[gypsy68]

camcorder)only for hobby not professional. Can U suggest a model? The purpose is family outing and capturing important moments both video (max about 15 to 20 minutes) and photos about 5 MP quality is ok with me. I am a budget buyer kindly suggest the model

[Bill M]

I don't think the make or model matters too much they are all very similar, buy a well known make and spend as much as you can afford.I would suggest one that writes directly to DVD, as this saves transferring to disc.

[Xeme11]

decide what you want, either camcorder or digital camera, pro for d/camera; 1)can select the picture quality (resolutions from 1mg pixel -5 mg pixel) 2) chioce of shots bursts, panoramic, night, action, portriat, etc etc 3)zoomcon: movies no sound, limited recording on some older modlespro for camcorder; 1)contious motion with sound, zoom etc, not of broadcast quality on most lower end camcordercon; still pictures is of very low quality, less than 1 mg pixel, prints from camcorder very pixelated(can see the tiny squares on a 4r print)

[moka]

Hi.I would personally recommend to get a digital camera with video and sound recording capabilities. These digital cameras take outstanding pictures, and pretty decent video at VGA quality (640x480 pixels, @ 30 fps).If you decide to buy a camcorder, you will get outstanding video, but really poor stills.Here are two camera models I recommend:1) Kodak EasyShare V603 -- about $230.2) Canon PowerShot SD600 -- about $210.One thing regarding what the guy above me said before: you CAN record audio together with video in these two models that I recommended. And the only limit to video/audio recording is the amount of free space you have on your SD memory card. You can also zoom in and out while recording your video/audio in the Kodak model, not sure whether you can do this or not in the Canon model.Kodak and Canon are both VERY good point-and-shoot camera manufacturers. I suggest you avoid Sony and Casio point-and-shoot cameras, due to the fact that they take blurry pictures. I have not tried the new Nikon models. Olympus is a decent brand too, but they tend to be more expensive.I hope those two cameras fit inside your budget.PS. Get a large SD (Secure Digital) memory card so to be able to record long videoclips and take lots of pictures.PS2. Cheaper Kodak models ($100-200) usually don't shoot video in good quality, and use AA batteries. I recommend you invest a little more and get a good camera such as the one i recommended. This way you'll get good video quality and a good Lithium-Ion battery that will last WAY longer than the regular AA batteries.PS3. Take a look at the Canon PowerShot TX-1, a 7.1 MP digital camera AND HD (high-definition) camcorder. It hasn't been released yet, but it looks like a very promising digital camera/camcorder.Hope this helps!

[CompGal]

I think it really depends on your budget and how many mega pixels you think you need. You should get a lot of help from the associates at whatever store you go to.
I got a Kodak EasyShare C743 for Christmas and love it. I just use it as a hobby so I didn't have a lot of requirements. It's a 7.1 mega pixel camera.