Navigating through the sea of various camcorder models and their wide assortment of available features is a daunting task. Purchasing the right camera for your needs without exceeding your budget can be difficult without educating yourself beforehand.

Narrowing down your options becomes easier once you answer a few simple questions.

1) What type of action will you be primarily recording?

This is the most important factor that will drive your final decision. Think about what you'll be recording in the next 3-5 years in addition to your current needs. For example, if you want to record your children, will they be participating in sports or other activities in the near future?

Here are common uses of camcorders and the feature or features important to each.

* Family Events / Children

This has been a popular use of camcorders since their inception. Whether you want to capture your daughter's first steps, or your cousin's wedding, most camcorders on the market today will do this job well. Look for a model with a good microphone, or at least a microphone input jack, because you don't want Erica's first word to be masked by scratchy background static. An LCD screen is nice to have so you can keep an eye on the action while it's happening and better frame your subject in the display window.

* Sports

You'll want a camcorder with a high optical zoom rating. Be wary of those models that only offer a high digital zoom, as digital zooming decreases the resolution of the zoomed section of the video. A camcorder with a high optical zoom uses lenses to bring the action closer while retaining the stated resolution of the camera.

If you can fit it into your budget, image stabilization technology will reduce the shakiness of the recording, especially when you're filming at a distance, which is most likely the case when recording sporting events.

An LCD screen will prove valuable, since looking through a tiny viewfinder for an entire hockey game is difficult.

If you plan to record action that's fast moving, such as car racing or a golf swing, make sure the camcorder has a high-speed setting.

* Scenery / Vacations

You'll want to invest in a camcorder with lots of available storage space, whether that be a hard disk, a DVD, or a tape. The less accessories you have to lug around, and the less often you need to swap to a new tape or DVD, the more fun you'll have recording and enjoying the scenery. Ask a sales clerk how much recorded

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