Camcorders

Chris, ifyour looking at a 10D then a good buy is the Archos Gmini 120 or 220, these are mp3 jukeboxes with 20Gb hard drives AND a built in compact flash card reader :)

I bought a 220 for under $300 from Amazon.com (£270 here!) and picked it up from our friends in Spring Hill, it's ideal for transferring the 1Gb microdrive in my Minolta 7Hi, also means I've got 300+ hours of music to choose from for the flights :D

http://www.archos.com/products/overview/gmini_220.html

Ebuyer are offering the WD 5400rpm 120Gb at just under £50 inc. Vat this week :)

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=32009

Thanks jeff

Will check that out

Just got my new camcorder, it's the 1.3Mp JVC GR-D201, it's tiny!!!!! :D

Managed to get a bargain off Ebay (US site of course!) and got charged £41 import duty :( but .... even with the duty etc. it still only cost £260!!!! ........ £200 cheaper than anywhere I could find it here :D

Chrisj,

If you're after a portable storage device that also plays MP3s, one of the best on the market is the I-River IHP120 (20GB) or IHP140 (40GB).

The sound quality is excellent and coupled with the capacity to store hundreds of pictures, you can't go wrong.

Unfortunately, they don't come with a built in card reader, but you can also buy a McCally Syncbox that sits between the two devices and acts as a hub allowing you to connect any USB device to it.

IHP120 - £239 http://www.millerpc.co.uk/shop/playe...r_iHP_20GB.asp
IHP140 - £269 http://www.millerpc.co.uk/shop/playe...r_iHP_40GB.asp
Syncbox - £49 http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/...ncbox&x=11&y=2

After the usual lengthy pre-buying investigation, I bought the IHP140 and currently have over 5000 songs on it to wile away the 9hr flights, and its only half full. I also found a very useful support forum www.misticriver.net that encompasses every available I-River product.

Jeff
Whats the review on your new toy please ? Is it missing anything you wished you had thought of - are the results good - anything hard to use on it ?
Thanks
Sue

My bro-in-law bought one off E-bay(UK) before we left. It is a JVC but I am not sure of the model. He has been a Camcorder person for years and swears that he got a good deal. But even if you don't like auctions, are many of the on-line dealers better than Jessops in terms of price?

It's very nice, Miriam went out with it Wednesday and took about 30 mins of (surprise) her horsies [msnsad]

For someone who hasn't a clue what she's doing she managed to get about 10mins of decent video, I am VERY impressed with the quality, the 1.3Mp sensor certainly is a noticeable difference from our 2 previous camcorders (300Kp & 800Kp).

The only 3 things I can find any fault with are the usual 850mAh battery that comes as standard (same with most camcorders), the lack of a seperate battery charger (again the same with most camcorders now) and the fact it's so small!!!!.

She's off to a family party tonight with the kids so I'll see how it performs under room lighting etc.

Jeff,
So, as usual, size does matter then. Is it too small to handle well, or just that you are struggling to adjust ?:D

Hi Susan :D

It's not too small it's just that I'm 6'6" with hands like a gorilla :)

Miriam is "average" size and finds it just nice, even our youngest Charlotte (9) was using it at the party and managed fine.

I'll try and post a piccie of it in both mine and Miriams hands so you can judge the size, just waiting for my digital cameras microdrive to be returned as I loaned it to Beamish Museum as they have some important audio to record today and the 1Gb CF card they ordered from Dabs hadn't arrived in time!, hopefully I should get it back later today :)

Ah okay - At 5'2" I should be okay :)
I didn't know if you meant camera shake was a problem.