I would like to hear your top three camcorder brands preferences. Thanks.

How much do you want to spend, what do you intend to do with your videos (watch them back on tv, put them on YouTube or make DVD's?), do you want to get into editing and if you do, how much time do you want to spend learning how to use a video editing program? With so many camcorders available and in so many price ranges and levels it's difficult to answer your question without more details.

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Better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick any day...

What I'm looking for is a camera for amateurs with hdd, good image quality with auto settings. But my main question was what brands to take into account before searching for a specific model.

I use Canon and Sony. I would also consider Panasonic.

This might help (scroll down for camera reviews):

Digital Video and Film

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Other opinions?

1# Sony

2# JVC - 'when they make a good camera'

3# Canon