Help buying Digital Camcorder

[Connoisseur]

I'm seriously considering buying a digital camcorder at some point within the next 5-6 months. I want to get into recording the trips I frequent with my college buddies but I know very little about digital camcorders. I was hoping someone could tell me what specific qualities I should look for in a digital camcorder. Furthermore, if someone could recommend me a couple of good options, that would also be great). My "requirements" (just basic guidelines):

1) Budget (<=$800)
2) Good video quality.... I've seen a couple of digital camcorders and I understand that a lot of them (especially in my price range) won't produce analog quality video. But the higher the vid. quality the better. Also, I hear that the digi camcorders add a tint to the image... minimizing this tint would be ideal.
3) Portable... I saw a really awesome one at circuit city the other day that I could hold in my palm. It's probably not in my price range but if it is, can someone tell me?

I understand that my requirements conflict with each other, but I was hoping someone could suggest a solution that offers a good compromise between the three. Obviously i'd like awesome quality but I want to keep the price down and I also want to keep it portable.

 

[Connoisseur]

Err, I did say <$800 but I'd prefer the price to be as low as possible. Thus if someone could suggest something in the sub-600 range that would be cool too thx.

 

[snidy1]

I got the canon optera20 and love it. It's only $450

 

[randomlinh]

The canon Elura 10 anyone? It's $500 clearanced at best buy... any opinions?

 

[AmdInside]

Panasonic makes a 3CCD camcorder which is available online for a little over $500. I would go with that one.

 

[gsellis]

OK, here are some things you need to answer.

Are you doing most of your 'important' video in bright light or indoors?
Reason - In general, the more pixels a camera supports on 'stills' will result in lower performance in poor lighting. Some cameras do better in lower light than others. And ignore the Lux listed by most cameras as it is meaningless as listed by many of the mfgrs.

Is size/weight important?
Reason - obvious, but some of the bigger units may give you better results (in general, a bigger lens means more light, which means better performance.)

It is new, so I cannot state whether it will live up to its possible promise, but the Panasonic GS120 may be one of the better cameras for image quality under $800. It uses 3 CCDs. What 3 CCDs give you is better color response. A single chip has to convert red, green, and blue. A 3 CCD camera splits the load (and generally increases the amount of sensor) of capturing RGB. It is under 1 pound and toploads (important if you have it on a tripod.)

I recommend you ignore how good a camera does stills. Better stills usually means poorer performance if you want to film grandma blowing out the candles at her birthday party. Also remember that <1Mp stills are web quality. Get a still camera if you want stills.

Image stabilization is very important. No matter what, you will get some vibration. Too much Jolt cola will ruin a hand-held shot without it . The best is optical stabilization, but I do not think that there is any camera in that range that has it. Panasonic improved their electronic stabilization on the new cameras. Sony's is good too. Never shot a Canon and I have only used a VHS-C JVC, so no help there.

The best expert advise can be found here:

DVInfo Net

There are a couple of review sites that might help, but those links are at home.