I posted this on Spymac.com in response to a similar question to yours. This response is about a year old, so the information may no longer be valid. The model references to Panasonic GS-150, Panasonic GS-250 may not longer be in commission. These models have been replaced by newer and perhaps cheaper models, but despite all, still remain their superior quaility.
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Read my review here:
http://classic.spymac.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=203560
http://classic.spymac.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=265099
I would highly recommend one to visit these threads to see an alternative perspective, oppose to reading the following advice exclusively.
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Posted for your convenience:
The Canon Optura is great, but not that great.
Panasonic has dominated the consumer camcorder industry for some time. They know what they are doing. When it comes to optics -- Leica Diomar. Leica Dicomar is a renowned photograph company, as is Kodak, and Fuji.
Panasonic has partnered up with Leica Dicomar to provide us a whole new level in videography. With the lense superiority of Leica Dicomar, and the engineering superierty of Panasonic, brings us something superior.
It brings us the 3CCD consumer camcorders. This is the first time ever -- ever -- that a 3CCD camcorder has been aimed at consumers, let alone, affordable. Panasonic has been able to do this.
I have tried many camcorders. I have tried a Canon Optura, I have tried a Panasonic 3CCD, I have tried a JVC MiniDV.
Panasonic byfar topples the opponent.
On the Canon, the photos were not as vivid as the Panasonic. The Panasonic uses 3 CCD. Each CCD is dedicated to a color -- be it yellow, red, or blue.
Canon only uses 1 CCD. One CCD has to capture everything -- yellow, red and blue. When you try to do everything, nothing is as good as if you try to do one thing.
CCD works in the same fashion.
The JVC was horrible. Their old line up was simply horrible. The color was distorted, unrealistic. The video seems like it was shot in the seventies.
Although JVC has released many camcorders within the past year -- their quality is yet to be competitive.
Sony is an excellent brand when it comes to camcorders. They provide superb HD camcorders -- some of the best on the market.
If you are not looking at HD camcorders, do not look at sony. They use proprietary tapes, proprietary batteries, proprietary everything! It is nuts.
Sony believes in a thing called brand loyalty. They want you to come back. They also know this always isn't the case. Most people go for whatever is cheapest, yet durable.
Knowing this, Sony "invents" a way to create loyal customers. For example, in their camcorders. It is a rule of thumb: If you use one brand of tape, stick with that brand of tape. If you mix and match brands, your tape heads will be clogged.
This is due to the different lubricate on the tape. Each tape has lubricant on the tape. It is there to "grease up" the playheads, so it will never be dry, squeaky, and just like the rusted up Iron Man in the wizard of Oz.
The lubricant is there to make sure your camcorder keeps working.
However, when so many different brands of lubricant is used, it layers on top of each other, providing a clumps, and ultimately clusters. This clusters prevents the camcorder to record right, instantly, and on time. Other times it will make play back impossible.
Sony uses their own brand of tapes, manufacture their own kind of tapes. They use a different lubcricant than the rest of the industry* -- Canon, JVC, Panasonic.
The rest of the industry* is using the same kind of lubricant. Canon is a rebranded tape of JVC, and JVC is a rebranded tape of Panasonic. Panasonic uses the industry standard amount of lubricant.
Sony uses their own ammount. So in short, if you use Sony's provided tape, and then switch over to JVC's cheap bundles, then you will have problems.
If you buy a Pansonic Camcorder, it is guarenteed to work with Panasonic tapes -- as well as JVC, Canon.
With Sony you are so limited, so confined, that it makes the best of all worlds, the worst of all worlds. Sony makes great camcorders -- no doubt, but their propietary formats, combined with Panasonic's partnership with Leica Dicomar, there is little competition left.
The Panasonic gs-250 is a great choice. I bought a Panasonic Gs-150 myself.
The image stablization on the GS-250 is far more superior than the GS-150. THe GS-250 employs an optical image stabilization, meaning the "shake-demagnifier" is built into the lense itself. If it is detecting shaky movements, or rapid jerks, the lense adjusts, and provides reduce shaked videos.
The GS-150 employs an electronic image stabilzation. It is not as sensitive, nor superior to the optical image stabilzation. The response time is less rapid, resulting in more shakey videos compared to the GS-250. Optical Image Stabilization is better.
The LCD on the Panasonic GS-series is gorgeous. It is exactly what you would expect. It is brightly lit, beautifully clean.
The buttons are very well placed. The record button by the thumb, zoom by the index finger, and the joystick at the thumb.
The joystick provides rapid changes in preferences over the traditional menu. It is a great touch.
Other than that, it is mighty small, very sleek, metal casing, etc.
The camcorder is very simplistic. It is very easy to learn -- no manual needed- and there are great panasonic communities out there. One example would be pana3ccduser.com/. This is a great forum for all Panasonic 3CCD users gather and ask questions about their camcorder.
The design is very industrial. It looks like a tube -- or as some put it -- an oversized iSight Camera, with guts and buttons.
Regardless, camcorders are camcorders. Any brand is a great buy, but for the best bang, and for the best value, the Panasonic is the clear winner.
There was a good quote that once said, "When you stop worrying about what camcorder you are going to get, and actually get it -- that is when you realise that you have spent so much time comparing, and not enough time capturing memorable footage."
Stop wasting, stop thinking, and get yourself a camcorder. The things around you only happen once, and capture it now before it is gone.
Get a camcorder now, and capture it before it is gone.
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