One of my colleagues asked for a recommendation for a digital video camera for the field. I recommended against getting a Mini-DV or HV camcorder and instead going all digital with a flash (SDHC) based camcorder:
These days, instead of using tape, I recommend going all digital. That way, you can simply dump the video files to your PC and don't have to bother digitizing them. You will need a large hard drive, but a 500 gigabyte pocket hard drive is cheap and fits in your laptop bag easily.
I recommend these models:
- Canon Vixia HF-10 or HF-100 (this is the one I use)
- Sanyo Xacti (small, handheld, the microphone isn't as good on this, but size is excellent)
Be sure to get a large SD card -- at least 4 gigabytes. Eight or 16 gigabytes is preferable.
Karen
Do you think this was good advice? Please post any suggestions or comments (or questions)!