Canon HD cam with MB

[kinvoda]

I've done a lot of looking around and I think I want to get a Canon HF200.
It looks like my 3 year old Macbook 2GHz Intel Core Duo with 2GB ram will slowly but surely let me work with its AVCHD format. I would be using the camera mainly for family stuff/memories etc and the random rally race. If I use VoltaicHD and import it into iMovie I should be able to do the light editing I intend to. Is this correct? Also, if I do go this route, what is the best way to export? Since most of my clips will be fairly short I can burn to DVDs and hopefully by the time I need to make longer clips I will have a computer with a BLU-RAY burner.

Thanks for the help,
Ryan A

 

[Unprocessed1]

Canons SHOULD work with iMovie, and most other mac programs, they seem to be the best manufacturer in terms of that. Don't know much bout using it for blu rays though.

 

[anthemus]

The Canon is a safe bet. Typically they have a real nice image. Plenty of manual options or auto depends on how involved you like to get with your camera.

Things I normally look for in a camera:

Headphone jack - monitoring audio
Microphone jack - in case one day I want to add a mic to the camera
Optics - Optical zoom is much better than digital zoom
Media - tape or cards? How much they cost
Batteries - if there expensive or not
Manual options - focus, white balance, gain

2 cents.