Camcorders nowadays come in a great range of variety and formats which can be hard to understand so here's a simple breakdown:

Analogue camcorder formats:
8mm: This format is standard many camcorders video is at a reasonable quality and each tape lasts for 120 minutes rather than the standard 30 60 in analogue. Can be connected directly to your television

VHS: The traditional video format now barely used due to the takeover of DVD but is a very cost effective camcorder. If you do not wish to have a high level of editing for your movies and wish to play them straight away on a standard player at low cost this is the option for you
VHS C: The same as VHS but smaller records around 30 mins and requires an adapter for play back in a standard VHS machine but is more portable then standard VHS
Super VHS (S-VHS): Basically the professional version of VHS with a higher quality recording but difficult to play back over a standard player
Hi-8: Again the professional version of the 8mm range with higher resolution video and all the advantages of 8 mm but smaller.

To edit the video in these VHS formats you need to get your footage onto your pc. This can be done (with great difficulty) by transferring VHS to DVD with a DVD recorder combination if you have one and then ripping the footage onto your pc. However this can be very complicated for a beginner and not very cost effective so I would recommend using a Video Capture card (cheap option) or a VHS conversion software package which converts your video into digital format, this is very easy but quite a lot more expensive than a Video Capture Card.

However in this modern world everyone is going digital, and thanks to its popularity it has become a cost effective and very easy way to record and edit your own high quality movies in the comfort of your own home.
Instead of recording onto VHS these camcorders record in DV (Digital Video) still recorded on tape but as a file which can be easily transferred onto a computer therefore easy to edit. Again there are a great range of digital formats to choose from:

Hard Disc (HD): records onto a hard drive the same as you save documents and pictures on your computer this is the easiest and best way of recording video and transferring it to your computer it is quite expensive for some of the more popular brands (like Sony and Panasonic) but smaller brands are bringing them down in price. Despite being the most expensive option in DV I would

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