I have had this camera since June 2007. I have had absolutely no problems with it. It has travelled to several countries with me and filmed several weddings over the past three and a half years.

It is very small which helps when travelling but if you want ease of access to manual adjustments you do have to access the menu on the LCD (eg manual audio levels). This may discourage some people. For the increase in price, at the time I purchased, to the bigger models that have adjustment knobs it wasn't worth it. (Almost double the price).

There is one assign button that you can select for white balances/bars etc that saves you needing to access the menu. I use it for bars. The audio shoe is a good option for XLR inputs and I also add a radio mic receiver to the top. It can make the camera a bit top heavy but compared to the cameras I use at work this little guy is still very very light even with all the add ons.

IN CONCLUSION:
It will do the same job as the bigger Sony HDV cameras its just a little less user friendly... but that is where its great for travelling and on the wallet.

Specialy for travelers and report, small camera....very good !!

WOW THIS IT THE BEST CAMCODER WITH ALL THE RECORDING FORMATS & ITS
HIGHYLY PROFERSIONAL, i LOVE IT WHAT MORE CAN i SAY.