I am looking for a camcorder to use for mostly scenery and outdoor recreational footage. I enjoy mountain biking and other offroad activities where the camera will be exposed to bright light and extreme temperatures during rides through mountain parks in Phoenix, Arizona. I also want to capture sunrise and sunsets.

Small size, rugged construction, video quality, and budget are my major concerns. While I am a novice and I have only worked with automatic camera settings I am more than willing to learn to use manual settings and controls to produce better quality results.

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After finding out that my roomates were looking to buy a camcorder we have decided to purchase one together. Pooling our funds we have $600 to spend. I have looked at a few models such as the JVC GR-D270US and the Panasonic PV-GS19. I am not sure if these models will function well in an outdoor environment. Any comments or suggestions about these or any other models would be most appreciated.

With the newfound funds choices are much more abundant. We know that we want to go with miniDV, and low light quality (indoor parties) in addition to video quality and extreme light performance are important considerations.

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Thanks.

well....the Gr-D33 is great for sun sets...i will post a few of them when ive post productions my holiday video as they are on the 3rd tape

Alright, I look forward to seeing your stuff

i think i have the Panasonic PV-GS19 (if it has 26x opt. zoom, then yes). not a bad camcorder, some easy to get to features, others as in scene modes, you have to switch to manual focus then navigate the menu to switch. still picture quality actually is better than what I fgured it would be. 4x6 don't look that bad, but the color is kinda blah. although this camera isn't all that great for low light, which im not very happy with. another downfall, it doesn't come with a lot of accersories, such as all the cables, pc drivers, etc. plus on playback it seems that the picture is widened.......which doesn't help my wife's self esteem much. overall, its a pretty decent camcorder, but like every other one, does have its drawbacks. Wanted a sony, but the one I was looking at, even the best buy guy couldn't fingure out how to get to the menu and you NEED the dock in order to hook it up to a tv, etc.