The hot shoe and better low light level recording features are what puts this camcorder over the top of the Panasonic HDC-SD9 which is much better than the HDC-SD5 that Ben reviewed a little while ago. Price being equal this is the camera to get. It used to be over $200 more than the HDC-SD9 so it was a little harder to make the choice.

g4 gives this really high marks.

New Canon proprietary hot shoe and limited accessories -- not a plus.

Please, you don't have to use the proprietary canon stuff... it's just nice to have a shoe at all. The Panasonic does not. I use an external mic on my Canon HG10. Without the shoe, I'd have to duct-tape it to the side of the Panasonic...does the Pana even have a mic input?
Yes, having the shoe is a plus.

Here's the deal. I'm a student filmmaker and need a "decent" camera to film small projects. This camera seems to have some better features than the $2,000-3,000 Canon makes... which makes me wonder. Also, does anyone think the price is going to go down before August?

You can't really compare this to cameras like the GL2, etc. They are definitely a great value for the money, tho. If you want to see what they are capable of, go to vimeo dotcom and look for the "channels" dedicated to the HV20, the HG10, the HF100, etc. There are some talented people out there making some excellent short films, etc, with these sub-$1k HD cams.

Anybody bought from buydig? I'm tempted ...

WB

see review at camcorderinfo.com . It's a great camcorder.

I went ahead and got it. about 75 bucks less than amazon, and it's lightyears ahead of my old canon zr300... Hope I made the right decision.

#7. Check this link out:
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/BuyDig_Beachtr