backpacker's camera?
 

If I were going on a 2 month backpacking trip far away from home where every week or so I'd be coming into a strange town to resupply -- and if I were carrying the HD1 or 2 -- what would be the lightest and easiest solution to downloading footage when in town before heading out again? Or is it simply not a viable camera under those unpredictable conditions?

How about this? http://www.photographyblog.com/index..._2_smart_2300/

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820186003

$29 for the case $50 for a hard drive.

I appreciate the feedback. I'm going to look into the weight of both these units. That's the rub. If it's like a pound or so, it makes more sense for me to simply shoot miniDV tape with my HC-3, which weighs about 1.5 pounds with battery. For equivalent pack weight, I would have a set-up that doesn't require any download headaches. On the other hand, if these systems are only mere ounces, then we might have something!

I hike with my HC3 all the time and I love it. Bring a bag of beans with you so you can set it down and get a level shot. Then do some timelapse action and have some fun.

Ha, that's a good dual use for the beans.
The Smart 2300 is about 1/2 pound. The other unit I'm still not sure of, as it wasn't stated on their web site.

How much record time do you need?
 

You may find that you don't need to download any footage. I'm using an eight gig HDSD card. You can pack a lot of video on that thing.

Is that about 2 hours worth?
Also, have you heard what anyone's using for a wide-angle lens that's of hi def quality?

I'm looking into the Raynox HD-6600PRO49 wide angle lens. I have the 49mm adapter ring that fits surprisingly snug. I'd also be curious to know what others are using for wide angle lenses with this camera? The optional Sanyo branded wide angle lens I heard has some barrel distortion/vignetting.

Also, does anyone know if it's better to put UV and polarizing filters before of after a wide angle lens, or if it matters at all?

8gigs = 2.8 hours or ~ 160 minutes

From a review:

The HD1a can record up to 21 minutes of 720p HD video per Gigabyte on a standard SD or SDHC memory card. That’s up to 42 minutes on a 2-Gigabyte card or 84 minutes on the soon to be released 4-Gigabyte SDHC card (cards sold separately). Alternatively, HD1 users can select to record in Standard Definition mode (640 x 480 pixels at 30fps progressive) for up to one hour per Gigabyte of recording capacity. Users can quickly switch between high-definition and standard-definition recording modes by simply pressing the “HD/Norm” button located beneath the LCD display.

I too am looking for wide angle lens answers.