My Personal Setup

Element	Description
Camcorder	Sony TRV-30. I bought this particular camcorder for three main reasons. Firstly I've found Sony kit to be robust and of good build quality. Secondly I already own a Sony laptop HEK-600 which has full support for the memory stick which is a feature of the TRV-30. Thirdly, the Sony seemed to offer a wide range of features - many of which I thought I wouldn't need but have subsequently found very useful. I did consider one of the Sony 3-chippers, but since I wanted to be able to carry the camcorder about, size (and cost) was a factor in my decision. All the Sony replacements for the TRV-30 have the touch-screen menu/function selection which I've tried and personally hate - so it looks as if I'll stick with my current cam until it breaks - especially as it does everything that I need.
Editing Software	I've tried a few. I started with Ulead's Studio 5 and didn't like it, moving on to Pinnacle's Studio 7. I upgraded to Version 8 but found it very buggy. I then tried Premiere but found the capture mechanism led to considerable work in splitting the clips, so I abandoned it. I then used Puremotion's Edit Studio which I liked very much. Since I have a DVD burner I purchased Ulead's DVD Workshop which, though its good for burning, provides little editing capability. Since I'd heard a lot about Vegas 4 and because I required integrated DVD burning I am currently using that for all my editing.
Computer(s)	Initially I had a AJP Neo 450M PIII desktop and a Belkin firewire card (at the time Pinnacle didn't offer a version of Studio with a bundled firewire card). To overcome the filesize issue of Windows ME I upgraded to Windows 2000. To overcome the diskspace issue I purchased the Pyro Firewire external hard disk enclosure and fitted a Westinghouse 80GB hard disk (I can strongly recommend the Pyro). I had the need for a PC upgrade, and rather than get something that I might find inadequate I looked for something that would satisfy any future requirements. After buying a 1.8GHz P4 Advent (Windows ME) with LG TFT monitor I had problems with it and I took it back and managed to get a refund (that's another story !). I then bit the bullet and purchased a AMD Athlon XP 2000+ machine, the Evesham Axis 2000+DB (the spec for the Axis 2100+DB which is essentially the same as can be seen at: http://www.evesham.com). I'd just received a bonus from a consultancy job so I felt less guilty about spending more than I had intended. I now feel that I couldn't have made a better choice and find that the Panasonic LF-D311 DVD burner that's built-in fully justifies the extra cash I paid for it. I also find the 2-year on-site on-site plus 1-year return-to-base warranty very reassuring - and the 24-hour telephone support is excellent (being a new model the documentation didn't cover the DVD burner nor the bundled DVD burner software). I also have "pseudo-desktop" laptop AJP8500 (850MHz PIII) and a Sony Vaio HEK-600 (800MHz PIII) that I used for my consultancy work (its easier to hump the Sony about between offices in the City). I've used both these laptops for video editing with the Pyro external HDD which also allows me to transfer video more easily between computers.
Video Editing Software	Here, cost was the main factor. I did have some bundled editing software (including the Light LE version of Adobe Premiere), but all were inadequate for my purposes. Adobe Premiere (full version) was at that time outside of my budget, so I initially bought ULead Studio 5 but found it to be inadequate. I then bought (on the recommendation of a friend) Pinnacle Studio 7 and have found it to be more than adequate until recently. I upgraded to Version 8 but found it to be buggy. A friend showed me some of his work done with Edit Studio 3 and the MPEG XS plug-in codec and the quality was noticably better than I was getting, so I bought both and was happy with the combination. Burning DVDs has been an issue (I had been using Nero) and got myself Ulead's DVD Workshop. In spite of the high cost I was disappointed with DVD Workshop since it has little editing capability, though it was excellent for burning a finished movie to DVD. To give me a good editor with integrated DVD burning I now use Vegas 4. Fortunately, once you're familiar with one editor, most others are relatively easy to get used to. Other items I use are: dadDVD XP (DVD ripper), TMPGEnc Plus (AVI to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 convertor, Nero (CD & DVD Burner), Prassi Primo (DVD mastering and duplication).
Other Relevant Software	Goldwave, used for editing audio before dubbing onto video in Pinnacle. With the Goldwave timeline and its very good editing features I can edit sound to sync exactly with the clips in the timeline on whatever video editor I'm using.
VHS Recorder	Panasonic NV-HS960B. I needed a new VHS recorder so I selected this due to the S-VHS it supports - though I've not had cause to use it.
Other bits & pieces	Although my TRV-30 permits me to inport analogue video (using its pass-through feature), I recently invested in an AVerTV card. This permits any TV (RF), SVideo or analogue signal to be imported and captured to MPEG-2 of very good quality. My Velbo Slik88 tripod was recently run over by a car. I've now replaced it with an inexpensive but excellent Pyser-SGI 560 (which has a fluid-action head). I also have a small pocket-sized tripod/clamp - a legacy from my still photography days. A home made studio lighting setup (another legacy from still photography) constructed from security-type quartz halogen lights. I haven't yet used this in anger for video though its reassuring to know its available. A shotgun microphone, a legacy from my analogue video days. It's mono but is superb for picking out sound at a distance or for eliminating extraneous noise. I've had to construct an offset mic mounting for the TRV-30 since otherwise it appears in the picture on wide-angle. Until I got my wide angle Sony VCL-HG0737X which now rarely comes off my camcorder I used to always use a lens-protecting UV filter with a lens hood (no lens cap). A polarising filter is handy to get those deep-blue seas and skys abroad. A home-made holster case for the TRV-30. This is my pride and joy. I found the camcorder case that got thrown in with the camcorder clumsy and prone to swinging into things, so remembering the holster case I used to use for my 35mm+zoom camera I constructed one. Incredibly useful for carrying my camcorder anywhere unobtrusively and without damage. It doubles as a bum-bag to keep my cash in when holidaying abroad. It only cost me about £20 to make. I still haven't got round to doing an article here on how to construct one for any particular camcorder. A Casio CTK-530 keyboard with synchro auto-chord and rhythm - I only discovered its usefulness when I wanted to add a repetitive melody copyright-free background music to a movie.