Recommend me a video camera

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Hello Playground!
I'm looking to buy a video camera, but I have no idea what to get. If you could point me in the right direction that would be highly appreciated. My prefrences include:

- Less than $200.
- Able to film at least two hours of video.
- Durable.
- Good screen rez. I don't know the exact numbers, but I want at least average.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Pretty much any camera that does Full HD video (which is 1080i, or 1080 pixels on the short side, with actual resolution as 1920x1080).

Ability to film 2 hours of video for non-hard drive cameras will depend on your tape/memory card capacity. So choose one with a large hard drive.

So, go to Future Shop/Best Buy, play around with a few cameras and ask a few questions.

[Ashtar]

for example http://reviews.cnet.com/best-budget-camcorders/

I went through the list, the Zi8 (Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera) seems to have good reviews (1080p resolution @ 30 fps and can do "Action shots" 720p resolution at up to 60fps), $99 on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Pocket-Video-Camera-Black/dp/B002HOPUPC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1292375783&sr=1-1) fits your budget too, you have to supply your own SD card meaning you can get up to a 32 GB card (WARNING Use high speed SD Card Class 6) to be able to film over 3.5 hours, or multiple smaller cards (http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Class-Flash-Memory-TS8GSDHC6/dp/B000P9ZBFA/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1292376223&sr=1-2) (class 6 for speed), what's nice is you can switch and ask for a new card from someone as a gift since they are not too expensive for the lower capacities. It has the external mic option which is important for better sound later on.

Only default I can see from the reviews, the battery seems not to last very long !!! So you might have to get 2 batteries or have an plug not too far if you shoot continuously.

*Disclaimer* I haven't used it!