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[quote=Anonymous]In principle, yes, you want a video camera that is designed to be a video camera.  The controls and ergonomics will be correct for the purpose.  The problem right now is the lack of a long-term storage medium for video (assuming that you want to be able to keep what you shot for years into the future).  Modern video cameras record to solid-state media, not tape, and the expectation is that the recordings will be stored as data.  The problem is that those data need to be maintained over time, and converted to new file formats as such things change.

The whole situation is really horrifying for anyone who wants to preserve these recordings.  I can still project the home movies that my grandfather shot on 16mm film in the 1940s, but the chances that someone will be able to watch "home movies" made today in 2084 is approximately zero.  I suppose that you could just get a 16mm camera (yes, film and lab services are still available), but most people won't want to go to the trouble.

Same for still photos.  Shoot them on film or else have actual silver-halide prints made.   These will store nicely in a dark box that is kept at room temperature.  Fiber-base B&W prints will last for centuries, but even modern color silver-halide prints will last for decades.

I work in IT.  We don't have any good storage medium or file format that will survive for multiple decades at this point.  Long-term data storage requires active management, which is something that most people lack the time and knowledge to perform.  We are going to lose so many amateur photographs and home movies in the coming decades, and it makes me sad.[/quote]

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