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I am looking to replace my video camera with a newer one. I haven't started researching much yet, but looking to buy in the next month or so. I want something small with a good zoom, and digital. Not looking to spend a fortune, so HD is out of the question. I need something that I can get a good battery life and easy to use...

So who has video cameras and whats good and bad about them.

I have a Cannon. They're expensive but worth the money.

HELLO :-)      OK, First, DO NOT GET A DVD CAMCORDER( video camera). DVD while great is not a reliable archival medium. Your best bet is to get a mini DV camcorder( thats what I still call them is that the term still used commonly LOL) and if you then want a DVD of your footage back it up to the DVD and STILL KEEP THE MINI DV TAPE  It annoys me to see people say the words " archive your memories on DVD" because by the nature of DVD it is not archival. Now you can buy archival( gold surface) DVD's but those are crazy expensive. So DV tape hedges your bets, you get the known stability of mini DV tape and you can get the fun/ universality of DVD. Once a sector in a DVD goes bad its virtually impossible to fix it. However, if a segment of DV tape goes bad......., splicing is your friend. So while our home movies from the 80's( ala large full size VHS tapes) are now on dvd, we still have the VHS tapes and I will probably copy those to a fresh modern VHS tapes this winter, and still keep the 80's vhs tapes too. Basically you want to backup thse things like you would an important computer file( have many copies so if one poops out you have another one). IM also investigating transferring my old VHS home videos to mini dv since Mini DV's life is even longer then VHS.......OK that was my rant, i'd just hate to see people copy things to dvd or record with a DVD camcorder and then have the memories lost due to a scratch,general dvd degradation, crappy dvd media etc......... I found a cool website a few years back where a guy basically says what I said but I will have to find it.....  PS just remembered mini DV is higher resolution then DVD too.

PSSS:

I dug for a while and found that site, it is http://www.film-to-video.com/

I am definitely looking into a mini DV, not a DVD recorder. I have heard about problems with dvd archiving as well. I've had a few disks I've burned fail already.. I copied my Super 8 tapes to the pc in hopes to one day create dvds for viewing, and may even invest in the archive disks as a 2nd copy. It is much more convenient to watch a dvd.
Thanks for the link.. some good info there.

And from what I have read...
DVD format is obviously compressed so video edits are not as good as those from less compression such as avi format.

Yes, stay away from DVD cameras.  Another problem with them is that they may play in some DVD players, but not in others. 
With Mini-DV cameras, you can use the firewire output on the cameras and hook it up directly to your computer.  Apples come with firewire built in and if your PC doesn't have it, firewire cards are pretty cheap now.  Plus, the signals stays in the mini-DV format up to your computer, so there is not and conversion going on at the camera.
I will not buy any more JVC mini-DV cameras.  We have some at work and right after they got out of warranty they crapped out.  Black screen with a "Lens Cap" error.  JVC had a large number of complaints about this over the years (on many different models) and it ends up being a bad CCD.  It's cheaper to replace the camera than get it fixed.  I just ordered a few Canon ZR850's.  They were just over $300 each.  I can let you know what I think after I get them in.

Thanks for the info Dr. G.... I would probably be looking into a Cannon as well. A friend has a Cannon and is happy with it. I've had Panasonics in the past, but battery life has been horrible. Let me know what you think when you get your hands on it for a few days..

Bubba - I hope you and Terry don't start a war with your Cannons! J/K

I bought a Sony DCR-VX2000 about 5 years ago. A friend of mine has a sister that works for Sony Pictures in Hollywood. She got me a heck of a deal - like 40% off list. It is a great camera with lots of functions and a great picture, but it is a little big for casual filming.

Canon ZR850 was < $400 (or maybe $300 - can't remember).  Relatively inexpensive mini DV with widescreen but not HD.  Bought it to replace the ZR300 I bought a year ago (that my son busted).  Both worked fine for family type recording.  Low light recording not great.  Used this site here http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/camcorders/ for info and then watched the sales.

Bryan... The 850 is supposed to have an extra light on it.. is the low light bad with it on as well? I am really considering this camera... I will probably be using it more indoors than outdoors.

Tom.. I was trying to find a picture of our Cannon, but don't have one handy.. Thats a story for another time :biggrin: