You enter the store and ask the greeter where the camcorder in the AD is and are directed to the video department, near the rear of the store.
You finally find the camcorder section and a salesperson approaches. After asking the salesperson where the camcorder in the AD is, You are taken around this island of camcorders (there must be 50 of them!) priced from $199 to $2000, to the slot where the AD camcorder was (which was priced at, you guessed it ($199).
You are woefully uprepared for this! Why so many camcorders? Why so many prices? Why did the salesperson make sure you walked passed all the expensive ones before showing you the one in the AD? What the heck are you doing here? Are you about to be a victim of Bait and Switch? Your heart starts to pace. You start to sweat. You excuse yourself from the salesperson and get out of the store quick; you go do some grocery shopping instead; it was almost lunch time anyway.
I am sure we have all had an experience like this at some time or another. Our friend above was right, he was unprepared to shop for a camcorder.
Shopping for a camcorder requires a bit of homework, just like buying a car or a house. When you buy a car, you are buying freedom and mobility. When you buy a house you are buying shelter and security. When you buy a camcorder, you are buying memories, memories that will be recorded in picture and sound to pass down through the generations.
Having worked in retail electronics for several years, I have come in contact with five types of camcorder customers: (1) The family with children or about to have children. (2) The retired couple or person with grandchildren. (3) The techie who wants the best. (4) The Traveler (5) The last minute person that wants something but has no frame of reference.
Believe it or not, the basic principles of purchasing a camcorder is the same for all. These principles are: (1) The Physical comfort of the machine. (2)Ease of use. (3)Convenience of Playback and/or copying. (4) Picture quality. (5) Fits within budget.
Notice I did not mention Features. That is not to say that features are not that important, but I am emphasizing that without the above principles, features are meaningless. Your camcorder can have all the bells and whistles in the world, but if it uncomfortable to use, is hard to access the features, is inconvenient to use, suffers from lackluster picture quality, then it is bad no matter what your budget.
There are a several good websites that will aid you in your search for the perfect camcorder. For starters try Consumer Reports Magazine although their publication times don't always reflect the exact model numbers that are currently available, it gives a good basic explanation on what features are and are not important in camcorders.
For the consumer that is (or thinks he/she is) needs more understanding of camcorder technology, check out About.com's own Camcorder site, hosted by Emily Price.
In addition, here are some of Emily's great tips and picks:
