canon mvx3i vs pana mx500 vs sony dcrhc85

[sacha]

Hi! Thanks for any feedback on these models. Our first baby is on the way, which gives me the perfect excuse to shell out for a camcorder.
My budget is about $2000-$2500AUD.
The cam will be mainly used at home (indoors and out), but I am keen to take it on holidays and trips.
My wife is a technophobe and would be keen on good point and shoot characteristics. I am most keen on good video (and less importantly sound) quality, as well as the ability to take on more manual functions down the track. Digital stills quality is not an important consideration.
I have 3 models in mind (plus any others you feel I should consider).
1) Canon MVX3i (feels steady in my hand and has an optical image stabilizer)
2) Panasonic NV-MX500 (on special at a similar price to the others, 3CCD chip, indoor filming an issue?, less user friendly?)
3 Sony DCRHC80 (too new for any meaningful reviews or feedback?)
Widescreen would be nice as we have a plasma. Ta SACHA

[brado]

Having recently done a thorough research through all reviews for myself, I find the Panasonic NV-MX500 is the best of the 3.
It has a useful remote control and mike. Picture quality is improved with progresive scan. A bit too heavy for me though.
My choice is the Sony TRV60. Out of production now, but still available at a low price.
Hope this helps. Look at Pricerunner for details and reviews on these cameras.

[sacha]

Thanks for your advice!
The Sony TRV 60 seems to have never made it to Aussie shores. It's still possible to get the TRV 80 and at a good price too. I gave it a bit of a test run last week.
I found the zoom button to be much more sensitive than on the DCRHC 85. Maybe this will just take some getting used too?
Much mention is made of the excellent picture quality of the Panasonic NV-MX500 in good light though. Does anybody have any experiences of viewing camcorder images through a plasma screen? My screen is a Futitsu PDS 5003 (about 2yrs old).