I’ve begun testing this hard-drive camcorder, since using tapes will be going away very quickly. So far I’m extremely impressed (and I don’t impress easily any more

It has a built-in, 30gb hard drive that it records all video onto (a USB connection downloads it to your pc very quickly). I opted to buy the extended battery which means that I can record about seven hours (yes, SEVEN HOURS) of video footage without my needing to ever touch the camera again during that time. Brilliant! (If you’ve shot footage for any amount of time, you’ll understand how brilliant this is….if you’re new, then just trust me on this one

The only thing I don’t like about it is the video quality sucks in comparison to my GL2 camcorder (the GL2 has a 3CCD chip and this one doesn’t). This Sony kept its famous “Night Shot” feature and even enhanced it quite a bit. Also has a 3MP camera function that took high-quality photos (still not good enough to replace my higher megapixel digital camera, though).

At the time I bought this, it was the first on the market. I’m now seeing some that have higher quality (I haven’t seen 3CCD yet but have seen a Sony High-Definition Hard-Drive Camcorder) and I can’t wait to try one of those puppies out! For amateur videos, however, the one pictured above is all you need….and for you seasoned videographers, you’ll drool in amazement at the extremely long recording time.

The Canon GL2 Camcorder is what I’ve used for years. The quality is unmatched as far as a consumer-priced level camcorder. Definitely a costly investment, but I wouldn’t trade mine for the world (although I am testing out the new hard-drive camcorders). Uses a mini-dv tape, likes either mac or pc, and the handle is a life saver.

Why not the XL1 instead? Because we’re shooting amateur and (basically) the only difference is higher end, interchangeable lenses, but that’s overkill and not needed for what I’m doing