So I did some online research and had pretty much made up my mind I wanted a hybrid DVD-HDD camera that could take usable still shots. Specifically, Hitachi had a couple models with impressive specs. I went to the stores and played for a while. Long story short, I kept coming back to this Panasonic model. It was on the outer limit of my price range, but I really liked the menu navigation and the feel of the camera. Sony was in a close second, but their menu system sucked and you could only navigate it with the touch screen on the LCD. After some trips around town, I decided to bite the bullet. After the purchase, I came home and did a quick online check (since I hadn't researched this particular camera) and Circuit City's website had it for $120 cheaper than I paid at the store!! So I immediately headed back to the store fully prepared for a song and dance about how the website is a seperate entity or some such nonsense... nope. It took about 5 minutes to get a partial refund AND if the price goes down again within 30 days, I can just call up over the phone and get my money back.

I literally bought the camera an hour ago, so I can't comment a whole lot about it yet. A couple of minor things that are a bummer- there's no view finder or hot shoe (there is a cold one). Also, the USB cable port is behind the battery. But the battery isn't behind a cover or difficult to take out. A couple of cool things- it has a built in light, the 3 CCD chipset is nice, optical image stabilization. I think it will be perfect for what I intend to do with it.