[Italteen3]

I have always loved filming things and never really had anything besides a currently 6-7 year old Sony SD hi8 camcorder to record family events, car videos, and pyrotechnic events. The Sony I have is getting old, still going strong, but the quality is nothing compared to some of the camcorders out now. So pretty much I need a new one. Want to make some cool little mini-movies for home.

I've worked for firework companies shooting professional shows and always enjoyed filming them to see & enjoy what I helped to set up. I would also like to create some short films for personal enjoyment and wanted to see if anyone has used/owns the HFS10 from Canon? Reviews seem great for a non-professional HD camcorder.

Also I have a family member who works for Canon and will be getting me a refurbished version from Canon for a good cost. Any thoughts on using a refurbished Camcorder?

I will also be upgrading my 4 year old Mac G5 from 256mb ram (I know I know I need a LOT more) to at least 2gb and purchasing an external HD for use to edit video. Any recommendations for editing?

This should help. http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=17993

[MetsFan]

I kinda wish I'd waited for these flash camcorders to jump on the HD bandwagon. I have an HV20 that records on DV tapes. It's fine, it just takes forever to transfer it to the computer since it's 1-1.

Anyway, I think refurbished is perfectly fine. You still get a 1 year warranty so if any issues should pop up, you will be protected. Plus, Canon has great customer service so I'm sure they will take of you if anything comes up.

I have a one year old imac with iMovie 8 that I use for editing. It's simple enough that it's easy to use, but has a lot of features built into it. I just finished making a wedding video for a friend of mine and they were very happy with the video.

I'm not sure if you've already read this, but camcorderinfo is a great site for reviews:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...view-37333.htm

Good luck!