The title pretty much says it all.

I never used to have to wonder questions like these as I was content heading straight out to Pantip Plaza. However, in the past 5 or 6 visits to Pantip I have become more and more dissatisfied with my experience there as it seems more like a giant warehouse for pornos and software than anything else. I did buy the parts I needed to build my current PC which I was extremely happy with, but other than that I dread the idea of going there unless someone can share someone mentions that it is in fact a good place to find a decent selection of budget-end camcorders.

We went to Fortune IT mall on Ratchada last weekend, and wow! what a nice place to shop. Bought a 1TB hd and a new smart phone (used, but seems like a sweet deal). Unfortunately only one shop had camcorders on display for sale, and one model, a JVC GZ-E10 with a price tag of 10000 baht, looked promising for what the wife and I had in mind. But on amazon.com and a handful of other online shops the same model sells for only ~6000, which is a bit discouraging. Enough of a difference in price for us that I am will to look around, but I do not really know where else to go. If I was looking for a new phone I'd head to MBK, but where does one go to peruse a selection of camcorders?

Also if anyone wants to brag about a camcorder they have bought recently in Bkk that would be great too as I would prefer to have a list of known models I could look at ahead of time before heading out to shop.

any hints, suggestions, or advice much appreciated

Have you have a look at Power-buy in one of the big malls they do a range of camcorders, There is one or two Pro video shops in Fortune tower or try Fotofile a cross the road in the basement (subway level) of central or they have big store in MBK on the 5th floor i think,

1990-2008 A.D.? I have a time machine I can sell you..

Did you actually have a look at all the camera shops in Fortune Town? Not being funny here but they are a bit away from the main area and easy to miss.

Coming in from the MRT it is the first entrance you come to, not the main entrance. From memory there is a K-Bank ATM just inside the entrance and there is an escalator heading up to the next level alongside the ATM. There are about 8 or 10 dedicated photography stores in the area which makes it easy to compare items and deals. I actually bought from the Digital2home store, but this was a DSLR.

A friend of mine has a very nice Sony camcoder. There is a Sony shop in Central Rama 9 (on level 4 I think) that has good prices on laptops (compared to Aust anyway), so this may carry through to camcorders and I am sure they stock the camcorders there. There is also a Powerbuy in the same complex and I am pretty sure the same level as the Sony shop. Both of these stores are at the Sukhumvit end of the complex.

Cheers

If possible, take a few SD cards with you and use the camcorders you like in the shop. Take the SD cards home, review how they look and see how you feel.

This is a very nifty mail order site that may shave a few thousand baht off your purchase.

http://www.tohome.com/catalog.aspx?catalog_id=1017

They are well known and reliable. I have ordered a number of things from them and the experience has always been good.

If nothing else, you can use it as reference for models/prices.

For reviews, there's no better place to look than www.cnet.com (in my opinion).