What are the important features to be compared before buying a Digital Camcorder.?

I am looking for a Camcorder which also doubles up as a digital Camera, is easy to use, is in the range upto 700$ (I hope this is sufficently high). If model Number and brand information is available, please share the same

Here's a helpful camcorder buying guide and explains lots of the features:

http://www.easycamcorders.com/content/be... Here are some key features to look for...

- Low lux (for low lighting situations)

- Manual focus

- Large monitoring screen

- High resolution (for video and still pictures)

- A good video/picture editing program

- Make sure it can record in MPEG (video) and JPEG (stills)

- Offer various frame speeds for video

- Anti-shake technology

- Stereo microphones

- High definition capability

Take a look at these review sites to find which one is the best for you.

H a p p y

P h o t o g r a p h y First thing you must decide, which type of camera you are interested in.

Considering that you will be using the camera for a normal home video and not for professional use, i had provided some useful tips below.

1) You select either Mini DV ---magnetic tape media or DVD --disc media (Recording media).

2) The megapixel of the digital camera (at least it should not be less than 1Mp, if its 3Mp its well and good.).

3) The duration(recording time) of the battery once its fully charged.

Note: The Mini DV tape gives you a recoding time of 60 mins while the DVD disc gives a recording time of 30 mins for a single sided disc and 60 mins for a double sided disc(30 mins each side).

The better recommended DVD is DVD-RW.