Hi guys,

I have an opportunity to have a camcorder bought in USA. I checked what is being offered and I am thinking of having one of the following camcorders

1) Panasonic NV-GS300 "PAL" 3 CCD Mini DV Camcorder, 10x Optical/700x Digital Zoom, 3.1 Mega Pixel CCD, Color Viewfinder, 2.7" LCD Screen, SD Memory Card Slot

2) Sony DCR-HC96E "PAL" Mini DV Camcorder, 10x Optical/120x Digital Zoom, 3.3 Mega Pixel CCD, Color Viewfinder, 2.7" Touch Panel LCD Screen

Camcorderinfo.com gave 1st place to NV-GS300 in up to $600 range and 2nd place to DCR-HC96E in up to $1,000 range. They are both being offered at abt. $600 now. I am not particularly interested in photos, so quality of recorded video is what I am looking for. I plan to take videos of my kids (probably many videos will be indoor)
On the first glance I like NV-GS300’s SD Memory Card Slot because I already have couple of SD cards and I understand 3 CCD is better than 1 CCD.
On the other hand I like DCR-HC96E’s Infra red shooting and dislike Sony Duo Pro Card Slot.
Has anyone had a chance to take videos with both camcorders? What would you recommend?
Alternatively, what camcorder would you recommend apart of these two at similar price range?

Many thanks!

personally i'd go for the panasonic

I don't like the sony's touchscreen, and the 'night vision' is ugly Esp. when it tries to blend ambient colours with it's IR! Also the memory stick thing!

They both have nice lenses, but the 3CCD of the 300 put's it ahead IMO. I also think it handles better

Thanks Mosh!

I have a Panasonic GS300-does the job very well, is well built and has all the features the average home user could need.
I'm sure the SONY is a very good product, but I found that $ for $, the GS300 was better value.

Does the panasonic have an AV in facility, I need to plug bullet cam and mic in to record in car footage