Best camera/camcorder or camcorder under $300?

Need Some Suggestions For A Camcorder $300 And Less?

• Like the title says, I'm in the market for a camcorder. I've noticed lately they have come down quite a bit in price. I'm looking to spend no more than $300. I realize I'm not going to get something top of the line, but there are a few things I'm looking for. Can anyone give me some recommendations, suggestions..? Here are a few things I want in a camcorder -Good Battery Life. AT LEAST 60 min -A Camcorder that uses memory cards( or has the option to) -Must take have decent quality videos! I've read to many reviews where the video quality is "grainy" Those are my only real must haves. I would also prefer the camera to use remove able rechargeable batteries, and features like steady shot. Help me choose a decent camcorder! I'm looking to get one soon BTW: I'm looking for something I can use all around. Day, Night, In motion, uploading to the internet, home movies, and being able to edit with imovie. Thanks everyone!!

• Answer:

  Grainy video happens when the light is not bright enough for the camcorder or when the captured video is so compressed when it is decompressed, all the pixelly artifacts are displayed. The best I can suggest is the Canon FS200. If video quality is THAT important to you, you should be using miniDV tape (like the Canon ZR960), but you did not ask for alternatives... There are no consumer grade camcorders that do well at night or low light. The lenses and imaging chips are too small. With iMovie and the FS200, you will likely need to install and download MPEG StreamClip http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/mpegstreamclip.html to convert the video to a format iMovie can deal with (like MP4 or MOV). Once in iMovie, you can export as MOV, MP4 or many other file types for uploading. If you only want to play back the video in your Mac, then Flip4Mac http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/flip4macwindowsmediacomponentsforquicktime.html will be a useful addition to your video utilities toolk kit.