How to find the right camcorder
part three

• Handling Try to get to try out as many camcorders as you can, see which button layout you prefer. Make sure that vital functions (such as manual focus, aperture, white balance) can be changed quickly and easily.
  
  
• Balance The XL1, great camera as it is, tends to be front heavy which can be a problem in longer handheld situations.
  
  
• Battery life The longer, the better. Also ask for batteries that do not have a 'memory' effect.
  
  
• Format If you want to shoot anything else than home video, I would keep my hands off anything else than mini DV. If the budget allows for a VX1000, consider getting the PD100 instead; for less money you get the professional DVcam format.
  
  
• Surfing I found it very useful, to do a lot of surfing on the Internet, punching in all the camcorder names and seeing what comes up. You get a lot of information from actual users of the cameras, though not exactly unbiased. My premier choice is google.com, but I also like alltheweb.com for its speed and northernlight.com for its thoroughness.
  
  
• Magazines Read up on current trends, visit one of the bigger newsagent and you will find magazines as "Computer & Camera", "Camcorder User" and the like.
  
  
• Prize See how much you can afford, keeping in mind that you will also need a carry/protective bag, extra batteries, maybe external mike, tapes, editing equipment.
  
  
• Analogue video in Lets you record from sources like TV and VTR without loss of quality.
  
  
• Sturdiness If you plan to do some travelling, I would recommend a aluminium/metal case. The PD100 has an aluminium body, the XM1 is plastic.