I am going on vacation and want a digital camcorder for about $500. Help me choose please.?

do you want a dvd recorder? sound and picture quality is incredible...if so you have the convenience of recording right onto mini dvd discs 30 min-60mins per disc depending on recording quality you select on your camera. I have a Panasonic camera and i love it.

I have a Panasonic PV-GS300, minidv camcorder that I took on vacation recently, and I'm very happy with it. The camera has 3 CCDs, and has excellent video quality, and also optical image stabilization, which helps the picture not shake quite as much. It also takes 3mp still photos to a memory card (not included).

It cost about $500. I also got a second, high capacity battery because I didn't want to be running out of juice while I was out and about, but I never had to switch over to the original battery during the course of the vacation. I recharged every night, of course. The camera also runs very quietly, so the soundtrack doesn't get polluted with the sounds of the camera running.

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