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This seems a little high for a REFURB. You can get the HF100 new (HD and records to an SD card) at Amazon for $529.

Anyone know what the best overall storage media is these days for these cameras? (hard drive?)

The best consumer level media is still tape. It records at a higher bit rate than hard drive and SD cards. Tape doesn't record in AVCHC, which is a huge advantage. AVCHC, as currently implemented on these cameras sucks--low bit rates, lots of compression artifacts, especially in low light or with lots of motion. It's a standard with a lot of potential but it hasn't been realized yet. (SD and HD write speeds seem to be bottlenecking consumer level cameras, this isn't a problem on the professional end but those cameras use proprietary storage systems).

With tape you always have the original copy (unless you stupidly record over the tape). Tapes are extremely cheap and can be found anywhere (you do not need HD tapes to record HD--there's no difference in quality). You do not need to bring along a laptop or second hard drive to offload stuff too (High Quality HD recording will eat a hard drive's space).

The advantages of the other media are: reduced tape noise on the soundtrack (still get some with some hard drive cameras), compactness--SD cameras can be smaller), and random access to video. With tape you always need to transfer it to a computer hard drive which is a real time process that not everyone is patient enough for.

Thanks for the info #3

ANY advice about ecost?

awesomw camera. great deal. thanks ben

Man, I got excited there, figures it would be a refurb ... guess I'll keep looking.

For a review of the Canon HV20 see:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-HV20-Camcorder-Review.htm

First off, it's AVCHD, not AVCHC. The format, as implemented on the latest generation of camcorders is, at this point, nearly as good as HDV, but editing it can be a pain, even with a high-powered PC. Vegas Video editors often make a proxy and then work with that.

I have a Sony FX1 and an HC3, both HDV tape-based cameras. Camcorderinfo.com loves the HV-20; I've had a chance to play with one for a few minutes and thought it was okay, though a bit "plasticky" compared to the HC3. On the Vegas Video board some members have stated that it is an excellent camera but not quite as robust as the Sonys, so be gentle with it.

I wouldn't have any issues with buying a refurbed unit as long as I had the option of returning it if there was something wrong. A refurbed product could have been returned for any of a number of reasons, and they usually go through the final check a second time.

Any tape will be able to handle HDV, but the reason there are "HDV" tapes (aside from the marketing angle) is that a dropout on an HDV tape is a disaster, not a minor glitch as it would be in the DV format. You lose video and audio for a full half-second. Premium tapes cost more but are often certified to have fewer dropouts.