The Camcorder

I have been thinking of a new video recorder for the last umpteen months. Choosing the perfect Camcorder for men is as difficult as women choosing the perfect shoe. You can never end up with the right one because one month later, some other manufacturer will surprise you with another feature, another colour, another design that will make your purchase obsolete! But unlike shoes, men cannot put their camcorder into a shoe box, stacked them up in the storeroom and pretend they don't exist after using it once.

I was quite firm on getting the Sony Camcorder, but one day before heading down to the store, Canon came out with the World’s highest still resolution for a single CCD camcorder . So I thought, ok, I think I like this one better 'cos it has the world highest whatever ... then a few days later, Hitachi launched the World's First Fastest Multi-Format Plus DVD Camcorder! So do I go for the world's highest whatever or world's fastest whatever ..?!! Then Panasonic added the confusion with the World's 1st and only DVD video camera with 3CCD & O.I.S. My beloved Sony finally threw me off with World's Smallest and Lightest HDV Camcorder.

I am glad the manufacturers know we don't really understand most of the technical terms. I think most people would not pick up the camera and think to themselves " this OIS thing is superb, you need this OIS, you should see this!" So they rather tempt us with smallest, biggest, fastest ... words which we will understand without looking up Google. So now I have to decide, do I go for the :

a. World's First and Fastest
b. World's Highest
c. World's First and Only
d. World's Smallest and Lightest

It's highly unlikely that you will find a camcorder with all the above, so you either be the fastest or smallest or nothing. But suppose you decide on one of the above, say ... the World's Highest whatever, then the same camera would and may be the World's Second Fastest or World's Second Smallest Camcorder ... and who wants to be second right? I think I will be extremely uncomfortable with a 'almost' winner product. I hate it if a friend tells me : "hey, you know, your camera almost made it to the fastest category, I feel sorry for you ... "

Until those maufacturers put in features that are obviously different from the other, its going to hard for me to decide which one to buy. Maybe if they have one that takes great picture and is also a M&M dispenser or a camcorder that blows dry your hair, I would be able to pick the right one!