Posted by iws on 11/15/06 21:56

"Mama Bear" <MamaBear@No-Spam.noo> wrote in message
news:Xns987B8934B342AMama@216.196.97.142...
> I've never had a camcorder before and am thinking about what I can get for
> under about $400 that would be good.

Panasonic, Canon and Sony among others all have basic offerings under $400.
Camcorderinfo.com has lots of reviews.

> I'm primarily looking for something that could be easily transferred to
> VHS tape, to send my dear old dad, and am not so concerned about the
> latest technology or DVD recording etc.

Typically, your camcorder will have A/V outputs that can be connected to the
recording inputs of a VCR if you don't want to actually edit the video on
your computer.

> What's well reviewed out there in that price range, and how does it get
> transferred to be saved on VHS after I record the video?
>
> Night vision would be cool too, so I could record the racoons that come to
> eat on the back porch at night. Sometimes the motion detector light goes
> on and sometimes not, but it's low light anyway.

Lower end camcorders with small sensors don't usually do too well in low
light. If you get an image, the colors will be poorly rendered and the video
usually grainy. Many Sony camcorders have "Nightshot" which uses infrared to
get images even in the dark. They're quite poor though and I think it's more
of a gimmick than all that useful.
> --
> - Mama Bear

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