Camcorders

[abnormal3]

Wife wants one,so if any of you have experience good/bad.

Media???-HD(memory card) ,DV,DVD

Which brand???-Sony ,JVC,Canon etc...

Price range- $500Cdn +/- $200Cdn

would like to stay away from AVCHD (is it only Sony that uses it)

I've searched for forums and reviews,but most seem outdated i.e. cameras they recommend aren't available anymore.

TIA

[dave31]

I have the Sony SR7 60GB HD camcorder and it's been great. Very easy to use, amazing video quality, and never to worry about storage capacity. Filming in dark lighting is quite grainy, but most camcorders tend to be. I believe Panasonic and Canon also use the AVCHD format. Haven't had any issues with it. Think the SR7 was discontinued a few months ago, but there should be a replacement with a bigger hard drive. In this day and age, I'd definitely recommend going with something HD.

[silvia_s14a]

I bought a sanyo HD camcorder last month. It uses SDHC memory card. If you can live with the slow transfer speed, DV may be your choice in that price range. Mine was well over a grand.