Handheld HD Camcorders

• thePITman

  

  I'm in the market for an HD Camcorder, and I was wondering if anyone has some experience or advice.
  
  The two that are sticking out to me so far are:
  1. Panasonic HDC-SD90K
  2. Canon VIXIA HF M400
  
  I chose the SD card models without built-in storage (SD90K instead of TM90K, and M400 instead of M40) because they're a little cheaper, and I'd be using the SD cards for easy transportation/storage, anyway.
  
  My brother, who has produced a number of HD-quality BMX/bicycle movies sold commercially, said many of his videographer friends use Canon VIXIA cameras, never heard anything bad about them, and recommended them.
  
  On the other hand, the reviews for the Panasonic are out the roof except for a greenish hue color problem that some people have noticed... but its other features like motion stabilization, among others, are very impressive.
  
  Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated.
• thePITman

  

  ttt
• 1_beast

  

  i have a samsung...it does a fine job with my sons wrestling...
• Steel Valley Football

  Justin likes the Panny for his vidz.
• McFly1955

  

  I have the Panasonic HDC-SD90K
  
  Got it about a year ago after our daughter was born....We have taken tons and tons of videos, and we love it....Happy with the choice.
  
  The color seems off sometimes due to the auto adjustments...I just need to flip to manual and set it myself, but haven't had the time to read up about it...
• thePITman

  

  Thanks for the comments so far.
  
  ttt
• I Wear Pants

  What are you using it for?
• thePITman

  

  I Wear Pants;1037048 wrote:What are you using it for?

  Athletic events, home videos, catching random things that I see and posting them to my YouTube account, etc.
• 1_beast

  

  thePITman;1037055 wrote:Athletic events, home porn videos, catching random things that I see and posting them to my YouTube account, etc.

  fify
• thePITman

  

  1_beast;1037074 wrote:fify

  That's why it needs to be in HD!
• thePITman

  

  I sent an email to some co-workers asking their opinion. One just stopped by on his way out, and emphatically said he's used many Canons in the past - cameras, camcorders, etc - and he has loved all of them and would recommend them.
• Laley23

  

  Love Cannons and if your just using them for that type of thing...aka not professional shooting or anything that requires long range shooting and lots of focusing (which auto-focus usually fucks up when it has to do a lot) I would suggest the Cannon.
• Steel Valley Football

  Can't go wrong with the Canny!
• I Wear Pants

  http://www.red.com/store/epic/product/epic-m
  
  Do it.
• thePITman

  

  A co-worker that's REALLY big on video, audio, speakers, cameras, radios, and all that stuff, got back to my solicitation for advice. He recommended the Canon for how I'll be using it. He also sent me a link to the CamcorderInfo.com review for the Canon. It was very good! And the neat part was that for the quantifiable results, they charted it compared to the exact Panasonic model I'm considering, and 2 others (including a Sony).
  
  Canon Review: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-HF-M40-Camcorder-Review.htm
  Panasonic Review: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Panasonic-HDC-TM90-Camcorder-Review.htm
  
  Judging by that site, which was very thorough, it looks like Canon is just as good of a camera, and ranked higher, even at the cheaper price.
  
  Finally I got the technical proof to go along with all the personal recommendations for the Canon (I really wanted both)... so I'm definitely leaning that way now.