The Panasonic AG-HVX-200 is a great, sort-of-entry-level professional camera. Running around $5,500, this is a full 1080p (that's the highest of high def btw) camcorder that records to P2 cards, a fairly new solid state form of memory for storing digital video. The cards are normally half the cost of the camera, but the HVX-200 comes with a free 16 GB one. This camera is beautiful and we want it.
I could technobabble all day about specs, but what it really boils down to is what the final product can look like. Take a look at this short film hosted on vimeo. Hit the link at the bottom to view it in full 720p resolution.


Gone in a Flash - HD from Chris Crutchfield on Vimeo.

WOW DEPTH OF FIELD. If you're not familiar with the concept of depth of field, here's what Wiki has to say about it...
"Depth of field (DOF) is the portion of an image that appears sharp. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions."
With regard to this film: what was in focus was beautifully crisp, and what wasn't in focus was incredibly blurry. That is an example of a short, or shallow, DOF and it looks incredible, almost painted, as the short film above did.

However, at a 5k price tag we're gonna have to keep on saving or take out a loan.