HT home movies, minidv camcorder buying help

[vxaudio]

i'm starting to look for a minidv camcorder to buy my fiancee (and of course myself) for Christmas. I have looked mainly at Sony's b/c we have a sony wega hdtv. im not sure what advantages i would have with sony over other brands as far as connectivity (note, my tv has a sony memorystick reader) Anyways, does anybody here own one and have any recommendation? Im looking in the 500 range, and i cant swing the cash for a HD minidv i dont think. Ive also looked at the miniDVD ones, but with the dvd only holding 30 minutes, doesnt seem worth it. I have a dvd burner, so i will probably go that route for playback. I would like any advice on features, what to look for/ stay away from since i dont know much about this subject. btw, i have a nice digital camera, so i'm not concerned with a camcorder's still pic capabilities. thanks.

[evil__betty]

Don't worry about your camera name matching the name on your tv. It won't do anything for picture/compatibility issues at all. I highly recommend Canon cameras. Their Elura series, although a little pricier are absolutly fantastic. Sony's cameras are pretty neat - and smaller, but it is image quality that you want to look for. It won't matter which camera you buy - they all hook up the same. So, do some research on a couple camera's, fool around with them at the store, and go from there. Just don't get sucked into the "EVERYTHING HAS TO BE FROM SONY" trap that far too many people fall into. I sear that if Sony were to rip off the badging of a Kia car and put 'Sony' there in its place, that car would sell like hot cakes simply because of a badge. Don't get me wrong, Sony does make some good stuff - but there are a lot more options out there for people if they can get away from their Sony fetish.

Happy hunting

[GMichael]

I second the Canon idea. They make very good camcorders.
Also, if you want zoom, look at the optical zoom number. The digital zoom is close to worthless.