Camcorder recommendations?

Hi, i've used sony camcorders since 1992, so i'm biased towards sony, friend of mine has a canon, seems a bit too plastically for my liking. I would look for a sony, invest into the future, pay a little more, consider say an hdv camcorder that films on mini dv tapes, not a disk thing or memory stick, i still prefer tape over memory stick, of course thats personal choice..... An hd camcorder will shoot in 16-9 and give better quality images..

Also if you look for a camera with 3CCD, that's usually an indicator of a good picture quality, and a good optical zoom is a bonus ? if you have a look on which they have a great page where you can set budget and type ie if you want to record to tape (miniDV) or hard disc or memory stick... I also prefer tape.

Mr BW did all the research and we bought a JVC Everio that has a hard drive rather than filming to tape or memory card (although it has the facility for a memory card) and it's been great. My Dad lives in Saudi so I just plug it into the computer, download and send the videos on

? all, will look up 3CCD to see what that means ? Have discovered that £300 is a bit low given the prices of most of the ones which recommends so might have to up the budget a bit - still, 2.5% cheaper next week than last week eh ?

Canon HV20 or Canon HV30 are currently some of the best consumer camcorders out there. Normally I'm also very biased towards Sony, but these 2 Canon camcorders are really really good and excellent value for money.

Whatever you choose, go for miniDV and not one that records to hard drive or DVD. The compressions that is currently used in consumer camcorders with hard drives or DVD is just too great and it would mean quality loss.

Neoshoegal, sorry to pick your brains once again, but can I be nosy and ask what you shoot on? I am looking for a new camera as mine just doesn't cut it anymore if I want to step up a level for weddings ?

Just to add, PM me if you'd prefer not to post on here ?