Ive decided next year when i go im gonna take one and was wondering what are some good ones.I wish i would have had one this year.The tshirt context at lavela was a sight to see to bad i cant show my friends that didnt go :PThey think thereare better places to go :P

I'm really happy with my Sony TVR-530 that I bought new online (can't remember where, search around) for $600.

Digital 8mm, has a memory stick so you can grab photos but if you are just publishing to the web or sending the photos email you can grab digital video captures (which is what it appears many of the photos in the spring break gallery here are).

You can check out http://www.las-vegas-new-years-eve.com/2001-girls-1.htm for vid caps I took last New Year's in Las Vegas. The site is totally under construction so the other pages are still empty.

Couple of things to think about:

1. No matter what camera you buy, remember that you are going to spend an extra pile of cash to get a long lasting battery or two for it. The 30 minute battery that comes stock with most camcorders won't cut it for the night.

2. If going digital, get something with firewire and have a computer that supports firewire. I wasted $100 originally on a USB cord to import videos and it worked poorly. Not worth it.

3. Stuff is going to get broken in crowds. Better to buy a cheap VHS-C or similar and just dub copies of the tapes for your friends if that is your whole point of things. If someone spills beer all over the camera, or knocks it to the ground, you won't cry so hard. It can happen.

Plus, if you ask around one of your computer geek friends or someone into video production as a hobby will have the stuff to capture VHS video to computer.

Hope this helps. I run AccessVegas.Com -- No relation to Tripsmarter but similar concept for Las Vegas except that Tripsmarter is WAY ahead of us in content, LOL. I love the panhandle and Tripsmarter is the site I use when traveling to that way. I think I've been to 75% of the restaurants and bars featured on Beach TV!

Thanks

Good call tedinvegas, on all points. We've gone through the same learning curve you describe, and have come to pretty much the same conclusions, especially about the batteries. The battery that comes with the camera isn't long-lasting enough to be of much use.

The pictures in the photo gallery are a mix of digital camera stills and vidcaps from Beta and DV... and the DV vidcaps are pretty impressive in quality, given the cost of the camcorder. Prices are going down and quality up... it's a good time to get one Chris!

Thanks for the compliments on the site tedinvegas! I've checked out AccessVegas.com and think you're being modest - the site has extensive listings, great info & links to just about everything Vegas, and Vegas TV!

Drop me a line the next time you're going to be in town, it'll be interesting comparing notes!

Dean, thanks for the kind words and keep up the great work with Tripsmarter and Beach TV.

I'll drop you an email in the next couple of days to say hello. Always fun and enlightening to talk to meet new people in this business.

We couldn't let this great of a post go unrewarded - so we made tedinvegas the latest winner in our Forum Contest! It's just these kinds of posts we hoped to get when we started these Forums. Our members passing along hard-won advice, and just generally helping each other out.

Congratulations tedinvegas, just drop me a line with your contact info and shirt size, and we'll get that out to you ASAP!

Thanks ... great to be a tripsmarter.com winner ... I can't wait to get back to the stunning beaches of Panama City Beach!

I guess it's easy to get jaded over these things 'cause now that you mention it, I realize I haven't been enjoying the beach enough lately! The water is still incredible looking, with bands of irredescent green striped with deep blue... and the sand is the brightest of white. Man, these beaches ARE stunning!

I can second that Sony recommendation... with minor reservations. My Sony TRV-103 performed wonderfully on the beach in PCB, producing some great shots. It's simply fantastic in natural light.

On the other hand, dim indoor lighting tends to render the picture quite grainy, and night shots (along the strip, for example) can end up little more than a murky mess. You can obviously compensate a bit by adding a light to your gear, but then you've got one more accessory chewing up your battery power.

Oh, and as for stills... the older Digital8 models (like mine) handle stills by recording a single frame on seven seconds of tape. You can then retrieve them using Firewire and a video editor. (Studio7 from pinnaclesys.com is my preference for casual stuff.) It's not as slick as a Memory Stick, but on the plus side, you can shoot hundreds of stills before you have to swap out your media.

--
Roger