difficult choices canon vs. panasonic

[nice camera]

i have painfully weeded my field of selection down to two mini dv camcorders: canon zr10 and the panasonic pv-dv201.

my wife and i are taking a cruise to the western carribean and wanted to purchase in the next few weeks. does anyone have a suggestion on which is a better product optically, and mechanically?

goes easy on me this is my first time.

[Dr Mordrid]

It looks like the ZR10 is discontinued. The Canon page is now only advertising the ZR20, 25 and 30.

If I were opting for a low end miniDV cam I'd go one step up in the Panasonic line to the PV-DV400 or 401. It has advantages over the 201 in that it has much better low light performance among other things. The PV-DV351 might also fit you price range and offer better features.

Some of the higher end D8's are also becoming quite viable options, albeit I dispise the idea of a Sony propriatory camcorder format on principle. In this group the models from the TRV330 and up should be just fine.

Dr. Mordrid

[Vidgal]

Yes, the ZR10 is discontinued, but if budget is a big issue, it can still be found in web stores and in some other stores at a big discount. Our local Fry's store has some for $440.

It is strange how I now consider this a compromise camcorder, but when it first came out I look at it enviously and thought it was the coolest thing in the world.