What's the biggest mistake people make when buying a new HDV camcorder?

What's the biggest mistake people make when buying a new HDV camcorder?

Tim Smith (Camcorder Training Specialist) gives expert video advice on: What is an HDV camcorder and how does it work?; Can I watch my videos on a Hi-Def TV?; What equipment do I need to shoot HDV? and more...

I think probably it's that they spend too much time focusing on the format. Not that they don't want to. You do need to do that. But not at the expense of everything else. You still have to consider the things you've always considered: What kind of lens is on it, what kind of chip is on it? How good is the image going to be? Not based on the format, but based on the quality of the product that you've bought. The format itself is only capable of delivering what the camera can give it. So if you're buying a low-end, high-definition camcorder, you're probably getting low-end lenses, or maybe low-end chips. That's going to affect the image. Just recording on a high-definition format doesn't mean you have the best picture. So you really need to look at the camcorder as an entire package--not just a format.