Here is my opinion what is the best to buy:
So, my opinion is that is best to use camera with hard disk because you don't need to waste your time on backup like in mini dv cameras. picture quality is best on dvd cameras but after recording is very hard to edit that video because it is in dvd video format.
I like to edit my videos after recording (with windows movie maker) so I preffer cameras on hard disk. My suggestion is that you should try dvd camera only if you don't want to edit your videos.

I would like to hear your opinions ...

Regards.

for me the best one is a dvd one with a mem stick support. i think some will make it as avi but i'm not that sure.

a cd one can be given to anyone on hand and a memory stick isnt.( but if your a rich guy, giving someone a stick is not a problem).

it also often that my friends, computer rentals and such don't have a mem stick reader only a dvd drive.

but a mem stick one is light and bulky and a cd isnt but if your using a mem stick youll be obliged to put your files in your cpu and in a cd one you won't.

so for me its a cd if you use your camera for everything. but if its just for occations then a memstick one is for you because a dvd one will obliged you to but a cd everytime you don't have a spare and a memstick wont

I believe it depends on the definition of "picture quality." I have tried from low to high ends of DVD Camcorders and found they all have video noise. Video noise is when capturing light is not bright enough and produce random color pixels--especially around darker areas. This is always the issue with lower quality of CMOS or CCD. To deliver recordings to miniDVD format the manufactures of camcorders have substituted high quality lens and sensors. To me, this is not a best "picture quality."

It is agreed that having miniDV takes longer to transfer onto a DVD disk. But still this format delivers uncompressed highest picture quality. miniDVD still requires to be compressed to MPEG-2 where miniDV is uncompressed AVI format. The miniDV camcorders are bulky but it allows to be assembled with higher quality lens and sensors. And manufactures can place more emphasis on lens and sensors.

If video editing is an issue that determines the quality of a camcorder, I believe that is an unfair statement. A consumer can spend a mere $200 on a camcorder to capture the birth of a baby, and to have it transferred to a DVD with few steps is well worth the effort. But if a consumer is trying to edit a documentary, the emphasis is not at a camcorder but on an editing abilities.

I rather have a professional video lens attached to Hi8 video camcorder than a factory lens attached to high-end DVD camcorder. Because the professional video lens will give me better control of lighting than the factory.

It is true that mini DVD requires to be compressed to MPEG-2, miniDV is uncompressed AVI format at beginning, but after we edit that video we must compress it in DivX or we compress it on DVD video. Uncompressed AVI requires a lot of storage which is not acceptable for most of people.
Regards.