Having taken a trip to Africa with my digital camera and having a friend with a nice video cam, I realized that I need a video camera. There is just no substitution for nice video. A picture may be worth a thouasand words but video in certain instances is just so much better.

I am willing to spend about US$1000-1300 on camera. I have so far decided on the Canon Optura 200mc. I like the size format of this camera. Can anyone here offer any comments on this camera as well as possible alternatives. I am not worried about the digital still capabilities of the cameras.

Tape: I have reviewed the past few month of posts in regards to tape and am quite confused about what to buy. Is there any advantage to buying higher grade tape for this type of camera?

I would also like recommendations on accessories that no camera user can be without. I am especially interested in the Wide and Telephoto lens adapters.

I suggest you look around the posts to see what cameras people
like. This discussion has been done a lot of times already on this
board on varying budgets.

I don't think high quality tapes will do any difference in your
camera range. You should not see any difference. It might be
that such tapes "keep" their content longer.