Best camcorder for under $200?

What is the best camcorder for under $200, and what's the reason for such a price difference?

• I am looking for a camcorder that I can use for family functions. I don't need it to do anything fancy, and I don't want to spend an arm and a leg. I don't really understand the differences in most of these, and see some for under a hundred dollars, and some costing over four hundred. But I don't understand the difference! Any help would be appreciated...

• Answer:

  A basic MiniDV camcorder should do the job just fine. Like a Canon ZR800 (or ZR500 if there's any still on the shelves). MiniDV is cheaper than either DVD or hard drive recorders, and has several advantages over those formats: the tapes are reusable, you can buy more if you run out while on vacation, and they record in the DV format which can be accurately edited frame-by-frame. Some camcorders have 3 CCD sensors instead of one; that costs more, and should give a higher quality picture. Some camcorders may have better light sensitivity, which would pay off in better performance indoors or at night. Now that HDTVs are becoming common, I think standard-definition camcorders are becoming obsolete, so I wouldn't spend any more money on one than you absolutely need to. There's some decent HD camcorders that record to MiniDV starting at around $800 (Canon HV20).