30P mode - Which is better: GL2 or VX2000?
 

These are the top two cameras within my budget range, and let me tell you, it's such a close call. I read great things about both cameras.
I will be shooting both documentaries and a movie short with one of them.

I heard that the VX2000 doesn't have a true 30P mode where 30 full frames are produced each second, but it is actually 15! I am unsure if that's true or not.

I have never heard anything bad about the GL2 30p mode, so I am leaning a bit towards that one.

Any info would be appreciated!

The VX2000 has 15P, not 30P. The GL2 doesn't have 30P either, it has "frame mode" which is a simulated 30P.

You can simulate 30P by using a 1/30th shutter speed, but it causes a significant drop in resolution. The GL2 takes less of a hit in resolution.

Both of these cameras are apparently at the end of their life cycle though -- the VX2000 has already been replaced with the VX2100, and the GL2 has a $250 rebate on it now, which may signify a GL3 or other replacement is on the horizon (or maybe it's just easing into a permanent price cut?)

Also take a look at the new Panasonic's, the AG-DVC30 definitely has a high-resolution frame mode, along with the option of professional XLR audio and a nice long 16x zoom. And the DVC80 is a very, very nice camera. I don't know if it offers frame mode or not, but it's a superb camera and definitely a serious contender to these other cameras you've mentioned.

This is straight from the current AG-DVC30 pdf:

Movie-Like Recording Mode
The cine-like gamma curve and 30-fps (25-fps in PAL model) frame
recording function* create moving images that are virtually identical
in appearance to movies made with film cameras.
* This function electronically interpolates interlace images to create frames.
The resulting images are not native progressive images recorded with a progressive CCD.

It sounds like none of the cameras in the low 2k range have a true 30P mode. So far it sounds like the GL2 is a better choice though...