good camcorder

[milkman4_hi_r]

im thinking of getting a camcorder but i dont want to get burned. im not sure whats good and what isnt. anyone know a thing or two about them and care to share with the class??

[Strider]

A great website that gives a lot a information on camcorders is this one : http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

I have a Canon GL-1 camcorder which is a little old (GL-2 is out) but still a good one in my opinion.

[Hi Ho]

I have heard that Cannon has the best optics overall but from reviews I have seen, some of them don't measure up to the other brands. I have always liked Panasonic and Sony camcorders. Stop by Circuit City or Best Buy and take a look at some of the camcorders.

[SonicVanguard]

Sony's are over-priced for what you get. A lot of that is from the Zeiss lenses they have. Don't get me wrong, those lenses are great, but they add quite a bit to the over all cost of the camera.

Panasonic's are decent - their cameras are especially good in lower light situations. But they tend to be slow in adjusting to changing lighting conditions.

Canon is all I have ever used professionally. Our studio has 2 GL-2's and 1 XL-1s. I've not used anything better. Their consumer cameras are very good as well - their lower end cameras have some issues from what I've heard, but from the ZR-80 on up, they can't really be beat. Great optics, user friendly, Dig!c CCD imaging chips, and cost effective.

Dave.