I am fairly new to this forum and have been reading all the posts I can and have gained a lot of valuable information. I noted with interest that the preferred camcorder for capturing video is the camcorder that uses mini DV tapes or at least this is my impression, and I could be wrong. So my questions are if the newer camcorders are either mini DV discs, or internal harddrive what is one to do when the mini-DV tape recorders are all gone, as I assume they are no longer in production given the previously mentioned newer camcorder. Is there a real problem with transferring the video from the newer camcorders such as quality etc. Is there any other known downsides to the new camcorders when it comes to capturing video to a PC. I am quite sure the quality of the video has probably drastically improved so I guess this isn't a concern?? Your comments and insight is greatly appreciated.

If you decide on a DVD or Hard Drive camcorder I recommend against any Adobe editing product. You can try Sony Vegas or one of the Ulead products, they handle the mpeg and AVCHD files much better.

As to Mini DV, professionals in the film, television and cable industry are still using MiniDV and DV tape. They will not be changing anytime soon. Also, High Definition still records to MiniDV tape and that will be around for a long time to come. Don't think that the format is going away anytime soon

As for camcorders, I don't think there is anything better than the Canon HV20 for quality and price, at least right now.