technochick

With HD televisions being all the rage right now, it should be no surprise that camcorders are catching up and riding the HD wave. Sony has a couple, the HDR-HC1 and the HDR-HC3 HDV. The latter is more compact. Its got a 90 minute battery and a 2.7 inch swiveling screen. It can take still photos and simultaneously record video. I think that's a cool feature. It also has a slow motion feature that will allow you to, "stretch 3 seconds of video playback over 12 seconds". This will allow you to analyze sports moves or watch your crazy Uncle demonstrating dances from the old days in slow motion. You can read about it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/te...4ae25e&ei=5070

davidemarsh01

HD camcorders is higher resolution, broader color space, and advanced compression algorithms have opened the door for a substantial improvement in video quality, even for the most prosaic of home movies. Though prices for consumer models hover well above the budgets of many wanna-haves, as more units trickle into the market in 2007 we expect the prices to drop into mainstream territory. And pros need HD capabilities to stay competitive: even if you're not quite ready to go HD-only, some of the entry-level pro models are priced reasonably enough to merit an educational investment.

diagurzula

The HD camcorders are superior resolution, broader color space, and higher compression algorithms have opened the door for a considerable development in video excellence, even for the most prosaic of home movies.

cliffdodger

The one my dad just got beats the crap out of my digital camera for still photos even. I think the only thing my camera does better is that it takes better low light pictures.

His HD cam has something like 30x optical zoom. Crazy how far you can see with that.