Sony DCRTRV520 Digital Camcorder $699.99

DCR-TRV520. I bought this Digitial 8 camera (I am not a previous user/owner of any camcorder) about 4 weeks ago after much prognosticating over the miniDVD format in the Panasonic and Canon brands for a similar price (I would have gone for the Sony miniDVD but didn't want to pay the extra bucks). So I made my decision based on the extra features of optical stablization, manual focus and the greater zoom capability - also I trusted the Sony brand more, but that reason was entirely subjective. I have not been disappointed with this camera. The stabilization is excellent - in fact, while I like compact cameras and would have preferred miniDVD because of size, this camera is not that much bigger, and increased size and weight may be an advantage as the camera feels solid and steady to hold. The auto focus is excellent - I may never need to use the manual focus unless I want to get really fancy. The zoom capability works very well, even at the highest mag., and is more useful than what I would have thought. This alone places it above the other miniDVD cameras including the Sony which have lower zoom. With iMovie, $50 from Apple (I have a Mac G3), the only extra I needed was the $30 Firewire cable (4 pin-camera, to 6 pin-Mac) and I was importing and editing the video. Also, I put in a Hi8 tape of our wedding and was amazed that this non-digital format was automatically transmitted from the camera into iMovie as digital information with no apparent loss in resolution! Regarding memory stick, with iMovie there does not seem to be a way to directly import the stills, but if they are first copied to the tape, then they can be imported. However, the resolution after doing this is no better than a still made with iMovie from video. Maybe the resolution will be better after direct import, but I doubt it. In Photoshop a video still and memory stick import from tape has the same pixel count as specified for the still camera - 680 x 460 I think or thereabouts. Some people say the memory stick stills suck in resolution - they are not that bad. Hey, you're buying a camcorder first and foremost, not a digital camera. One other reason I got this camcorder was that some reviews said the Canon and Panasonic miniDVD didn't work too well at low light levels. I've never tried those cameras, but I can also tell you that this Sony I bought works great at low light as well. Sony 520 versus 320 - I went for ther 520 because of the bigger LCD display - I'm glad I did - the extra size is excellent as you can replay what you have shot and easily see it on the screen. Overall, this camera has no weaknesses and some advantages. Another thought - if you are considering buying Hi8 or even 8 so you can get a cheaper camcorder - don't! There is so much you can do with digital if you have the computer. and the video quality if better. Its worth the extra bucks. Cheers! mehr...... hier :-)