Hybrid Camera/Camcorder: Best in Show?

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I’m really intrigued by the camcorder/camera hybrid concept and have thought about getitng one for a long time. My pal Jay Dedman highly recommended the Xacti last time I asked, but when I saw that Canon was going to release a new one soon I thought I’d hold out. Gizmodo has a post today about Digital Camera HQ’s comparison roundup, but says all bets are off until they get their hands on the new Canon. The real question is, of course, how will these things actually perform? Will they make my cupcakes look fat? Will I be able to catch the action shots of Techyum minions fleeing in fear when I decide to test out my Ethernet Shibari book ideas? Or video of the next low-lit antics of drunken, Kareoke-insane videobloggers at SXSW? More information gathering is clearly needed.
Hybrid Cameras/Camcorders Compared: Canon TX1 vs Xacti vs Lumix (gizmodo.com)
Update: Sweet reader A writes (and manoman do I agree), “Hey Vi, Re: the Canon TX1 v.s. Sanyo HD2, etc. Check out The Digital Video Information Network forums. Very handy for trying to get a handle on what’s out there, tricks, etc.
Personally, I’m waiting for the TX1 and HD2 to be released, then I want to compare them to JVC’s next round of Everio series hybrid cameras. The Everio’s can apparently record stills and video to both the internal HDD and/or removable SD cards. (…)
Yeah, Cat-5 Shibari would be kinda scary (probably not enough bend-radius for the finer details ;-), but I’d much rather see you test out a selection of cameras on some SRL and dorkbot action. See how they capture in low/night light, different types of welding and grinding in the shop, linear and rotational motion. You know, the usual Dr. Jeckyll’s SFW raw gadget pr0n to Mr. Hyde’s finely crafted, NSFW sex machines.”

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