Finally, I own a camcorder. Since I was a little kid I was fascinated by them, but the steep prices always fended me off. Now that camcorders have become a lot smaller and cheaper to run in conjunction with computers, I've bought one on Tuesday evening. And then another, the day after.

When I started browsing for camcorders, I came across a voucher code valid for Curry's, where you could buy a JVC Everio GZ-MG344H for £259 rather than £299. When I tried it though, I made the mistake of putting a 334 rather than a 344 in my 'basket'. Still, I thought the asking price of £280 was reasonable, just £20 pounds more than the voucher promised and that's not bad. Avoiding delivery times et cetera, I picked one up on the way home, from Curry's at Manchester Arndale.

I couldn't shake the feeling though that I had made a mistake. While the 334 is a beautiful little camera, surely the 30Gb hard drive on it is wrong? I had compared models from Sony, JVC and other brands and it being a 40Gb model is what clinched it for me. Well, along with the 35x optical zoom. I looked on t'internet again and found that indeed a 344 existed with a 40Gb drive. And that the review page of it had thrown me off. I had only looked at it to view the model comparing to the 344 the most: the 334. Which had linked me through to Curry's, and putting the wrong model in my basket there. D'oh! I tried again with the 344 and found the promotion was valid, so I had bought its lesser brother for £20 pounds more! Thankfully, the staff at Curry's were very helpful. Completely unaware of their own company's on-line promotions, but still. They asked no questions taking the 334 back, and as they found no 344 available in the shop, asked a store employee to walk to another store through the rain to get it from there. It's not often said, I gather from other internet resources, but the customer service at Curry's digital was spot on.

Anyway.. Why are my introductions always so bloody elaborate? All I wanted to do on this blog is link to a Youtube clip really. This is testing my new camera yesterday evening, using 35x optical zoom at the rear garden, in the rain. Actually, I'll post it above the text..