[Sparky-Watts]

From my experience, I'd stay away from Panasonic. I've had 3 of them, and should have learned my lesson after the first. Their video quality lacks a lot, and the batteries are only good for about 3-4 months of average use. I also seemed to have problems with the brightness and contrast, as even the controls weren't accurate when setting these.

I now own a JVC that records on a mini-tape and love it. Of the dozen or so camcorders I've used over the years, this one is by far the best I've ever had. Excellent picture quality, great zoom, easy to set controls, built in light, batteries will run it for up to 6 hours of taping, and so far have lasted over a year and still very strong.