Well I'm back once again for some advice/opinions!

I know I could do the research myself, and I have a bit, but I always like to check in here too

I'm looking for a new camcorder that takes decent pics as well. The camcorder I have now is over 7 yrs old and uses those darn mini dv tapes and the pic quality is crap, not to mention the camcorder itself is heavy, and the sound quality is horrible.

I'm looking for a camcorder - HD of course - that is good for just every day stuff, home videos, getting cute footage of my dog, nieces, etc. I'd like to be able to take photos w/it as well. As for price, I'd really like to keep it under $600 if possible.

I looked at those flipvid cam things

http://store.theflip.com/en-us/products/SlideHD.aspx

and the new one seems pretty cool, but I don't know what kind of photos I can get w/it, still photos that is. I love that it's small, light weight & seems to record decent video.

Does anyone own one of these Flip camcorders & if so, what do you like/dislike about it?

The one thing I did notice about this Flip cam thing is that you can't really zoom in on things very well. It's only got a 2x zoom - and my 7 yr old camcorder has something like a 16x zoom. Of course, it's not HD though.

Also, it states that the vid resolution is 1280 x 720. So, how would that look on my big flatscreen? I think it's like 60" or something.

I guess that Flip vid cam thing is really for people who like to shoot vids for sites like YouTube? I just don't know...so confusing w/all the options out there.

I don't need something superduper, but I would like a camcorder that is HD and has the ability to take decent photos - either with a snapshot option or by doing one of those capture things w/the video.

Well, as you can see, I'm confused and so not into tech stuff, but I really want a new camcorder

I appreciate any help!

Hope you all have a great day!

I don't own a camcorder so I can't give you an opinion there, but I will share with you my top three websites for product reviews even though two are actually retail stores.

http://www.newegg.com/
Because the folks reviewing products are typically technically savvy and tell it like it is concerning electronic devices and computers.

http://www.amazon.com
Because of the volume of reviews for a lot of products (If a product has 900 reviews and an average of 4 stars, it must be pretty good).

http://reviews.cnet.com/
Both the Editor's review and the user ratings can be useful.

Also like Tigerdirect.com for reviews.

Thanks Tom & James!

I guess I'm on my own as far as picking one out LOL! I guess I just wanted someone to tell me which one to buy hehe

Yeah I keep forgetting about newegg and tigerdirect! I'll see what they have to offer.

Thanks again!!!

The Flip camera is nice. I got one for my dad for Christmas. I really find it more for the causal recording and for people who don't really want to many options.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/c … vixia_hf10

I purchased this last year and I love it. The quality is just short of amazing. My daughter even left it outside over night in a rainstorm (yeah I had to beat her a bit for that) and it still worked fine. The cost is a bit more, but I think you get a lot more long term flexibility. C|Net should have quite a few reviews for it.

Hi Scott!

The Flip cam is nice, but I'm just not sure how it is for taking still pics.

I've been looking at this Sony camcorder:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666073223

The specs seem pretty sweet for the price - just $689 on eBay w/lots of extras. Seems to have received great reviews as well. States it takes still photos up to 7MB - MUCH better than the crappy old digital cam I have now. OMG it's 8 yrs old - older than my camcorder and I think the pic size is like 1, maybe 2 MB, and I can't ever get it to focus & everyone has red eye - but heck, it's 8 yrs old and was a good cam.

So the Sony HDR-CX300 looks like it might be the winner. BUT I will need to compare prices & specs w/the camcorder you suggested - the Canon VIXIA HF10.

Thanks guys! Love y'all

One thing I have always found true is when you mix devices like a camera and video recorder, you always sacrifice something. I have an Cannon SLR for photos and that camera for videos. Just seems best for me.

So true Scott!

I was thinking the same thing - really!

If I decide to buy a separate cam & camcorder, I might just go for the Flip cam thing and then get a good SLR camera. I just don't know! AHHH! I'm HORRIBLE at making decisions. I suppose I'll go do some shopping around and actually look at one of those Flip cams to see if it's something that I want. Then I'll have to do more research for a dig SLR cam.......starting to miss the old days when things were simple....remember....VHS machines....Walkmans....ahhhh

I'm the same way. I just want my cell phone to make calls. I have a PC for email, web surfing, documents, and games. I have a television to watch movies, and a stereo to listen to music.

I can do practically everything with a PC but the rest of the high tech gadgets drive me crazy. Showing my age, I guess? Less patience and grey matter, lol.

Did anyone watch the episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels where his son tried showing him how to use the iChat on the laptop? Too funny. That's me using these darn smart devices.

Here is a very cool camera although being a little bit on the cutting edge of technology it might not be practical for you. Fuji Film's FinePix Real 3D W3 http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/3d/ … index.html
Its retail should be about $500.00.