Originally Posted by
Mikey likes it
Update: I wanted to see what a cheap camcorder is like these days, so I ordered a Canon Elura 100 for about $300 from B&H. This unit was reviewed as quite good for the price.
Unfortunately, it had the well-documented motor noise problem, so I returned it.
It also felt like a toy and handled like crap. Poor balance in the hand. I much prefer my old Panny for handling. Low light performance was laughable.
I think I'm going to bite the bullet and invest in a "real" video camera. Current front runner is the Canon GL2, which is an older design, but appears to be pretty durable, has a good degree of flexibility, and is now about $1700 after rebate.
Other suggestions in that price range? And again, PTravel, I appreciate the good general guidance above.
I'm a real Canon fan. Used to have a GL1 and moved on to a GL2, and I love it. The lens is amazing, image stabilization just fantastic.
It is fairly limited in some of the features when compared to a Sony but to me most of those features are useless anyway (gimmicky stuff). I also found the Sony to have too many buttons, I like to keep it simple, I love the minimalistic approach on the GL, whereas the Sony looks like a Christmas tree.
The Sony is only 12x optical compared to the GL's 20x, plus it is a good $600 more expensive.
Like you said, there is a $250 rebate on the GL2 so make up your mind soon
But to be honest, with either camera you'll be a very happy user, at least till HD becomes a little more mainstream and you'll have to upgrade everything all over again