I recently bought the new Sony 30GB Handycam from a Sony store and am very pleased with this product. The DCR-SR45 is a HDD camcorder, which means that the video is stored on a Hard Disk Drive instead of on a DVD or film cassette. The kind that I bought was the smallest, Sony also offered the 40GB, the 60GB and a few others. I think that 30GB is plenty of space for what I do with it, YouTube, class projects, etc. The 30GB at the lowest quality setting will record up to 21 hours, and up to 7 hours on the highest quality.
The Sony Handycam also has many great functions, including a zoom microphone, 3 graphic options (b/w, sepia, mono), and an optional memory stick port that will give you another 8GB of record time. The camera also has a one-touch disk burn option when it is hooked up to your computer. It will instantly burn to a CD just by pressing on button on the camera. The camera also features a still-picture mode that can take up to 1000 pictures depending on your settings. This camera is extremely easy to use and features a touch screen instead of an ugly amount of buttons. It also features an easy-button for some people who don't want to get confused with the advanced settings. This is a really great product and I recommend it to anyone looking for a video camera. The price is good too. It was regular $599, but I got mine on sale for $499 at Sears.
