Dear Professionals,

I have zero experience when it comes to Camcorders. I download the clips and edit and burn to DVD disk.

I have three young sons 12,9 and 6. We have an elaborate family talent show every month. I use the camcorder for 75 percent of the time on these activities.

We as a family also enjoy fishing offshore for big game fish. We tape our fishing events.

What would I use new recording cam for:
kids goof ups and burning the DVD's for our extended family. We view our recordings thru a theatre projecter room. 16x9 format . So we want better quality recordings in high def.


I am also interested in creating some type of fishing dvd's for market. I currently own my own boat and have fished offshore for over 20 years.
I would like to share what I have learned fishing the Gulf of MExico.



What I currently purchased:

20 inch IMac
17 inch Powerbook

I have 5k to spend for camcorder and software. I only shoot in daylight.

PLEASE HELP me select the best camera for me that gives me the best DVD quality.

Sincerly,

A Rookie

i read this article earlier tonite you might want to take a look.
that saves you some camera money and it looks something more geared towards home-use. It comes out at the end of the month. The hc1 is already out and worth a look too


http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-Officially-Announces-$1700-hC3-High-Definition-Camcorder-.htm

Sounds like you want the Sony Z1 or FX1-- Simple to use in fast moving situations, and fairly rugged in the type of environment you are talking about. You may even be able to get FX1 and a water proof housing to shoot in or around the water for around the $5 k.

Forget the specs, they're meaningless. What really counts is how the camcorder feels in your hands. Try before you buy, and choose the one which feels most comfortable for you to use. The more you like it, the more you'll use it. Nothing else matters.

Exactly what Chris said. Make a trip to one of the two Fry's locations on I-45 and check out what the have for starters. You could also check out www.microsearch.com its a local professional videographer's store, the best in Houston, they just moved to a larger location. There isn't another store in Houston like that I know of as the film/video industry is almost totally absent in Houston. The guys at Micro Search really know what they're talking about and are total professionals.
Good Luck.

You are not going to get high definition video on a standard NTSC Video DVD (disks that play in standard DVD players). There are ways to record high definition video content onto a DVD, but you would also have to purchase one of only a few players currently available, that are capable of playing it back in HD on your HDTV (they aren't mainstream), or play them through your computer.

To answer your question well, you'd really need to tell us if you basically want a simple solution (point and shoot cameran - simple software to transfer to standard DVD) or if you are willing to put some considerable time and work into this.