Canon vs JVC vs Sony

[dantares]

A local electronics outlet store is having a sale on camcorders. I'm not much of a video buff, but given the low prices I'm considering acquiring one.

My only experience with video recording lies with the video mode of my digital camera (Kodak Z612)... it's quite good for a machine made for photos, but something better may be interesting.

Listed below are the cameras they have available. I've been googling for information on them, but can't find much, so any suggestions you guys might have would be highly appreciated.

- Sony HC35e: €129
- Sony HC46e: €169
- Canon MD110: €169
- JVC D720: €199

I'm eliminating the JVC due to the high price, as I'm not sure if it makes up for the difference (unless it really kicks ass). The HC46e is also out of the lot, as the only reviews I could find are negative (plus, has the lowest optical zoom). The HC35e seems to be a decent rookie camera... limited but easy to use - reviews do point out a crappy battery life, though. For the MD110 I could barely find any info, other than a small discussion on youtube pointing out that the camera is quite noisy, so you always hear the tape rolling in your videos - on the bright side, it has the largest optical zoom.

Well, that's it. Any thoughts?

[Mark W]

Dont worry about zoom - h held zoom is all but useless - get the one you like the feel of. I suspect they will all perform simuilarly.

Reviews in most magazines are not worth a hoot.