Well, Wiz, I am a Canon devotee nowadays. I used to be a devoted Sony customer but their stuff just isn't delivering the bang for the buck anymore in my opinion.

I faced the same decision a couple of years ago and chose the mini tape version for these reasons:

- The tapes are cheap and hold a lot of footage
- I like to make story movies that often require dozens of hours of raw footage to get a final product and I don't edit until all the shooting is finished (storing footage)
- If I trash or lose a tape, I won't be suicidal
- I can get 2-3 uses out of each tape with no loss of quality, then I use them to archive a hard copy of the final cut.
- The camera cost only about $350 compared to the newer formats at $700-$1200+ at the time.
- Loading the footage onto my computer is easy (Firewire) and in real time which gives me a chance to take notes as it loads.
- For me, it's a toy with long-term value, not an art form or a part of my work.
- Output/input options of Firewire, S-Video, DVI, and RCA.

Beware of the cams that come loaded with too many bells and whistles. If you do your editing on your computer (like most of us) why the heck would you pay hundreds more for little toys you won't use?

Know what you want to accomplish with it, if zoom is important to you, go for the max optical zoom and ignore the digital zoom claims.

Here's the main list of perks I like in my little Canon:

It's not heavy, even with a 9-hour battery which weighs about 4 additional ounces.

I can review my shots manually and leave a blank patch between shots (harder to do with card or DVDs).

A 12x optical zoom!

I can choose time code or no time code, plus day and date or no day and date with one button.

Big buttons for my dumb fingers.

It has a good tripod seat in an intelligent location.

Excellent audio pick-up and with an external mic jack.

Great, true colors and automatic white balance.

Remote control came with it.

Open/close 2x3 LCD display with actual, non-adjusted feedback (if the camera is upside down, so is the feedback).

Variable-speed zoom (a big one for artsy-fartsy shots).

I really have been extremely satisfied with my little Canon. It's the third one I've had. My first one was a Sony (years ago) and I never loved it as much as the Canons.

There's more, but this is enough for now.