Recommendation for a video recorder

[wendmatt]

I really want to get a video recorder as I have 2 mins of dd at birth (Made by a friend) and nothing else. I'm a real technophobe, but was thinking one that you could put onto dvd would be the way to go, rather than video. We don't have a digital camera either so should I get one combined or just to record? Any brands better than others? As simple as poss would be good! Thanks for any advice, you all seem to know what you're doing!

[barbarhow]

We just got the Sony DCR TRV22-We totally love it. I am such a clutz with electronics and I have been able to use the basics very easily. It also takes stills which we have downloaded to the computer. Nice to not have to wait in line at Walmart for pics.
We purchased it from J&R Electronics online. It seemed to be the best price with the accessories. We ordered and then canceled a camera from All Day Digital-AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!! We canceled before the order went in, they sent it anyway and then tried to charge a 10% restocking fee.
Have fun with it-There are lots of gadgets that my DH plays with-I just do the plain old filming. HTH
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03

[August Mom]

We have the Canon ZR40 and I love it. It's very easy to use and produces very good quality. It's not great in low light, but we've been very happy with it for the price. It's a Mini DV format.

However, here's what I've learned: It's not that easy to burn a DVD full of video images. On our first attempt, we burned our movie to video CD and it was choppy in places when played back. DH said it was because our computer wasn't fast enough.

For our second attempt at movie-making, we upgraded our computer and bought a DVD burner. You may need more memory too, depending on your system. I love the finished product, but it may be more expensive than you think. Of course, DH may have snowed me and gotten an upgraded computer system in the process. :)

And, FWIW, I love my digital camera more. If you want high quality digital prints, you should get a separate digital camera or else you'll have to go with a really high quality digital video camera. For the occasional still, using the video camera is okay, but I wouldn't use that as my sole source of digital photos.

Just my 2 cents.

[NancyJ_redo]

We also have the Sony DCRTRV22 and love it - very easy to use. Check out http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_DCR_TRV22/4014-6500_7-20791504.html?tag=pdtl-list for best prices, and keep in mind that some of the online stores don't charge sales tax so when comparing prices, take into account whether the store charges sales tax since it can make a big difference in price.

Good luck!

[pritchettzoo]

We have the Sony TRV22 as well. We haven't used it much yet, but DH likes to play with it. We bought it from Circuit City because the price was good and they had one of those 12 mos no interest dealies. Also, they do Upromise (I think 2%?). Sony came out with a new model which is apparently exactly like the 22 but has blue shiny plastic on it (instead of silver/black), so the 22 is last year's model and you should be able to get a good price.

It will take still photos as well, but I can't attest to the quality as we haven't gotten that far with it!

Anna
#1(DD) EDD 9/10/03

[amp]

We have the Canon ZR35 (I think it's the 35) Mini-DV. We love it! It's fairly easy to use once you've done it a time or two. I can take movies just fine, because that's very easy, but DH always puts it onto the computer and onto video CD's and DVD's, so I don't know how easy that is. The still pics are really nice to have for the computer and the camcorder, but they would not be good quality to print. A digital camera or a regular camera pic would be the way to go for this.