I don't see tape going away any time soon. It is a cheap and proven form of archiving. Plus, the HDV format has added years to the life of the MiniDV format. I don't have a D2D yet, but when I do I'll simultaneously record to tape as a real-time backup.

The capability to capture decent quality video to SD or CF cards is available. There are some consumer digital still cameras (like the Canon S5 IS 640x480 @ 30FPS) out there that currently approach low-end SD-DV camcorders.

Detailed specs are hard to find, but I think what's keeping CF from taking off as a high-quality video capture medium is performance and reliability. The P2 cards are expensive not only because they are the lone item in the market, but they have to use higher-quality memory in a RAID configuration to RELIABLY capture video. Eventually prices for the technology will come down and we'll all enjoy the benefits of solid-state recording.

OT
What I really don't understand is all the DVD camcorders out there. I guess lots of people buy them, but why? Limited recording time, expensive and easily damaged media, lag when you press the record button (last time I tested one, anyway). My only guess is people like the convenience of being able to pop that DVD into their set-top players.

DVD camcorders are not for "us", the video enthousiasts/hobbyists/professionals. The recorded image is in a delivery format and basically not editable if you care about quality.

Now, if someone would come out with a camcorder that records DV or HDV data on say HD DVD... that may have *some* future... One thing is for sure, the future does NOT belong to tape, even if tape is gonna still be around for a while.