When I started to get involved with digital video I hemmed (is that a word?) and hawed ( I think that's a word) over which camera and nle I should purchase.

Looking back my time would have better spent by SHOOTING and EDITING. Most cameras in a particular price range give you similar performance as do most editing programs.

Is there that much of a difference between a Panasonic dvc 30, Sony vx 2100 and a Canon GL-2?

Vegas, Premeire Pro, Final Cut Pro, Liquid Edition etc. all perform basically the same. They each have their strengths and weaknesses but for the most part the final result depends on how knowledgable and comfortable the user is.

I'm speaking from experience when I say stop trying to find the perfect piece of gear. Find something your comfortable with and start PRODUCING!

What do you guys think? (As if I had to ask)

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. If I was just getting started, I would probably do it all the same way again. I bought an inexpensive MiniDV camera (one chip) and tried a few free trials of software after I got tired of using the software that came with the camera.

I settled on Premiere 6.0 as my editing platform and have upgraded along the way each time I could. And I skipped right over a 3CCD DV camera to a 3CCD HDV camera.

Did it matter that I chose Premiere over Vegas? Probably not. Not in the grand scheme of things. Did it matter which cheap camera as long as it was MiniDV and not one of the lesser formats? Probably not.

Now, having said that, it seems that a lot of people want to buy the one truly perfect camera to last them into their professional debut. And they want to find software that will be good enough for them to become the next Lucas or Spielberg. That just isn't worth the trouble.

On the other hand, there is a good reason to sweat the difference between a good 1CCD and a mediocre 3CCD camera.

The idea is to get the best possible raw material, picture and sound, from the event. If you shoot all day light in a nice afternoon in the shade, then a
good 1 CCD will be OK. But life is not always that nice.

For interiors, Dark eareas, Low light, Low and High light in the same frame Etc. you defenitly need the best 3 CCD with manual settings and good sound.

...The weekest link in the chain...

Amen, I'm tired of looking for a camera, I think I'm just going to buy one now.

Really good point, I love it.