Which camcorder do you recommend?

Which camcorder would you recommend that's HDD and performs well in low light?

• Which HD or Flash Memory camcorder would you recommend I need it to have at least 25 optical zoom, and very good LOW LIGHT performance. Prince Range: $400-$250

• Answer:

  There is no camcorder made that meets all your requirements. You can either change the requirements (specifically, the low light requirement) or You can increase your budget. Camcorders in your stated price range are in the entry-level consumer grade area. The lenses are too small to let enough light in to hit the small single imaging chip. "very good LOW LIGHT performance" for video capture happens with camcorder that have lenses 70mm (or larger) filter diameter lens systems and 1/4" (1/3" or larger is preferred) 3CCD or 3CMOS imaging chips. These specs are common to (and expected of) prosumer and professional grade camcorders that start at about $3,000 (Sony HDR-FX1000). While we're here, you won't find any internal hard disc drive camcorders in the prosumer or above areas because of their known issues with vibration, high altitude and archive issues. There are flash memory units... but we can go there if you decide to increase your budget. You will also discover that most high definition camcorders (regardless of media storage type) barely get to 20x - most are 10x-12x and rely on add-on lenses to increase optical zoom range. If you stay with the budget you have stated, the closest, decent camcorder I would suggest is something from the Canon HF or HF S series SDHC cams. I like the HF S100.