I'm probably getting it and I've held it at a store (nice and small) but I want to know if you all think it is good. What are your opinions on it?
Its not a bad camcorder at all - quite nice if you own one. I'll give you a few points on what to look for when buying camcorder. Bare with me if you know this already. - Zoom: look for optical and ignore digital. Digital zoom produces a grainy effect. When buying, don't be sold by the salesman saying it has 230X Zoom or something. Optical will be between 10 and 20 usually. - Apeture: this is the lense whole size, in simple terms. Make sure it is f2.8 or around. - 0% Lux - allows better visibility in low light conditions. - Digital out should be as standard. If it has Digital In as well, now thats a bonus. Allows you to edit film on computer and then download back on to the MiniDV tape. - Reflective LCD TFT Screen. Sony has touchscreen i think. Bit of a gimic as they are hard to clean. - Digital Still ability. most will have this. The sony will good given its apetur and carl zeiss lense. - Image Stabilizer - a must for todays camcorders. - Ability to record Mpeg Video on a memory card. - Some form of lithium-Ion battery Thats all i can think of right now