JVC GR-DA30US Mini DV Camcorder

This is a no frills camcorder, so don't get it if you think you're going to film HD true 16:9.

That said, I got the camcorder due to the price and that it shoots in mini DV, and switches between 4:3 and 16:9 easily depending on your need, it's hard to find one much cheaper. You will either love or hate the sliding viewfinder, I've found it to work fine both inside and outside in daylight. Not certain yet how it will work in snow situations, I plan to use it out snowboarding.

I was pleasantly surprised with both the video quality and the LCD color, low light shooting is interesting. There's a backlight feature that works, well sort of, it makes everything look like a strobe is running. The camcorder has a high speed feature, which seems to work nicely though I've not been able to evaluate its usefulness out snowboarding, that's where I'd really like 1/5000 speed.

All in all this is a very good little camcorder and at this price if I end up planting it in a 6 foot snow drift I'll just get another.

I bought this camera with a very low budget because I needed a small dv camcorder with firewire. I also liked how the screen was in the back so it took up very little space. Also it is perfect for some underwater housing because since the screen doesn't fold out you can actually see what you are recording. The optical zoom is nice and the quality is pretty good for a cheap camcorder. The only thing I don't like is that there is no mic in. The microphone on the camcorder is not very good(super hum) but if you need a cheap camcorder this is the best one.