

The important bottomline here is that the Canon DC40 definitely deserves a spot on your short list of DVD camcorders.

Getting the right features in a camera is important. It’s also vital to make sure the camera you are buying fits you. Can you hold the camera steady while shooting video? Is the video camera comfortable in your hand? Are the buttons placed in a way that makes them easy to press without jostling the camera during recording? Is the camera a size you’re comfortable taking with you, or is it too big so you’ll never use it? Will the camcorder fit in your purse or do you need a separate bag? All these are questions that help determine whether a digital video camera is a good fit for your needs. –Jake Ludington

The Sony HDR-CX7 is a compact HD camcorder that records directly to Memory Stick Duo. It can record SD video and take good images with a 6.1 MP still camera. The HDR-CX7 has optical image stabilization, 10x optical zoom, and a 2.7″ touch panel LCD. You can play back your video on the PS3. With its Super NightShot mode, it can shoot in total darkness up to 10 feet. It is best for those who want to record high quality videos but need a light video camera without too many trimmings. The HDR-CX7 will set you back between $800-900 at most online retailers

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The video camera has a built-in GPS sensor allowing geo-tagging with a simple time-zone adjust feature that can be seen easily on-screen. One other nifty feature is the smile sensor which takes still images when the subject does smile, letting you capture better pictures at 8.3 Mega Pixels. The built-in software also automatically creates scene highlights instead of painstakingly getting you to do it by yourself. It features a proprietary Professional Quality Sony Lens and the unit comes with smart-interface for mic and other accessories. It also has the ability to capture images at a recording rate of 240 frames per second compared to the normal 60 FPS allowing smooth slow motion even in the swiftest of action. Recording can be achieved with either the hard-drive or the built-in memory stick slot. Sony has continued to improve on their video camera’s and they are some of the most popular consumer electronic goods in the world. Reliable and with excellent quality they will continue to do so for the coming years.

Sony has long been in the forefront of the digital video phenomenon and with this version, they have taken it a step further with a built-in 240 Gb hard drive that is protected by HDD Smart protection that prevents damage to the drive and data stored within should the camera be dropped onto the floor during filming. They have also introduced a whole line of mini-DVD based recorders that allows quick recording direct to DVD’s for playing on any device (varies for some players may jump at such a small sized DVD). The mounted drive can store up to 101 hours of video at a full Sony HD format of 1920X1080 resolution. Using a 1/2.88″ proprietary Exmor R CMOS sensor with ClearVid array, it takes sharp and absolutely stunning video and stills. It has better low-light shooting capabilities due to an innovative add on to the CMOS sensor array that has a back-light that allows it to capture more light and is almost similar to how night vision camera’s work, bouncing light into the sensor getting more light in .

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One of the small generation of video recorders from Kodak, it is small and suited for use in all weather. Shaped like a mobile phone, it uses SD/SDHC memory cards for data storage which can go up to 10 hours of 720p HD video. It can record video in bright light as well as low light though some improvement may be needed in the audio recording due to dismal performance. Some reviews also found the low light video recording abilities a bit too exaggerated. The device is well suited for teens and their irresponsible ways, being weatherproof and small enough to fit in most pockets, they can withstand quite a lot of abuse. They can use 2 standard high-capacity double AA alkaline cells but for constant use, a good pair of rechargables(or more, ) would do better for those whole days of fun out on in the sun. Full Story »

Anybody who has used a video camera knows that too much movement can make even the toughest viewer to get a headache and thanks to stabilization technology, this has become less and less of a problem with today’s digital video camera’s. If you were to peel away all the plastic casings and other parts, you will come upon the CCD detector or the image capturing part of your camera, you’ll find that it is enclosed within a metal frame with the detector itself mounted on voice-coils (magnetic coils that move up and down or left to right).
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