Of all the formats in the SD video range, the Mini DV camcorders imho give the best picture and sound quality. They are also the easiest to connect up to a computer with a Firewire socket and all of the current editing programs work well with them, compared to HDD and Mini DVD. That Panasonic, the 230, also has 3CCD's in it and I was looking at that one myself recently as a small cam to take on holiday, it's a pity it's only got a 10 x optical zoom on it.

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Better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick any day...