i'm pretty satisfied with my Sony DSC m1 captures MPEG4 with quality like hi-8, very small, i use a 2gig memory stick pro duo

__________________
...
thank you X5world!

Adam, many of the new camcorders can record both to tape or memory cards. Some use XD cards, others use SD cards, and of course, there's Sony. There are also some mfg's making memory card only camcorders that are extremely small in size, not much bigger than a flip phone. I looked at a couple of these last year, but it was so long ago, the models have all probably changed.

There is also another alternative - buy a digital camera. Almost all new digicams have video capabilities, limited to the size of the memory card.

The only benefit of tape is the recording time and the relatively cheap cost of tape. It's very easy to exhaust the storage of a high capacity memory card (i.e. 4GB) with video capture. The cards are expensive and worst of all, easy to lose.

The best thing to do is go to Fry's and head over to the magazine section. Find some of the magazine review guides to camcorders and digicams, read through some of the articles looking for the editors picks, then take the magazines over to the camera section for a hands on look. Whatever you do, don't listen to the Fry's sales people - they are clueless.

Have you seen the JVC HDD camcorders?

a quick search did turn those up... same with toshiba hdd camcorders (up to 60gb in mpeg2).. but i have no reference points on what they are talking about... lol

found a TON of cheapie sd type recorders (under $150 on overstock.com also)

yeah i checked those too...unknown brands? video is choppy when zooming in/out
Also checked the hdd camcorders...too bulky for me

__________________
...
thank you X5world!

tell me more about your camera... likes, don't likes.. etc... how long can iyou run it? whats the biggest memory stick it can use? i'm used to mini-dv quality, is it at least that good or better? i do like the fact that it folds really thin like a cell phone...

i am currently considering the toshiba r60 hdd with 60gb drive in slightly larger size then your m1. the toshiba also has an r30 (30gb model) which can do 7 hrs in mpeg2 or 37hrs in lower quality. and with a usb cable, its a direct connection to the laptop. price is at $570 is the cheapest i've found so far... 675 for the 60gb version.

i'm trying to stay away from the jvc everio and sony models as they are very bulky in the traditional barrel design. can't put that in my pocket as i travel...

dv quality is still superior than m1's mpeg4. depending on the compression you choose( high, medium , low) for a 1 gig card i think you can get low compression- highest quality for 50 mins. The ease of use, data transfer and small form factor made me decide to choose my m1-- if you want superior quality video, this is not for you.

__________________
...
thank you X5world!

DONT geta cam because it CAN record onto a emory card, logeest hi-quality vid recording length will be 30 miutes. instead, get a hard drive cam (a sony )

i get almost 2 hrs ( hi-quality) on my 2 gig memory card, full batt charge 80 mins

__________________
...
thank you X5world!