Camcorder Get

I'm also looking into getting a digital video camera for an upcoming trip to Japan.

However, I'm torn between just getting a cheap (sub-$200) digital camera and using the Mpeg4 video recording functions on that, or going all out and getting a 3CCD Panasonic DVD camcorder for around $500.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I think we'll get around the same responses.

I'm looking away from MiniDV cameras mainly because they're still on tape (meaning you need to FF/Rewind to find your spot) and you need to dub it off in real time. Plus, I've had some bad experiences with MiniDV (a lot of white square artifacting popping up from time to time, audio drop-outs), since I'm a TV/Video major and I've had to use MiniDV/DVCPRO.

I wish someone would release a good-quality digital camcorder that stores to SD card, since media prices have come way down.

Jam it back in, in the dark.