TECH ADVICE BLEG: Anybody out there own this Panasonic HD camcorder? It looks pretty sweet, and the Popular Mechanics folks like it, but what’s it like in actual long-term use? We’ve got some video projects in mind for this summer, and I’m wondering whether to upgrade. The one we have now works quite well, but it’s bulkier, tape-based (so capture has to take place in real time) and not HD. My sense is that waiting a while makes sense, but I’m not sure. Advice from those who haven’t waited would be appreciated.

UPDATE: Andrew Marcus emails:

Glenn- I saw the “pro” version of this camera at NAB and was blown away! I haven’t had time to check out the differences between the consumer version and the “pro” version, but if they are similar enough, it is a winner. I’ll do more research later today and let you know.

Hmm. The descriptions look pretty similar. This review says: “The big difference – a portable 40GB hard drive that can store the contents of the SD cards and a color space more closely matched to their pro camcorders.” Software seems not quite ready, though.