When you do, remember that most retail stores are pretty bright. Try the camera in dark corners to get an idea of how it performs in low-light.

That's a good plan. Tape is the best archival storage medium at the moment. It's cheap and robust.

I wouldn't pay any attention to reviews on general sites like Amazon (and I'd take Robin Liss' site, camcorderinfo.com with a grain of salt). However, I've been looking at user reports for the Canon on DVinfo (which is to video like FlyerTalk is to travel). The Canon seems to be well-liked by the amateur folks. Some of them have posted links to frame captures. To my eye, they look sharp, but very unsaturated, almost monochrome, compared with Sony's HDV machines (please note the distinction between HDV and ACVHD). There is also a noticeable amount of color fringing (bluish edges to high-contrast details) which indicates a relatively low-quality lens. I saw one capture taken indoors -- it was rather dark and grainy, but it might be okay for your purposes. Of course, frame captures don't give any indication of motion artifacts, but there were links to video that I didn't look at. You might want to look at those and evaluate them.

Also, DVinfo is, generally, the best source for informed advice about video, just as FT is the best source for informed advice about flying. I've been focused on Sony's prosumer HDV machines, because I'm planning to get one eventually, and have only been following the consumer HD market in a casual capacity. However, as you've indicated, you don't need prosumer quality, so I'd expect you'll get better feedback from the DVinfo folks than from me.