What is a good digital video camcorder that is under $250?

What is the best camcorder for $250 or less?

• Hello camcorder users. I am looking to purchase my first camcorder. I would like something under $250, and am not interested in spending more than that. I am looking for a nice camcorder capable of recording decent quality home videos of family and vacations and the like. I know, anything around that price and under is not going to provide extraordinary results, but some in this price range will stand out among the others, and I am hoping a few of you out there have experinced one which you would be willing to recommend. I am currently looking at a Sony DCR-DVD650 that I found under $250 listed by an online retailer. I would prefer optical image stabilization, above 20X optical zoom, decent nightime video capture, and compact size. Still image capture is not too important, as I have a digital camera. As far as type of memory to which the video is recorded, I would prefer something other than DVD or a hybrid so options other than DVD are available since DVD doesn't record too much. I guess that is it for now, and thank you for your interest in this post and your recommendations!!

• Answer:

  Highly recommended Sony Handycam DCR-SX40,here is it http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?type=id&q=d87817&ru=2900588 Our family absolutely love this camcorder. Its the first we've owned so we don't have anything to compare it to but I can't imagine starting with anything else! It's easy to use and takes great quality video. Used it to film speakers at a youth convention in dark, light, big rooms, small rooms and it worked great in all environments!