Sony DCR-HC1000 Mini DV Digital Camcorder

Pros: Professional quality video output from small precision camcorder; Top quality and Easy of use.
Cons: You pay for the quality. Touch screen is awkward till you get hang of it.

This is a top notch point & shoot camcorder. I bought it despite its cost after long study (also carefully comparing Panasonic and Canon offerings), finally deciding video quality and its ease of use in all circumstances outweighed alleged inconveniences ...

Pros: 3 CCD chip/picture quality/battery life/LCD screen size.
Cons: Warranty/weight/Memory Stick Duo Pro/fit-to-user.

This is my fifth (5th) Sony camcorder to date. That must mean I really like Sony quality, performance and reliability for some of their products. I mention 'some' of their products and those being the finest televisions ever, the wonderful VAIO ...

Pros: 3CCD, Durable Workmanship, Superb Video Quality
Cons: Too pretty...is that bad

This is one hell of a camcorder.
I am not a professional videographer nor a 'prosumer' as some people say it, but i know what a good video looks like and the videos taken from this camcorder is stunning and the design of it is beautiful. The body's black color is sexy although of course it's all subjective. Some people would prefer the traditional 'prosumer' look. To me, Sony HC1000's design is hip and modern, not too big nor too small but solidly built.
There are people that had bashed this camcorder simply because it has the touchscreen menu interface which -according to them is a downgrade from previous prosumer sony camcorder that has manual controls. I dont understand why people gets so hung up on manual control buttons on a camcorder. The bottom line is, this camcorder produces broadcast quality video footage even when set in full auto and gets alot of attention from people because it looks good too.

Pros: Camera has 16:9, surround audio, nice bright LCD
Cons: Sony and ibuydigital.com service is horrible. I'm paying to fix a defective camcorder

I should have purchased the Panasonic PV-GS400. I shopped a long time for a 3CCD camera and chose the HC1000. When it arrived everything seemed to work okay, but the autofocus was occasionally flaky. I looked in the manual and it warned about low-light conditions. I complained about the autofocus and Sony told me that I didn't have the AE settings properly configured and sent little email hints. I have had nothing but trouble from it and a complete run around from Sony and ibuydigital.com, the people I purchased it from. I would avoid both of them. The ibuydigital.com people insulted and laughed at me on the phone when I asked them for help. Sony was polite and courteous but, of course, made me pay for their mistake.