In need of a good yet cheap camcorder

[TheLizardMan]

I want a digi cam. And I want a cheap one that has IEEE1394 out. I dont care if it is mini dvd or high8 since from what i hear both formats look a lot and neither one offers features the other doest... except for the fact that higher end cams are mini dvd since that is the new format.

I'm also looking for a camera with steady shot as well as a sorta high optical zoom of 20x or more. but its its only 10x... well that is okay i guess.

My price range is like $300-500 MAX.

BTW other then the camera i know i need tapes. But anything else? Batteries and what? or is that all?

Thanks

 

[TheLizardMan]

Bump!

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Well, I had to make this choice two years ago and I went for Digital 8, which has the great advantage of working digitally with any kind of 8 mm tape format (which is nice and cheap!). Also, I don't know if many camcorders allow you to use them as video recorders as well, through the analog (not Firewire/USB) port, but mine does... DV is extremely small, but personally I think Digital 8 has its strengths despite size.