Wondering What 'Extras' on Video Cameras Are Really Necessary!

Wow, that is some feature. How does the carmera know which child to zone in on? Anyway, someone gave me something called "Flip". It is this tiny camcorder. It is a about the size of an Ipod only a little thicker. My husband also bought this really expensive camcorder, with all of the fancy bells and whistles. The flip was $149 and the camcorder was about $1200. I use the Flip WAY more then my expensive camcorder. The Flip is SOOOO easy to use. Downloading the videos is just like downloading your pictures. And, it is just as easy to email the video clips. It also has a feature the you can take a bunch of video clips, and it will turn it into a movie with nice classical music in the backround! I think maybe you should look into both!

go onto ebay u may get one cheaper or call up PC Richards and they might know what u mean.

We had the same cameras for about 7 years until our video camera didn't work so well anymore, and our digital still became "old". It used the 3 1/2 inch disks that not many computers take anymore. So when we decided to upgrade we got a digital video/still in one. Ours is great. It's small enough to fit in my purse although I usually carry it in the diaper bag where ever I go. It also holds 2 forms of media. It does not have the blue tooth capability that you mentioned. When the kids have been in school plays they always have a sound system so I can get their part on video without needing anything special. You don't *need* a lot of special features, but it's nice to have high resolution so you can blow up the pictures pretty big if you want, and you should consider a good distance zoom. You might also consider buying a refurbished model of the one you choose. I found mine on Tigerdirect.com and it's been a good camera for a couple years now. No problems. The best thing about refurbished is that someone else already figured out the problems and then it was fixed, so you don't have to deal with it. And do your research before you decide on one. You can get free reviews on lots of products at epinions.com. Good luck!

My husband and I bought a video camera which was, at the time, top of the line. I just blew some dust off of it yesterday! LOL. We actually take more video with our digital camera. It seems that the camcorder is NEVER charged, ready to go etc. when you need it. The camera is. AND...it is smaller! I love to take short little clips of the kids and then email them to family. Good luck!

I think I saw that in a tv commercial. Looks like a wonderful feature but I am not convinced the recording of just your child would actually work, the zoom yes, but how can a camera discern your childs voice form the one next to her?

My favorite feature on my video camera is that I am able to take still photos in continuous mode. I just push the button and I get a series of photos taken within 10 seconds. I always get awesome pictures that way since my kids are always in motion.

Make sure you have a photo flash too. Mine does not have one & I cannot get one so using it in low light situations stinks so we had to buy another camera.

I love how my video camera allows you to turn the screen around 180 degrees. That way I can look through the viewfinder and my children will look at themselves on the screen and you can get some really cute expressions that way.

Nightshot is importatnt too if you like to sneak in while your kids are sleeping and take a picture of them sleeping like an angel or scrunched up in a funny position.

A.

I don't think it is a necessary feature and I am not sure it will actually make a difference. I think you only need to spend between 400-600 dollars and you will have everything you need. We have had our camera for years.

A family friend bought the Flip about a month ago. Her children are 20 and 17, but they went to Disney last week and she came back SOOOO happy with the footage she got. She used it at my daughter's first birthday party; it was neat- since it is so small she was able to carry it with her through the party and just start recording whenever; not bulky AT ALL!!! I want to buy one so bad, but I think I will wait to see other responses, and your feedback!

DEFINITELY go to a huge store and look at every model they have and write down model numbers and prices. Then go to Amazon.com and find the camera there. Chances are, it will be much cheaper (sometimes $100-200). Then go back to the store, with a printout of the Amazon page, all the info on the product, including the price, and see if they will match it. Amazon also ships a lot of things for free. We bought a great camera for about $550. It's digital and when you go back to look at the clips, it shows a little picture of the beginning of the clip, along with the date. Easy to delete too. Downside is, sometimes it's hard to get far enough away from the action. We then also bought a DVD burner that burns the DVD of our video directly from the camera and takes 5 min. The camera we got is a Sony DCR-SR62 and the DVD burner (I think it cost bet. $150-250 - it's worth it. our computer took 2 hours to burn one DVD) is a Sony Multi purpose DVD burner model number VRD-MC5. I didn't bother with the extended warranty and figure if this thing bites the dust in 3 years, who knows how much more advanced technology will be. Besides, fixing them often costs more than 1/2 of what the camera cost to begin with. Not worth fixing.

It "zone in" on your child, b/c your child is wearing a mic. I think it sounds like an awesome feature, but I just wonder if you can still hear the other kids fairly well... b/c although we love our kids, who wants to watch a play where you can only hear one of the characters?

I'm actually anxious to see the responses as well b/c I recently bought a camcorder after doing tons of research. And I'm happy w/what I have... it's easy to use. The only thing w/the camera's the like flip that someone else mentioned is that they usually don't have much of a zoom feature. My son places sports all year round, and I hope to get him into some dance classes and plays also as he gets older, so the zoom is pretty important for me. Good luck w/your choice! I think when it all comes down to it you're so happy to see your child on TV or the computer that EVERYTHING looks great lol