Best Hard Disk camcorder?

Question

I like to do video production as a hobby so I recently bought a JVC Everio GZ-MG130 (30 GB Hard Disk) from ecost.com. The video quality was HORRIBLE!! Even on the highest setting outside the videos were distorted. My canon digital camera would take better videos than the JVC camcorder. I tried returning the camcorder but ecost has a no return policy so I sold it on criagslist losing over $100 on it. Anyway, I am looking for a compact hard disk camcorder that has great video quality for around $600 or less. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Why insist on a hard disk if you want great video quality?  I assume you do a lot of editing, so MiniDV seems to be a better option.

Answer 2

according to the latest testing by consumer reports the panasonic sdr-h18  430$ is their top pick. however all of the models they tested none of them scored very high for image quality. they chose the panasonic as their top pick because of it's overall performance ease of use, cost, and picture quality, as this model did have the best image quality of all the models they tested.