Go the PD-150, DVCAM is a far superior recording format. It uses the same tape as MiniDV but the tape runs 30% faster so the annoying dropout problem associated with MiniDV just doesnt exist. So a 60 minute MiniDV tape only runs for 40 mins in DVCAM mode. i bought panasonic DV VCR's when I built my mobile production system. They are the only component that really lets the system down, they will be changed to Sony DVCAM machines later this month. When I went back to panasonic about the dropout problem their repsonse was "DV (& MiniDV) does that, if you want reliability you need to go DVCAM or DVCPro"(posted 7636 days ago)