Hey,

I'm interested in getting a Camcorder but i have absolutely no idea what to go for! I only have a small budget of around £200 and would like you guys to give me some help with what i should consider, i use a Mac btw (not sure if that would cause any compatibility issues) and I already do photography as a hobby so have a few things that might be helpful (memory cards and stuff), anyway i will let you guys give me some ideas on what i should be looking at,

Oh and the wife says if we can get it from Tesco's it would be much appreciated (triple club card points ).

I'd look at Mini DV camcorders with the budget you have. Not too sure if they sell them in your local Tesco or not, have a look on there website to see, more than likely you will have to look at Curry's or Jessops or Dixons. I remember seeing some Canon models on Jessops website recently for under £200. Mini DV takes the small tape and gives the best picture quality, if you want to get into editing then you need a reasonably up to date computer with a Firewire connection on it to allow you to connect the camcorder to the computer so you can transfer video.

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

My Mac was bought last October for my Photography work so i would think it will be fine for doing some Video too? It has FW800 and FW400 ports on the back so connectivity should be fine. I've had a look on the Tesco website like you advised and they offer two different miniDV camcorders in my price range, one is made by Sony (DCRHC51E) and the other by JVC (GRD860T) out of the two which looks to be the "best buy" or would it be more like when i bought my first DSLR and i would be better to go and have a feel and play with the camcorders?

I don't use a mac myself so I can't comment on any compatibility problems either the Sony or JVC might have with your computer, but from all the Sony related problems that have been posted on this forum over the past six months or so, I would go for the JVC instead. I would definitely go and look at both of them and if you get a chance to hold one, see how it feels, does it have the features you are looking for and what is in the kit, are you getting something extra with one and not the other?

The only problem I would have with Tesco, is if you have a problem with the camcorder you purchase you will be left to sort it out yourself. You would have some technical help if you bought from the likes of Jessops, Curry's or Dixons and they would send it off for you. And the fact that they sell these camcorders day in and day out, and generally know what they are doing (but not always), I would purchase from them just for peace of mind. The triple club card points may have to be put on the back burner for the time being.

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

I've decided to go with a JVC one but i'm a little confused, there is a GRD-860 model and a GRD-820 model, i cant seem to see any difference apart from the GRD-860 costing about £30 more, is anyone able to clear things up for me and out of the two which would be the better buy?

I did a quick check on both those two camcorders and the differences are small but you may still want to pay the extra for them. On the 860 it takes still pictures at 640 x 480 (not great but you could use them for email or put on a photo sharing website), composite video out, USB connection, apparently the 820 doesn't have a remote control included (I don't see one listed for it) and the 860 does have a remote control and the 860 does a built in memory, it didn't say how big it was.

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

Thanks for your replies, they have been most helpful .

Do you know any where i would be able to pick one u for a reasonable price that i would be able to return it to easily if i had any problems?