[Annie Haycock]

I've been away for a few days, or I'd probably have jumped in earlier on this one. No camera is 100% perfect for any application, and as others have said, it is usually a matter of compromising to balance the budget.

I have nearly thirty years of wildlife stills photography experience, and came to videography about five years ago. Wildlife is the only subject I'm interested in shooting (though very occasionally I am persuaded to do something else).

Most of what I would say, has already been said, so I'll just say why I chose the Canon XH-A1. I had to balance the costs against the size and weight of the camera (ie what I was willing to carry around in the field), simplicity of use (including a "top-loading" tape mechanism), a good zoom necessary for most wildlife, and good quality output. At that time, the best fit was the Canon XM2/GL2. By the time that camera needed replacing, I had worked out what extras I needed - mostly in terms of easily accessed manual options - and looking at the market a year ago, the Canon XH-A1 fitted the bill. If I'd understood more about HDV, I might have held out for the XH-G1, but I think I'd have needed a demonstration for the whole process from filming to processing to work out if the extra cost was worthwhile.

The three main disadvantages of the A1 for me are that
1) it uses tape - something with non-moving parts such as a solid state recorder would cut down noise, and the potential effects of dust getting into the mechanisms (there is now a tapeless solution, see the thread about awesome news for Canon owners)
2) it is not good with fast moving subjects or panning.
3) while interchangeable lenses have great advantanges, a camera that uses these would cost more in terms of weight and cash (I do have Nikon lenses that I could use), and again there is the disadvantage of dust getting in. (My 400mm lens is permanently fixed on one of my D200s, and the other D200 usually has whichever lens I feel is most appropriate to the situation, so that I don't keep changing in the field).

In addition to the Canon A1, I have a Sony A1. It's not a camera I would recommend for wildlife, but it does some things the Canon doesn't. In particular, it has a night shot function which does excellent work in poor light or infra-red, it works with a remote movement sensor, and it is small enough to use handheld in places with limited space (eg bat roosts).

Basically it is a case of finding a horse for your particular course. I'd suggest getting something relatively cheap or second-hand to start with, working out from that what its limitations are and what facilities are important to you, than looking at what's on the market within your budget. You may find that having the interchangeable lens option is a necessity for you.