sb said 'Don¹t buy a Canon. You should be fine with a Sony or Panasonic.' sb's right, as Canons tend to be somewhat problematic and not very good at low light levels. However, when used under good lighting - I prefer the images from the Canon GL2 vs Sony tr950 which are the two you'll be using. If you'll be using the GL2 you may have to buy a Canon. Also keep in mind is that Sony was getting a bad reputation for servicing products and Canon service can be very pricey. I don't have any experience with Panasonic. Many stores sell both camcorders and apple computers. Why don't you take a tape filmed with each 3 ccd camcorder and test them on the demo camcorder in the store. If you're sincere about the purchase, most salespeople will help you out. Lynn