DVD camcorders record straight to both sizes and kinds of discs, DVD+R/W, DVD-R/W and Mini DVD. The biggest advantage is that you can put the discs directly into a PC for playback or home DVD player for watching on a TV.
Digital Camcorders record movies in digital format, and store video and image files on removable memory (usually Flash memory). They are lighter weight and more compact than camcorders using alternative storage methods. Digital Camcorders mostly range from pocket to fist-sized, are usually flat or barrel-shaped and fit easily in your hand.
Due to substantially increased capacity and the incredibly low price-point of flash memory, Digital Camcorders have become the dominant camcorder format on the market.
With phones and cameras able to shoot video, the choice of buying a camcorder usually comes down to features, video quality and functionality.
Camcorders offer unparalleled zoom capability, often up to 30 or 60x zoom. Digital cameras on the other hand often offer 3-5x zoom and 10x digital zoom. These camcorders zoom and focus smoothly and quickly without mechanical noises that would be audible on video footage.
One feature that is most important to many camcorder users is quick and accurate auto-focusing. This leads to less/no blurry footage as compared with video taken using a camera. This is especially important for action footage or if the subject is moving toward and away from the camera.
A good number of digital camcorders shoot in in 1080p compared to the ubiquitous 720p of digital camera video. If you opt away from high definition, most standard definition camcorders will still record video at a higher bit rate than a regular digital camera.
Other features that can make shooting video easier and more fun with a camcorder are large, vivid LCDs and articulated screens.
If you plan on recording a lot of indoor or close-up footage, consider a camcorder with a wide angle lens. Wide-angle lenses let you zoom out farther, so you can capture events that are close to you without stepping back.
A hard drive (HDD) camcorder is a tapeless camera that records to a built-in hard disk drive, similar to the hard drive found in laptop and notebook computers. They don't use videotape which saves you money from having to constantly buy them! They are usually smaller, lighter and faster than other camcorders. You have the option to access footage in any order, without having to fast-forward or rewind to a particular section. You can record more than 10 hours of fun at almost the same quality level as a DVD camcorders 30-minute mode.
Mini DV camcorders refer to the specific size of tape cassettes that these cameras use. This is very different than a camera using Mini DVD. Mini DV is inexpensive and widely accessible. It's relatively durable and offers better quality video than the other formats and it is by far the easiest media to edit! Because the tapes are small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, the Mini DV cameras can weigh less than some other camcorders.
Professional DV records video in broadcast quality on Mini DV tapes that are easily transferable by USB or Firewire to personal computers. Though this was designed for consumer use, Mini DV is widely used in the making of low-budget films and television shows.
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