Hi all. This is my first post here. Sorry if I've put it in the wrong place - I wasn't quite sure if it was better here on in the DV forum.

Now I'm looking to buy me a new camcorder for a short film project and a couple of music videos for a local band to put on their website and on promotional dvds.

The majority of filming for the movie will be taking place indoors, mainly in an office setting under flourescent lighting with a handful of scenes taking place in a friend's house with normal household lighting and a handful of outdoor locations, both day and noght. Nothing too technically demanding - mostly point and shoot stuff on this one.

I haven't really planned anything for the music videos yet - but I will be using them as a chance to experiment with techniques - probably lots of steadicam stuff!

Now I've done a bit of research and decided that I'm best off with miniDV for the best initial quality footage - I don't think my budget will stetch to a worthwhile HD camera and I'm even less convinced thet my PC will cope with HD footage - so I'm looking for something that will give me good quality, is reasonably and will last me a few years.

I've been looking at the Panasonic AG-DVC20, but have only been able to find a couple of conflicting reviews of it (one of which is the amazon one). If I go for it, I'm thinking of getting this one from eBay which comes with a bunch of stuff!

Does anyone have any experience with or opinions or advice on this camera? Any suggestions on a more appropriate camera for a relative beginner?

Thanks all!