Compact Camcorders

I'd get a 1 CCD digital camcorder, bought used. Those go for pretty low nowadays. They'd be good enough especially in bright snow, so you'll do okay.

If not, Hi-8 works well, and there's lots of places, even in your local Buy and Sell where people are trying to offload them on the cheap. Are you looking for a specific brand?

Here's to the Crazy Ones ​

 

You could get a cheap 1 CCD for about 35-50 that is digital. The best you can get is a prosumer 3 CCD unit. Somewhere in the 80-90s there was a split between good electronic and crappy electronics(for regular people). Most crappy electronics are sold in electronics stores like BestBuy or Circuit City, etc. I dont know of any regular store that carries any good quality electronics. Single ccds were not made for video. If you dont care about quality, color, sharpness, then you can go with a 1 CCD unit. 3CCD units have a 3CCD label toward the lens of the camera. 1CCD units dont have any label. Personally, I own a Canon GL2 which is a favorite of skiier and snowboarder alike and I also recommend it. I have taken it on ski trips and the camera performs very well in below zero weather. In below zero weather the screens will become delayed because of the temperature but thats to be expected on any unit. The GL2 records on a DV tape, and takes near 2mp picture on a SD memory card. I also have a Wide Angle lens(to which some skateboarders refer to as a Def lens) that was pretty cheap from Kenko. No single CCD, no matter what the resolution, can match the quality of a 3CCD unit. Either panasonic or JVC have a very small 3CCD unit if a Prosumer form factor camera is too large for you.