I'm making some major purchases and would like some real life opinions. I've been shopping for a digital camcorder and am totally overwhelmed with all the options. I would like to stay around $500. I'm pretty sure I want hard drive memory, no DVD's or tapes to mess with, and High Def is not a must. Does anyone have a camera that they absolutely love, or maybe don't love. I would love to hear any advice other moms have to offer as chances are we would be using the camera for the same things as you: Holidays, indoor and outdoor sporting events, dance and music recitals and so forth.
Secondly, I'm looking for a washer and dryer. I definitely want front-loading and am curious about how well the steam options work. My husband wears a shirt and tie everyday and less ironing would be a dream come true. I'm looking for any information or advice that anyone has on brands and features.
Thank you everyone for all your great advice. We ended up buying a JVC Everio from Sam's Club. The camera is called a hybrid because it records on hard drive and can also record to an SD Card. It came with a tripod and carrying case which happens to hold our digital camera and new camcorder perfectly. We are very pleased so far, and since Sam's offers a 30 day money back guarantee we feel like we can't go wrong. As for the Washer and Dryer, maybe next month!
We have the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer. I love them! They don't have the steam option but they are a large capacity and they do save on dry time and water usage. Well worth the investment.
I was looking for a camera last summer, and ended up getting three. The third was a winner! After reading lots of customer reviews and photographer reports, I finally found the Canon Powershot S3 IS. It's a great camera that has tons of features, including a video mode. It uses SD cards, which are easy to find and come in all different memory sizes. You can keep several in a camera case to seperate video from still images if you want, or just put them all on one 16 gb card. The images are very clear, it has a great zoom lens with stabilizer, allows very fast action shots, is easy enough with automated features for a novice to use, but allows you to adjust things manually as your photography skills improve. I've absolutely loved this camera. If you want to take a closer look at it's features, here's a link t a review page. http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/S3IS/S3ISA.HTM
It's not a pocket camera, but it's smaller than many of the camcorders out there with really high quality videos that are easy to move to your PC.
As for the front loading washer and dryer, I have a Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer that I got last year. They do a great job and are very quiet while running. They don't have the steam pressing feature, so I can't help you out there. But if you throw something dry and wrinkled in the dryer with a clean damp dishcloth, it comes out reasonably well wrinkle free.
Hope that helps.
T.
I always check consumer reports before making major purchases.
the Washer and Dryer
we just got a front loader washer and dryer there are a few things i like
the top loaders use 40 gallons of water a wash the front loaders use 16 gallons and do 2 and 1/2 times the amount of laundry per load
they spin until the clothes are nearly dry
we washed 28 towels and dryed them 20 minutes on low and they were great
as far as the steamer i have tried both they are both about the same the frontloaders just take em out of the washer and dry it as reg if ya want the steam throw in a wet rag wrung out
I purchased a Sony HD Digital Camcorder a year ago Dec. I love it. It fits in your hand great. It has a hard drive. It was a little more than what you were looking at spending. It was a little over $700 at Best Buy. My husband and I decided on it b/c we felt that it would be outdated in the next few years and would last us a long time. I plug it right into my DVD-R and record my videos on DVD - (works on VHS as well)
A little about me: I'm a working mother of two beautiful daughters: 7 & 5. Married to my wonderful husband for 9 1/2 years.
Hi Kristy,
I just got a camcorder for Christmas. It has a hard drive memory and I LOVE it! It is a Sony DCR-SR42. It is very small, has a big screen and is super easy to use. I haven't downloaded any of the video to disk yet, but it sounds easy also. My husband bought it at Best Buy and I think it was around $500, maybe even a little less. I hope this helps.
D.
I got a Flip Video cam for my birthday. You can check them out at www.theflip.com. They are about $120 for 60 mintues of storage. The beauty of it is that it does not require any tapes or disks at all, only requirement is 2 AA batteries. It stores 60 minutes of video and then has a flip out usb connector that plugs right into your computer. You store the videos on your pc. It comes with editing software that has easy buttons to upload to Myspace, Youtube, etc. Or you can create dvds and burn them right from your computer. It is very small and easy to use. They are so great for moms on the go that i have bought several as gifts.
My wonderful husband bought me the LG Trom front load washer and dryer for valentines day this year. I LOVE them.....We looked at everything out there and they seemed like they had everything I could ever need. The problem with the Steam option is that the temperature is very high and the dryer is not equiped with a lock on it so I was affraid that if one of my kiddos opened/touched them while on that mode they would get a face full of steam....The clothes come out of the washer almost dry already so the dryer time is cut in half....we have noticed a change in our water and elec. bills...good luck..
J.
I just bought a Maytag set from Peters and love, love, love it!!!!!!!!! My sister also has one and she loves hers as well . They cost a little more than just a regular w/d set, but well worth it.
I don't know much about the washer/dryer thing, but we just got a JVC camcorder with widescreen recording and a hard drive. I absolutely love it. It can hold a TON of movies on it, and it downloads on the computer pretty quick. I think its under 500, but I would definitally recommend looking at it.
We have a Sony Handycam. It's small and has a way to connect to the computer to download so we're able to email video clips to the inlaws in NJ.
Just some advice on the front loaders.. I have some but not with the steam... Mine just broke so make sure you get the warranty and the he detergeant don't use the cap all you need is a tablespoon the same with the softener... These washers are very fast and make lots of suds so you don't need a lot of soap... Too much can cause your machine to break and a lot of costly repairs... They are already expensive enough as it is....
Hey my name is L. ivey i'm 39 years old with 3 teenagers( 1 daugter lauren-18, twin boys zachary & matthew, they will be 17 next sunday march 30th. I know how very important it is to have a great video camera. We bought our daughter her first video camera so she could video her senior year at high school. I would defientely recommend the samsung digital sports camcorder, you will find it at best buy and the price is only $349.00. It doen't use tapes it stores video and audio on multimedia memory cards. It has 10x optical/100x digital zoom. It has a 2" lcd monitor screen that flips open w/adjustable brightness. 1/6" ccd image sensor w/680 pixels; 640 x 480 still image resolution. It also has special effects including art, music, mosiac, sepia, negative, mirror and black ad white for creative results. It has up to 4 hours of mp3 playback, voice recording w/built in omindirectional microphone. It has dv media pro 1.0 software that lets you playback digital video and photos. Hope this helps you. Just go online and type in samsung digital sports camcorder-black- sc-x300. Talk to you later, hope this works for you.
Love L. ivey
arkansas
I have a camcorder, but it is not digital, so I cannot help you with that one, but I can tell you that we have a Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer and it gets moldy easily. I leave the front door open when not in use, but it still smells. I think it is this particular brand. Having said that, I think you will LOVE have front loaders. Make sure you get the riser that comes with them. It costs a little extra, but it is well worth it for the extra storage space and it makes laundry less back breaking.
