Re: Pro HD Camcorder for beginner

You can scan a few of the similar threads a few lines down, this is a discussion that comes up often, and the answers tend to change as new products emerge.. If you're serious about an uninterrupted record duration of four or more hours, then that rules out all the tape-based camcorders in your price range. Some of the AVCHD -based camcorders can do several hours by recording to flash memory cards. Another method to get long record times is to strap on an external portable hard drive system like a Firestor, which can take a firewire output and record in parrellel to whatever is recording inside the camera, sometimes it can even record in a different format.

As a first step, try going to B&H Photo-Video's web site. Select the category "professional camcorders", then use their ranking tool to list all by price in ascending order. This will introduce you to the field of what's available in your range, and B&H has a lot of good detail in their listings to help you make comparisons.