Digital Video2

Already know what Digital Video is and what to look for? Then skip to the Recommendations.

What To Look For:

I recommend the MiniDV format camcorders, so I suggest starting there. They're compact and have good quality recordings. Then decide on the size you want and your budget.
The number of lines of resolution of the video is important, as is the actual video resolution (690k or better is good). Also, many of todays MiniDV camcorders take digital still photos as well. If you're interested in these, get one that takes fairly high resolution stills. Many are only 640x480, which isn't suitable for high print quality. Some are 1152x864, and a few are 1600x1200 which is a pretty good resolution for a digital photo. However, keep in mind these camcorders were made for video, not stills. The color, sharpness, etc. tends to be a little off in the stills.
The size and number of CCDs are important too. A larger CCD allows more light in and is thus more accurate. Most of today's camorders are single CCD, but some of the newer camcorders from Sony and Panasonice have 3 CCDs which provide much more accurate color.