Sony camcorders

[F. Mortes]

Greetings!

I'm a very humble iMovie aficionado and mostly do home videos and the 
odd school event.

My camcorder (Panasonic NV-DS35EG) was stolen a couple of weeks 
ago :-( ....

.... but fortunately it was insured, and it looks as though I'll be 
getting about 1,000 euros back. Sooo, I'm looking to buy a new baby.

Questions & nagging doubts:

My Panasonic's CCD was (according to the manufacturer) 570,000 pixels 
and delivered what I thought was acceptable picture quality. I rather 
liked the built-in mike, which could record conversations across a 
fairly large room.

Now I'm looking to buy a Sony camcorder (I've heard that the Carl Zeiss 
lenses make a difference and that, in general, their technology delivers 
better results) and it looks as though I have three options:

a) DCR P115, with 1,550,000 pixels @ 1,500 euros

Supposedly great CCD resolution, but I really don't need the extra 
features (MPEG, eMovie, Memory Stick, photo stills -of dubious quality, 
anyway). It's also a bit beyond my budget, although I'm willing to 
consider it.

b) DCR P101, with 1,070,000 pixels @ 1,300 euros

More affordable, fewer "fancy" features, it seems

c) DCR PC8, with 800,000 pixels @ 1,100 euros

Again, it still has some features I don't need (e.g. touch screen), but 
more cheaper.

Clearly there seems to be a close relationship between price and CCD, 
right?

Which would you buy and why?


Thanks in advance!

Francesc