VHS
The same format used by in a typical home video recorder- just make your home videos using a VHS camcorder and normal VHS tapes and play them on your VCR. But this compatibility comes at the expense of quality. All video resolution is measured in lines (a bit like pixels in still digital cameras), and VHS has a maximum of 270 lines - compared with a much sharper 480-500 lines for digital video. VHS camcorders and tapes also take up a lot of storage space.

VHS-C
Like normal VHS but smaller. It's small in recording time, too - you can fit only about 30 minutes of footage on a tape. It has the same low price, low resolution and 1/2-inch tape width as normal VHS, but you'll need an adapter to play VHS-C tapes on a normal VCR.

S-VHS
Super-VHS tapes look the same as standard VHS tapes but offer 400 lines of resolution and better audio. On the downside, only a few standard VCRs can play S-VHS tapes. S-VHS camcorders tend to be big and expensive, and they're mainly targeted at professionals.

8mm
This tape format offers about the same resolution as VHS (270 lines), but the tape itself is much smaller and has a longer recording time of 120 minutes at standard speed. 8mm tapes won't play in your VCR, but you can connect your camcorder directly to your television.

Hi8
Hi8 is like an advanced (and more expensive) version of 8mm, with 400 lines of resolution and all the advantages of a small, lightweight format.

Digital8
This is the 500-line DV format recorded onto 8mm or Hi8 tape. It's big advantage (apart from the budget-friendly price) is the ability to play old 8mm and Hi8 tapes, so it's a great choice if you want to upgrade from Hi8 or 8mm.

MiniDV
This is the most popular DV format. MiniDV tapes are smaller than 8mm tapes and can record about an hour of footage and sound. They have more sophisticated lenses and effects than Digital8.

DVD
If you have a DVD player you could buy a DVD camcorder to record directly to DVD-R or DVD-RW discs. DVD camcorders have similar features to mid-range MiniDV camcorders, but tend to be bigger and cost a little more.