Oh my. I picked up a digital HD video camera from Walmart. It's a Sony Handycam, with the ability to take still pictures as well as captures and video. I did several comparisons in Walmart, going so far as to force the very kind salesman to provide me with a data card so I could actually record and play back. I was still rather nervous with my choice. I knew what it was supposed to do, but taking pictures and videos of clothing racks and lettering at the front of the store (Vision Center, anyone?) wasn't really giving me a clear idea of whether the cam would work for action shots, or in the evening or low light situations.

I took the camera to a football practice, and got at least one of my answers (action shots).

I am in love. Captures are instantaneous, and crystal clear. Video has slight blurring if I get really insanely fast with my zoom or pan, but as long as I keep a steady hand, I can safely capture nice video, even of something as small and fast as a ball during kick off. Now for the real question: Can I get the same results on the football field at night? I have enough zoom (up to 25x optical zoom) to record from one end zone to the other, in detail. I just don't know if it will pixellate in low light situations. Below is a sample video from the new camera, rendered from High Definition into an AVI file. I apologize for the wind-- it was pretty strong, and effected the sound. You will notice that you hear me saying "capture" as I'm filming. I did that because I really wasn't sure that it was actually capturing photos, and what they were like if it was. Turns out they are fairly nice; I included one after the video. by the way, I'm posting a seasick warning with this video-- I am intentionally testing out the camera, so it's much more 'bobby' and I move the camera pretty fast at times.