Canon GL2 vs. Sony HDR-FX7?

Sony Handycam HDR-FX7 vs canon gl2 vs jvc GZ-HD6 vs Sony HVR-HD1000U?

• starting indie filmmaker, first good camera buy, which camera should i buy?

• Answer:

  little dog has the wrong info on the jvc gz-hd6, which is my camera. it is 3 ccd and records at 27 mpbs MPEG2 making it the highest datarate/quality recorder of the bunch you selected. it is a handheld camera but easily put on tripod for fixed shooting. I have a Cokin A filter box on the front and use several filters for exposure control and to soften the sometimes too crisp focus. Has both external mic and headphone audio monitor out connections. Just downloaded my video today, so i am good for another 10 hours of full HD recording or HDV ilink plug compatible recording. the Sony HVR-HD1000 is HDV and can shoot miniDV as well. a traditional style shoulder mount camera. its single CCD is larger than the 3 CCD JVC, but its 10x zoom lens is actually smaller diameter (37mm vs 43mm) with less light gathering capability. both have optical image stabilization. both offer remote for hands off control, Sony is lanc (you have to buy controller extra), JVC is included LED. the Sony HDR-FX7 is a more compact handheld version of the HVR with 3 CCD and HDV recording. 20x zoom but the f stop drops off to a disappointing f 2.8 vs f 1.8 for the JVC at maximum zoom. has slightly larger CCDs (0.25 vs 0.2) than the JVC and higher pixel count. list price on the Sony HD models is $1999. The GZ-HD6 is not a current model, but i got mine for $799 new. The Canon GL2 is not comparable being SD only. I went with the JVC.