After much research and contemplation, I went with the Canon HV20. I thought I wanted the convenience of HDD (hard disk drive), but it turns out the compression formats tend to lose precious detail and they are much more difficult to edit on the PC. Everyone I've talked to raves about the standardized HDV cassette format. Several reviews have put the HC20 at the top of the consumer line.
HV20 Review HD Camcorder Shootout conclusions Digital Trends HV20 review http://www.wired.com/gadgets/digital.../vc_canon_hv20
MSRP is around $900. It's a little less in the brick-n-mortar stores. Most online store have it at $550-680, but two actually still have it on sale for $450 with free s/h!
link
Maybe I'll post a review thread when it comes in.