If I purchase a standard def camcorder should I go with mini dv or hd. I have searched the forums but they say mini dv is better for editing and such but I am concerned if mini dv is going to be fading away. Also are file sizes really large like avchd or are mini dv similar in size when transfered to my mac?
Most SD (standard def) camcorders record DV video to miniDV tapes. There is a lot to be said in their favor, considering storage costs & longevity. When you capture DV video on your computer, the video takes up about 13GB of disk space per hour of video.
Most HD (hi def) camcorders record either HDV or AVCHD video to an internal hard drive or dvd drive. A few, like the Canon HV20 & HV30, record to HD miniDV tapes. HDV vs. AVCHD is hotly debated and there are lots of pros & cons regarding each as well as recording to hard disk vs. tape.
I'd say that in general if you choose an HDV camcorder, go with one that records on tape, like the HV20 or HV30. If you choose an AVCHD camcorder you will probably find only hard disk and DVD disk camcorders. Stay away from the DVD disk camcorders if you want to edit your video.
In the case of both HDV and AVCHD video, when you capture/ingest the video with FCE the video is transcoded to Apple Intermediate Codec, which takes anywhere from 25GB-50GB per hour of video depending on whether you shot 720p or 1080i.
When you get into video editing on computers, be prepared to need a lot of hard drive space !
Great informaiton I appreciate the help, as I am very new to this. The sales people at best buy and circuity city were steering me to get the most expensive camcorder regardless of what I was trying to tell them.