piscesmom

I want to buy a new camcorder in the next two weeks for a European cruise which I will be taking with my husband and children. I am the family photographer so I will be carrying the camcorder as well as my Canon SD900 camera (small) around constantly so I don't want the camcorder to be too big. I've had a Sony DCR-TVR series camcorder for many years and think now is a good time to upgrade to a high definition camera. I've done video editing in the past on a volunteer basis and now that my kids are older I would like to create some movies for my own family in the near future, especially for my mother who has cancer and has requested that I pull together old footage for her (video on miniDV tapes would be combined with digital photos). I need to purchase film editing software in the next six months or so. If you have advice on that I would appreciate it. Our family has a year old iMac and a new Vista compatible laptop.

I need advice on buying a HD camcorder and would appreciate you sharing ideas on what to buy. I like to buy what I call "state-of-the-art affordable" electronics, i.e., the newest technology but at a consumer price. I stopped by an electronics store to see what is out there and liked the idea of HD. I was drawn to the ones with a hard drive and specifically was looking at the Sony HDRSR5. I've had good luck with Sonys in the past. It was listed at $1099.99 at my local Circuit City and was not on sale. I only have a week and a half to make the purchase so I will probably have to buy it at a store but will research the price to make sure I get the best deal; I'm willing to go up to $1500.

I have a background in computers but am self-educating myself at this point. I was a software engineer sixteen years ago but "retired" to raise my four children. I do volunteer computer work for a charity but will finish my tenure next June so I will have finally some time on my hands to get into making movies.

I just discovered this forum today. It looks great. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.