Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

You can take one of two attitudes about the VX2000. Many folks (including Sony) prefer to believe this is the ultimate consumer camera, with professional features finally offered at a consumer price. Sure, it's the extreme high-end of consumer pricing, but rich technophiles ought to be able to afford it. In this view, this camcorder combines the best of both worlds... high quality video in an easy to use regular-joe/jane product. Truly a renaissance cam, if there ever was such a thing. The other attitude is this camera is an awkward fit into either environment. Pros (i.e. people who get paid to deliver quality video) will probably object to the noisy audio. There's lots of discussion on other webpages, so I won't delve into it here. Yes, the noise is present. No, it probably won't bother consumers shooting their vacation in Hawaii. Yes, it stands a reasonable chance of annoying a client who paid for a corporate training video. No, it probably won't annoy a client who paid for a wedding or funeral video. So take either view, depending how much you enjoy living on the high-end. If you want to make commercials or big dramatic productions, just pay the extra cash for truly professional gear that won't leave you shopping for a better camera after a few projects. Yes, there's a special case for documentary work. Don't take $5000 cameras into volcanoes, jungles, or skydiving. Use cheaper gear that'll still do the job, like this cam. Also, there's a reasonable case to be made for interviewing people with smaller, less intimidating, consumer cameras. So those particular applications might prefer the 'best darn consumer camera around'. My best advice is to decide what you really want to do with a camcorder. If you want to take home vids of your kids AND brag to your neighbor (who last year outdid your VHS-C camera by getting a Digital 8), this is probably right up your alley. Get it and bask in the pure pleasure of it. If you want to simply capture your personal world on tape, get something (much) cheaper and smaller. Cheaper and smaller means you're more likely to take it along. Remember, there are good shots and ok shots, but the only bad shots are the ones you missed cuz you left the camera at home. Don't let price and bulk mess with your creativity. That'd be a crying shame. UPDATE: After receiving some email from readers, I thought I'd clarify my opinion. Yes, the VX2000 is a good camera. But does the average non-professional need one? I'm skeptical. A home video enthusiast can do just as well with an $800 model, perhaps even better, since it's easier to carry a smaller consumer camera around. Web-movies to be shrunk by 75% and then MPEG compressed don't need a 3-CCD camera. And an independant filmmaker will probably find it cheaper to rent better gear on the shooting days. Buy this camera if you are highly confident that you can get massive enjoyment or a monetary return on your investment. Don't get it if it's just going to sit inside its case.