Panasonic SDR-H18

PROS: It has a 32x optical zoom, a HDD and SD memory card slot (no risk of family footage being turned into coasters), a very simple to use, ergonomic design, includes video editing software, can record up to 22 hours of video, and has 1 touch DVD burning.

CONS: DC outlet is located under battery, no light, non-integrated lens cap.

I really like this camcorder. It has all the features I need, at a very reasonable price. It feels like it is very well put together, and is made in Japan (pretty rare these days). The many pros certainly outwiegh the cons. The minor inconvenience of having to remove the battery to connect the dc power when connecting the camera to the computer is trivial, and I don't realistically expect to need to do any night video recording. The lens cap is removable (and therefore losable), but again, not really a big deal. The 32x optical zoom is a feature I love, though you do have to sacrifice the larger CCD processing units. However, having seen the quality of the video recording, I don't see the big deal. The color reproduction is very good, and the picture is crisp in all the light conditions I have encountered. If you've got the cash, for $600-700 you can upgrade to the SDR-H200, which has all the bells and whistles: more menu options (that most would neve use), a light, a 3CCD processor, integrated lens cap, included 512MB SD card, remote, etc. But personally I'd rather have 2 of these. I consider this the best option at this price point, and I'm very happy with my purchase. Hope this helped (and if it did, remember to click yes below!). Thanks!