On Thu, 13 Dec 2001 23:58:48 +1000, "Rich" wrote:

>Alexander brings up the most important point - try them for yourself!

Agreed. This is BY FAR the best way to evaluate gear.
Reviews can help, though, to point out faults to look for,
and can help (if objective and informative about the gear,
and not "sales-pieces" in disguise...) people without
easy access to the gear short of purchasing it...

>There are so many brand/model fanatics on the net, you'd think they were
>employed by those companies.

If you are referring to me, you might want to read my
reviews... In answering questions briefly, it is necessary
to "bottom-line" the responses, and since some gear really
is better for most purposes than other gear, the responses
can appear biased without complete explanations and
illustrative samples included. Go look at the material
offered in the reviews and see if you still think I
(and others) are irrationally "fanatical" about certain
models...:
--Sony Mini-DV models are compared at:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder--comparison.htm
--Other model comparisons are at:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm
and: www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/sony_dcr-vx2000.htm
And also in other comparison sites:
www.bealecorner.com
http://www4.big.or.jp/~a_haru/index.html
In general, it has been my experience in these NG's that
it appears to be most often (an understatement...! ;-)
the owners of the "C"-brand camcorders who are
irrational and fanatical in their comments...;-)
Or is this what you meant...? ;-)