I have a Sony 1080i camcorder w/60GB HDD. Does 16:9, 5.1 surround, has built in IR for night time etc. Doesnt have all the fancy titles and transitions built in but thats what PP is for
Also has a built in Xenon flash for taking stills upto 6.1mp.
Fantastic image and sound quality for what it is. Even has an image stabliser for shakey hands.
I use to get all fanboi about Camcorders etc, but TBH Sony, JVC & Panasonic all have some very nice examples these days and you'd really stuggle to tell the difference between them. Some use 3CCD's others use a single CMOS. Some say CMOS = more noise etc but meh.. show it to me. Go have a look at a few and see what feels best in your hand. IE: Where the controls fit etc.
EDIT: Regards compression on HDD models... Ive used mine in XHQ mode (highest quality) for almost everything ive recorded. Ive currently got about 8 hours of footage on the HDD with about another 3 or for to go. The image quality is in no way compromised by using HDD and it saves having to carry mountains of tapes around.
