I looking into buying a camcorder and my budget is between $300 and $400. I will only be using this for family video’s vacations, birthdays, etc. I have a couple of camcorders in mind and am not sure which one to go with. I have pretty much decided on Hard Drive Disk although I could be persuaded to Mini DV if I find a really great camera that fits within my budget.

The first one is the Panasonic HDC-TM15…

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.E165495.desc.Panasonic-16GB-Hard-Drive-Full-High-Def-Cam-w16x-OpticalZoom

I like that it is high def and it has a light on it for shooting in darker areas which is a common complaint about the other camera I am considering. But it doesn’t seem to have nearly as many features as my second option. Also, it only has a 16 GB hard drive and 16x optical zoom which is nothing compared to the other one.

My second option is the Panasonic SDR-H80…

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasonic+-+Digital+Camcorder+with+60GB+Hard+Drive+and+2.7%22+Widescreen+LCD+Monitor+-+Black/9207002.p?id=1218058780192&skuId=9207002#tabbed-customerreviews

I like this camera because it has a 60GB hard drive, 70x optical zoom, an anti-shock shield (protects from dropping) and it’s about $100 cheaper than my first option. So I have a couple issues with this one. It’s not hi-def and the image quality seems to be why the reviews weren’t so good. However, after doing some research found out that standard def should be just fine if the camera is just used for general purposes.

I really don’t know which one to go with so I would appreciate any answers from owners of these camera or just anyone who knows a little something about camcorders. Thanks a lot!
I also wanted to add that if you know of any other HDD or Mini DV camcorders that might be a better option for me, please let me know!!!

Go with the HD one. Here’s why
1) Its using solid state memory. Sure it’s only 16GB, but you can add more by adding another memory card. You don’t want a harddrive. A harddrive can get damaged real easily since it’s a needle writing to a plate.
2) HD is future proof. If this is for family memories, then get something that you can watch in the future that will look great. 5 years from now no one will be using standard def. Not only is HD resolution better, but it holds more color and looks so much cleaner than SD.
3) You’ll want that light for night scenes. It’s going to save you more than not.