Having a camcorder and flashing it at every chance that you get is no doubt cool. Heads will be turned in your way when you with a brand new sophisticated camcorder at your hand are busy yourself in capturing the moments. But then, a camcorder just to show off may not prove to be useful enough as well. Will it not be embarrassing if the admiring crowd that you have drawn in with your camcorder disapproves of the quality of the recording? It can also be pretty awkward if you cannot handle a camcorder properly that has high end features way beyond your proper knowledge.

So, what do we learn from these seemingly possible incidents (or may I take the liberty to call them accident!)? First of all, we don’t want to face those embarrassments and secondly, it is always better to know what type of camcorder will suit your skill and requirements rather than mindless investments in these costly gadgets. But where can you get the proper guidance? Just look around and we at TopCamcorders.com are with you, to take you through the myriads of choices available.

To make the selection of camcorders easier for you, let us first see, in which category you will put yourself as an expert in handling camcorders. This will bring out the requirements as well and eventually help you choose the right features in the camcorder and get the right one. According to the skills that different persons may have regarding the operation of camcorders, we can divide them broadly into three different categories. These are - novice, medium or intermediate and also experts. Now a person who has considerable skills and knowledge about camcorders can buy one without any guide. But same cannot be said in case of people wiling to buy one just to make home-videos or are in the initial stage of professional fields. So, here are the features and consideration that you should have a look at and give a through simultaneously, before you plunge headlong and lose yourself in the world of camcorders.

Novice

Those of you, who are looking for a camcorder good enough to take record of the regular events, on vacations, family gathering and so on, can go for the simple automatic camcorders that will help you to record the events and play them back without any technical complications. There are several models available in the market that suits both the budget and the requirements of the consumers who are at the beginner’s level. Generally the zoom of these camcorders is of 20x and have optical zoom as well. But these models come with less manual overrides for offering the consumers less complications. Moreover, the image stabilization feature may also be not up to the mark due to cheaper quality of the models. You can get one of these camcorders within $250.

Intermediate

Want to surprise your friends and family with one of those stomach-itchy funny videos recorded on your pets or your baby and shown on the popular channels? Well, you are right when you are thinking that those videos you can make simply with a camcorder. But it has to be on a more advanced level than those for the beginners. So if you are willing enough to step out of your comfort-budget a bit, say starting from $300, you can bag some of the latest camcorders with features helpful for editing the video footage. Along with more manual features that let you adjust focus in low light areas and many others, you will also get an optical zoom of about 25x. Moreover, with this type of camcorders, you will generally get FireWire socket so that you can transfer the video as a file to your PC and can edit there. So, get ready to fine-tune your artistry on the footage you have taken and start creating great videos.

Expert

Now, the very idea is as clear as a glass from the moment you know what an expert means. So, what let us just skip the obvious that this group will not compromise with the quality of the recordings and let us concentrate on some of the features that you can expect to get with this type of camcorders. Starting at a price that will always lean rather on the so called “obesity” type, like at $1000, these camcorders come packed with high end electrical and technological features. Result? Well, you may have guessed already – crystal clear picture with magnificent quality, features to help you operate in different and unmanageable light situations, more manual controls and you can also play back the recorded footage on high end televisions or other advanced set-ups. Additionally, these camcorders have three CCDs which help to make the picture clarity far better. Now is the time to explore your latent talent and show the world your mettle!

The Cameras

While beginners can consider some of the models like Canon MV930, Panasonic NV-GS80, Sanyo Xacti HD1A; more advanced consumers can try out some of these - Sony Handycam HDR-SR5E, Canon MV X350i or Panasonic HDC-SD5EG-K. However, models like Sony HVR-Z1, Canon XM2 or Panasonic VDR-D160EG-S are made entirely for the group belonging to the expert definition.

Tidbits to consider:

While the points above will give you a self-test to know the level you are in, there are some other aspects you should always consider before you are spending anything on a camcorder. You can check out the details of these aspects in many of our other guides on camcorders with TopCamcorders.com as well. Here are the points at a glance:

• Recording Media
• Battery & Battery Life
• Zoom
• Manual Controls
• Recording Time
• Image stabilization
• Still Shots
• Microphone
• Lenses

Check out the accessory guide for your precious camcorder with our TopCamcorders.com and make the recording experience more pleasant.