Remember the camera formats back in the old days - about a year ago? For about $1000 you could purchase Sony Hi-8 or S-VHS that had better picture quality than 8 mm and VHS. In most cases they had stereo sound with built-in mikes. The 8mm were small and light; VHS models were bigger. Still, you couldn't view an S-VHS tape on a VHS VCR. Same thing with Hi-8; it had great quality but couldn't be seen on 8-mm.

Those bulky, shoulder-held, full size, VHS cameras seemed so hi-tech. Actually, they're still popular because VHS tape plays on most VCRs. For quality voice audio, you needed a plug-in mike. It was hard to find a camera with a mike. Panasonic was about the only one. Oh yes, the camera batteries were about as dependable as getting your 10-year-old cleaning her room consistently.

OK, fast-forward to this year. Now you can buy a VHS or 8-mm camcorder for $400, and for around $1000 you can move into Digital Video (DV). Once you start taping on DV, you can use a computer for editing. The same camera can take still photos, too. By the way, why are you buying a digital still camera when you can have both video and still in the same unit for close to the same price?

Digital Camcorders: Don't let the size fool you. These small cameras are between $800 and $1,800. It's hard to believe that that small of a DV camcorder produces quality video and has built-in editing capabilities, but they do! They are easy to use.

The under $1000 group has about six good cameras, and the above $1000 group has the DV still photo option. Much of my email consists of questions about prices, brands and "extras." So, Iwant to discuss the basics of digital cameras, as well as what to look for in the bells and whistles category.

You heard right; you can plug your DV camcorder into your computer (if it has editing software) to start the editing process. Check AVID Cinema PC & Mac, Final Cut, and Imax, for software editing programs. After taping your project, the DV camcorder is used as a "player" VCR. The signal plays in the DV camcorder and then goes to the computer-not into the "record" VCR. You put it right on the hard drive.

For eight minutes of VHS quality you'll need one gigabyte of hard-drive space. This is not the old tape to tape (analog) format, rather it is transferring DV signal without any copy loss. After editing and adding titles and effects to your project right on the computer, you can print-or transfer-to tape on a "record" VCR. This high-end quality image is comparable to broadcast television. The quality of VHS tape is 240 lines of resolution, S-VHS is 400 lines and DV is 500 lines.

Here are some of the bells and whistles:

Stabilization or Steady Cam - some camcorders have a function that keeps them "steady" or "stable" so the picture stays smooth when panning up and down, or sideways. The "steady cam" is not jerky, it floats. In that scene where Rocky runs up the stairs at a high rate of speed, the camera follows him up like it is actually part of Sly Stallone.

There is an optical gizmo in the camera that allows the action to remain smooth. This feature removes the wobbling and shaking that is typical in amateur hand-held video. The camcorder balances horizontal and vertical movement and makes your videos easier to watch.

NOTE: Various manufacturers refer to this by different names, e.g.- Electronic Image Stabilizer (EIS) or Steady Shot. There are two kinds of stabilization: Digital-costs less but degrades the picture slightly and Optical-more expensive but supposedly doesn't affect the picture.

LCD Monitor: a little (2" to 4") color TV screen that folds out from the camcorder body. This feature adds about $150 to the price of the camera.