I am a fresher & wanna purchase a camcorder. Which brand is good ? What features should see before purchase?

I have the sony handycam and I love it. Its easy to use and you can veiw and delete scenes right on the fold out wide touch screen. I would recomend going to Best Buy and asking one of the people there to help you they can be a lot of help and there you can try out each one.

Over all, a fresher need to see the resolution, the optics and optical zoom, Digital recording, different recording features, storage capacity, LCD screen size, output type and format, and easy operation (full auto mode).... Accordingly, wide choice is there... the requirement, money are the deciding factors. Among all brands, SONY has an edge. About 3 Mega pixel, carlsus optics and X 40 optical zoom, about 40 - 60G HDD storage, full auto mode, Digital output, USB out, with many recording features, about 2.7 - 3 inch LCD display screen, including memory stick for still pics .......... this is the latest trend going on for household applications. Basically resolution and optical zoom are important, are the main features one should concentrate. see the catelog of any standard company like SONY and see various models and choose accordingly. If like to know more.. pl. let me know....

probably a sony. and make sure it has a usb.

DCR-SR42 30GB Handycam® Camcorder Stop switching tapes and start filming with the DCR-SR42 Handycam® camcorder. Capture video on the internal hard disk drive and keep the action close and personal with the amazing zoom. this is an hdd camcorder witch means no more tapes or disks it records right on built in memory and it goes for about 500$$ Stop stopping. None of us likes to switch tapes in the middle of a shoot, or waste time rewinding and capturing. That's why the DCR-SR42 Handycam® camcorder contains a 30GB2 built-in hard disk drive (HDD) storage and allows you to capture up to 20 hours of recording time (LP) so you don't need to mess around with tapes. A brilliant 2.5"2 touch panel LCD display keeps the controls at your fingertips while a 40x optical/2000x digital zoom makes sure you catch all the detail. And when it comes time to share your memories, it couldn't be easier with the one touch disc burn capability and the Memory Stick Duo™ media slot. The DCR-SR42 puts the simplicity back into shooting and sharing your videos. 1/6" Advanced HAD™ CCD Imager, 680K Pixels Gross 1/6" Advanced HAD™ (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD with 340K (effective) pixels provides stunning detail and clarity with exceptional video (up to 500 lines of horizontal resolution) and still image performance. 40X Optical/2000X Digital Zoom The optical zoom helps to bring the action close up from far away. In addition, the Digital Zoom interpolation means that extreme digital zooming is clearer, with less distortion than previous types of digital zooms. Professional Quality Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® Lens Carl Zeiss lenses have an advanced optical multi-layer coating for increased contrast. This results in vivid image brilliance, true-to-life color saturation and perfect renditions of subtle tones. 2.5" Touch Panel SwivelScreen™ LCD Display (123K Pixels)4 The 2.5" LCD screen provides excellent viewing clarity. The high resolution 123K pixel LCD screen rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles providing sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback. Handycam® Station Simply placing the camcorder on the supplied Handycam Station cradle provides quick connections to a compatible TV for viewing or a PC for editing and sharing, all while charging the battery so your camcorder is always ready to go. Memory Stick Duo™ Media Slot6 Capture still images up to 640x 480 resolution, directly ont oMemory Stic Duo media for easy transfer to PCs for emailing, printing or sharing with other compatible Memory Stick® media devices. Super SteadyShot® Picture Stabilization System An advanced version of Sony's SteadyShot® system that controls an even higher range of shake and vibration frequencies, to achieve an even higher level of smoothness without degradation of video like some other image stabilization systems. On Screen Zoom and Record Buttons For additional control of the camcorder, the DCR-SR42 features Zoom and Record buttons on the frame of the LCD screen. This allows the user more flexibility when holding the camcorder, especially in overhead or low angle shots. USB 2.0 Interface3 USB 2.0 interface provides an easy way to connect your Hard Disk Handycam Camcorder to the computer for fast transfer of video and still images to your computer for editing. The camcorder can also be used as an external storage device, convenient for archiving, storing and trasporting your videos and still images. DVDirect® Compatibility The DVDirect system allows for easy transfer to a stand-alone DVD Burner via USB 2.0. The VRD-VC30 allows for easy transfer of video for DVD Burning. While the VRD-MC3 allows for seamless transfer of both Video and Still images for archiving on a DVD. Easy PC Backup Easily back up your footage to your PC using the supplied software. The footage will be stored on your PC's hard drive for archiving purposes and viewing at a later time; the footage is stored by date allowing for quick access. In addition, only new footage is transferred to your PC each time you Backup your footage. One Touch Disc Burn Easily burn a DVD copy of your footage using the supplied software. Simply connect your DCR-SR42 to your PC via the Handycam Station and supplied USB3 cable and press the One Touch Disc Burn button. HDD Smart Protection A unique Shock Absorber protects the Hard Disk Drive from physical damage if the unit is dropped. When the 3G Sensor detects a drop (loss of gravity) the power to the Hard Disk Drive is turned off in order to prevent damage; during this time the DCR-SR42 remains powered on and recording video to the built-in buffer. Once the unit has recovered from the drop the buffrer is then recorded to the Hard Disk Drive. Super NightShot® Plus Infrared System With Sony's Super NightShot Infrared System you can capture natual looking video, even when shooting in low light. Record subjects up to 20 feet away using the built-in infrared system, but without the overall monochrome color common with earlier low-light recording systems. Manual Focus Allows the user to manually adjust the focus of the camcorder using the touch panel. Manual focusing also allows the user to control the focus in difficult situations where either the environment or the subject does not allow the camcorder's auto focus to perform optimally, such as when shooting through a window or in a crowded environment. Scene Selection Modes Scene Selection modes make recording easy even when filming in challenging situations. Choose from Beach, Candle, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Snow, Sports Lesson, Spotlight, Sunrise & Sunset and Twilight. Picture Effects Get creative when recording or playing back your videos with Sony's Picture Effect Modes. Effects available in Camera mode: Monotone, Pastel and Sepia. Effects available in Playback mode: Monotone, Pastel and Sepia. Fader Effects-2 Enhance your personal videos by adding professional looking fader effects. Choose from Black & White. Battery Information At the touch of a button, battery information is displayed on the LCD screen when charging and when the camcorder is turned off. The display will show how much the battery is charged, in 10% increments and the recordable time left when using the LCD screen or in the viewfinder. Easy Handycam Button Using a camcorder can be intimidating for some people, so with a press of the Easy Handycam button, most of the advanced features of the camcorder are "locked out" leaving only the buttons essential for recording operational. InfoLITHIUM® Battery with AccuPower™ Meter System Charge the battery at anytime because unlike NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) batteries, Sony's rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries are not subjected to a life shortening "Memory Effect". Sony's exclusive AccuPower™ meter displays the battery time remaining in minutes, in either the viewfinder or on the LCD screen. Tele Macro Function Useful for shooting close up shots, but without having the camcorder cast in a shadow on the subject. Images shot in the Tele Macro Mode will have the subject propely focused with the background unfocused so that the subject stands out.