hopscotch

That's my Q. My teener daughter is going to Italy next month. She seems to lose things so I don't want to pluck down too much. Mucho TIA.

ira

Hi H,

It might be better to buy her a cell phone that records pix and sound.

Gretchen

Why a video recorder? Why not a digital camera--they record short movies if that is what she really wants.

rex

I don't know, ira...

I was not aware of what a wide range of choice there are, under $100 (maybe a bit more, once you add an appropriately sized memory stick, which is generally considered a necessary accessory, and maybe some rechargeable AAA batteries and charger)...

See http://camcorderinfo.pricegrabber.co.../sortby=priceA

Best wishes,

Rex

hopscotch

Rex,
THANK YOU!!!

rex

You're very welcome, hopscotch. I don't know if this is something I would want in "everyday" life, but I can see it how it would be quite nice to take on a trip.

Did you look this one over, in particular?

http://camcorderinfo.pricegrabber.co...terid=16656066

If you want to buy it, you can "sell it forward" to me for 80% of what you paid - - or even "rent it forward" to me... for 20% and you can have it back.

If that appeals to you...

hopscotch

Holy smokes Rex. That thing does everything except slice bread.

I never heard of that brand before. I prefer to spend a little more and go with JVC or Sony, two brands which have never let me down.

If I buy her one I think we'll keep it. My camcorder is early 90s and over the hill.

crepes_a_go_go

Wow! For under $100, any of those would be worth taking a chance on. Wish I'd seen that site before coming to Europe this time (I'm here currently). I've always wanted to bring a camcorder to have video of la vie quotidien to show to my students, but I could never get past having to lug around such a monster and couldn't justify the cost of the tiny digital ones.

Ah, well, there's always next year!

rex

How long are you there? If you're going to be there a couple weeks or more, I would be glad to split the cost of it with you (don't know if the cost of shipping would be prohibitive, or too slow)...

crepes_a_go_go

I've already been here over a month and leave on Friday. But thanks for the offer.

Aleta

Rethink the video camera. She will get tired of carrying it around, or she'll forget to recharge the batteries, and if she's prone to leaving stuff behind will surely leave it somewhere.. I travel internationally a lot, and I find a camera to be convenient and fits in my slacks pocket.In China last month, there were many times where the video would have been lovely, but weighing that against the weight of my little camcorder, I choose the camera.

crepes_a_go_go

Aleta, let me put another spin on it re: a child keeping up with things. I brought students with me for the first part of my trip, and one girl, 17 years old and a senior next year, brought her digital camera as well as a very nice palm-size camcorder. She used the camcorder as much as she used her camera. Exactly half way thru the trip, she realized that she was missing her camera. We called back to the couple of places we'd had private tours that day (it was a Sunday afternoon) but no luck in finding her camera. She used her camcorder for the remainder of the trip and luckily still has shots of the entire trip even though her camera was lost.

I lost my prescription sunglasses this trip and I'm 47 years old, so I guess none of us is immune from losing things.

Gretchen

REthink the video recorder because where is she going to download it. Get a camera.

crepes_a_go_go

Why would she need to download it? Memory cards are dirt cheap, and I believe a 1GB holds about 90 minutes of footage. I've got two 1GB and one 2GB cards with me right now. I wouldn't let that hold me back.