In today’s high tech world, buying a camcorder amongst the wide range of choices is becoming a confusing and exasperating task. To make this job a little easier, consider the following list of five things when buying one.

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#1: What kind of digital camcorder are you looking for?

Ok first things first. Find out what you need in your camcorder, for what purpose are you buying one, and how much would you put it to use. The following are the basic user profiles for you to figure out which of them is more like you. Read on…

Home and vacation Moviemaker

Well, this is when you would like to shoot birthday parties, baby steps, holiday gatherings, and school plays. You would want to take your camcorder on vacations, in which case you have to consider a more portable machine. You might not want to do anything out of the world, just a little editing and adding some basic effects. This calls for simple controls and easy output.

Budget buyer

In case you want to go for a basic camcorder which is just user friendly and if you are least bothered about any advance features or accessory compatibility, you fall under this category. Here budget plays a major role and you might not want to spend too much for this machine. You would not mind a bulkier design either.

Trendsetter

Oh and if this is you, you are all set to roll! A techie, this is you if you are one of those cool types who would not compromise on anything for buying a chic camcorder having the latest cutting edge features. And the price? Well, you are ready to pay for it all!

Independent filmmaker

If you want to shoot like one of those professionals, this is for you. If you are planning a documentary or a creative video, and want a camcorder that will give you the advanced controls with excellent image quality, you are in this group. You would need the output in a format that is optimal for editing and applying effects but can probably do without consumer-oriented stuff. An important requirement here would be compatibility with sound and light accessories.

Business Videographer

Do you want to use your camcorder at work? Like formal dinners or important meetings and presentations? Well then you would need a plethora of useful features at your fingertips! And if you are looking for shooting at other locations too, like real estate properties and onsite events, this one is really you.

#2: Which video format is best for you?

There are a myriad of choices available to you here. In general, each type of cassette or disc is made to record video using a particular standard. The format used influences the design and the feature set of the camera, in addition to affecting what you can do with the video once it’s shot. The following are the recording media to chose from, depending on which profile you fall under:

MiniDV cassette

Most digital camcorders use MiniDV cassette. These record DV-format video and produce high-quality footage that is superior to video recorded by consumer analog camcorders. These are the best if you are a Budget buyer or a trendsetter

Digital8

The Digital8 format records high-quality DV-format video on analog 8mm and Hi8 cassettes as well as dedicated Digital8 tapes. This is the best for Budget buyers.

Mini DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DVD-RAM

These record high-quality MPEG-2 footage directly to a mini DVD-R or DVD-RAM and can deliver more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution. Good for Trendsetters and home and vacation moviemakers.

Built-in hard drive

Here you can record high-quality MPEG-2 footage and deliver more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution! Best buy for home and vacation moviemakers and business videographers.

Memory cards (SDHC, Memory Stick)

These types of memory are used to achieve an ultra compact design. They are best suited for gadget lovers who want to use their footage mainly on Web sites and in e-mail. You should definitely give it a shot if you are a Trendsetter.

# 3: What else should you buy?

In case you would like to download the videos you take into your system or edit them after transferring to your computer, you would have to make sure your PC and software have the right connectivity. You should verify that your operating system and hardware support downloading via USB 2.0. Additionally you would need to make sure your model really does use it for video. Otherwise, you’ll need a FireWire connection.

#4: How to find a camcorder that shoots good photos

Well, we all would want good pictures as well as videos, isn’t it? Sadly, most camcorders are so designed as to create video that looks great on a television but bad on a PC monitor or when printed as stills. Truly speaking, it boils down to how you are going to display the pictures. If you’re going to make the pictures smaller than the original size, resolution doesn’t matter much and thus you should go for the camcorder with the best color. If you want to print photos, you’re still better off carrying a cheap digital camera. But for small prints, you’ll probably get a sufficient amount of detail from a 2-megapixel camcorder.

#5: How would you get a good sound?

Different types of videographers need different sound-capture capabilities, so look for the features that match your user type. Generally, front-mounted mikes are better at capturing sound from a source in front of the camera. If you would be capturing very quiet moments, look for camcorder that would not take in too much motor hum through the built-in microphone.