egafd.com

I need a dv camcorder for an amatuer style film that we are making for http://www.amandacharles.com/[/url]
Im looking to pay between ?200 & ?400 and wondered if anyone could give me any advice on what make/model is best for that price bracket?
It needs to be good quality but im not making the di vinci code II! lol
Any advice would be appreciated........

Thanks for that phototaker, is this the sony model you are talking about?
Sony DCR-HC24 Digital Camcorder
Its ?237 reduced online price from currys, think am gonna go for that one.

I note photo-takers comments about Panasonic 3ccd.

A colleage has one (not sure which model) but small and bought about a year ago.
The results can be very good.
However it struggles to focus at lower light levels and in a situation 3 weeks ago with mixed natural, flourescent and some other artificial (not standard tungsten) light cream walls came out yellow. Two other older Panasonic DV and a 6 year old Sony Hi8 gave much better colour balance.

Maybe current models have been improved.

Personally I do not like the Panasonic menu system either - too complex to find something quickly or even just check settings.

Sony cameras themselves are usually good however I hate due to price of extra batteries, even clone ones.
Also with a clone be sure to 'try b4 you buy' or be 100% sure of a refund if your camcorder rejects the battery.

Clones for Canon & JVC much much cheaper, particularly on eBay.

Jessops did have a Canon MV940 at a reduced price a few weeks ago.

Or for something small JVC GR-DX107 but again only 10x zoom and if portability not a priority a physically larger camera probably easier to use.

If you can go into Jessops at a quiet time and try a few to find one that you find easy to operate.

You must set the white balance manually to get accurate colour. Its even more critical when light is coming from a mixture of sources with different colour temperatures.

Thanks for all the advice people,
so the bgafd is not just full of war mongers after all! !happy!