[thechat] more advice on buying a digital camcorder, please

[rudy]

okay, so i'm thinking of buying a Mini-DV video camera

so i go back to the store

all the cameras have this nice firewire jack, which i now realize i'll
have to buy a separate card and cable for, to get the movie into
my computer, no prob, i'm prepared to do that

but i notice a big difference between what look like identical models

the salesman explains that one includes still pics, the other doesn't

difference in price is about $150 Cdn to take still pics

and the still pics go onto a "memory stick"

which downloads to the computer in a different manner, through the USB port

(yes, i know what a USB port is, my CD burner uses that)

so i ask the salesman, what is the big deal with the still pics and the
lame way you have to get them downloaded if you already have a firewire
cable which is supposed to be ten times faster to download the movie?

see, the thing i don't understand is, if you can download a movie,
and if you plan, as i do, to do the editing on the computer, why in the
hell would you pay for a separate facility to take still pics?

wouldn't you just pick the best frame out of the movie to make a still from?

i guess i am assuming here that the movie editing software, which i have yet
to investigate, will let you look at individual frames

will movie frames be suitable for still pics?

also, the camera salesman didn't know squat about movie editing software,
he sent me down to the software section, where this kid slash salesperson
who was busy restocking the playstation games said that "pinnacle" is the
best movie editing software to get

anybody have movie editing software recommendations?


rudy